Herb's distaste for structure

In the film, Herb is asked about his education, to which he replies that he dropped out of high school because he hated being told what to do. I did a quick mental calculation and decided that he must have served in the army at some point.

Turns out that the film ignores this important part of one's life, but I did find on the web that he served during WWII. If he hated taking orders and conforming in high school, the army must have been hell for him, the ultimate non-conformist. No wonder he liked "Modern Art"!!!