Okay so after a long time of putting it off because I am a very big procrastinator, I went back and looked through the SPG lore, starting with the short version, the background of how the band came to be.
And when I got the the end I realized something that took me a few seconds of re-reading the paragraph over a few times.
The bots are fucking war veterans and I never took account of that before now. Holy shit I am fucking late to the party.
O man the sad headcannons…
The bots wanting to march with their unit. Being told that they’re not allowed. The same General who praised them on the battlefield saying, “Son,” (he ignores Rabbit’s little flinch) “we don’t drive tanks in the Memorial Day parade.”
The bots having to get permission to leave the Walter Estate grounds just to watch. Having to have Walter Worker escorts to make certain these war machines don’t malfunction and hurt civilians. Even though the Walter Workers know that the bots are pacifists.
The bots lining up at the side of the road, all under umbrellas so the sun doesn’t make them overheat. Saluting their friends. And smiling when their real friends return the salute.
And as the years pass… The friends dwindle and fade away. Until nobody salutes them. But the bots still salute the soldiers as they march by.
Age shall not weary them, indeed.