Should Vietnam-era Vets be addressed as "Vietnam Vets"?

PO3 John Blackatone -
E X A C T L Y !!
BUT Those Us Whom WERE Around, Speaking Only For Myself,
Still To-This-Day, Shoulder Some Of The Guilt For NOT Having Been There;
Sort Of Like: "IF We'd Been There, Maybe We Could Have Helped Out" ~
Difficult To Explain, It's Just That Deep "In Our Guts Feeling"
"Maybe", But We'll Never Know For Sure. ~ USAF 06/29/61 - 06/10/65 ~.

PO3 John Blackatone - Do you mean the AFEM (Vietnam) that I received for my service in Vietnam in 1962-1963?

I'm not sure if it's still an active thread. I don't think a 'Viet Nam Era Vet' is equal to a combat vet. I served 2 tours and I also was stationed in Germany after. My time in Germany was like a vacation. We had a huge 3/2 apartment and 2 little kids by then. I went through Warrant Officer Flight School and knew exactly where I was going next. I feel a kinship to anyone who served during the war. My father was a Japanese POW and only discussed it once in 50 years. We talked about this exact question when Senator Blumenthal of Connecticut lied about his past. There's a big difference between being in the service or serving in combat being shot at. I get a thanks nowadays and because I picked up the wounded I know I saved lives. Those men that lived, went on to have families, etc. Over the last 1/2 century, I've heard from and met some of them. It's the proudest moment of my life when it happens. I think about it a lot, especially when I'm feeling down or in pain. Saving lives is my greatest reward for serving. Being part of a 'Dustoff Crew' was no piece of cake and my memories are very vivid and rough at times.

Chief, as an old worn out grunt, I thank you for what you did, you guys saved my bacon a couple of times. Thank you and your Crew Sir.

A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney - So, based on your logic, we should reconsider how we 'label' veterans of WWI, WWII, Korea, VN including those most recent. Qualifier, according to your logic, it's necessary to know WHERE the individual served - if not in a combat arena, they are not truly veterans of the 'era.' A much more exclusive association that I have always understood.

Of The Era, Yes -- But That's It...
I Served from 1961 - 1965,
Vietnam - Cuban Crisis - Cold War With Russia - The Assassination Of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.-- And I'm Not A Veteran Of Any Of Them, I Simply Served During Those Times. During The Cuban Crisis We Were Loading Nukes On 12 Hour Shifts With No Days Off, -- But That Doesn't Make Me A Veteran Of - Cuba - Nor Russia - Nor Vietnam. I Was NOT There. Nor Do I Like, Nor Use The Term "I Served During The Vietnam Era" To ME, It Cheapens The Term "Vietnam VET" For The Ones IN Vietnam.

SFC Barbara Layman -
PS I Served In South Korea 1964 - 1965
And I'm Sure As "L" Not A "Korean Vet" Either,

LTC Charles Kosmerl - What anomaly? No matter if you were a Combat Zone Veteran in WW1 or WW2 or Vietnam or Korea... where ever you were if you weren't earning 'Combat Pay'... you may be called WW2 Era Veteran or Korean Era Veteran but that is still not a "Vietnam or WW2 Combat Veteran" and PROOF= you would also earn a Campaign Star and Ribbon for being an Actual 'Combat Veteran'!

Makes it plain to see who is and who is NOT a War Veteran: if the person's DD-214 shows a 'Combat Campaign' Ribbon of any kind... only then can they be called a 'Combat War Veteran= SIMPLE no hard thinking involved! ....otherwise any member of military service can ever be called anything more than a WW2 Era Veteran or Vietnam *Era* Veteran... even if they can show other ribbons on their DD-214 if no War Campaign Ribbon there? They can't ever be called a *Legitimate Combat War Veteran*... only an Era Veteran!

I went first after I got out of a army hospital in Hawaii and reassigned they sent my brother from Korea crazy.

SGT Lorenzo Nieto -
OSAN AFB ~ South Korea 05/64 - 06/65
Days In Vietnam Combat? ~ ZERO.
And OSAN Was An Absolutely GREAT Duty Station.

Truer words have not been spoken! I never got hung-up about it but the facts are the facts. Just because one thinks it's true doesn't make it true. Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal found that out. I was given a 10 awesome custom made caps on my 50th year out from some friends with beautiful words and my ribbons on it (fruit salad). I earned as a soldier. A beautiful tapestry of my military service. They gave me 10, so I wouldn't keep wearing an old soiled one. You guessed it, I'm still wearing #1. I gave away 8 to my kids and grandkids. I'm on borrowed time and I'll be buried wearing #1. I love watching the MOH awards given by president regardless of party. Often, I cry watching it!

CW2 (Join to see) -
Then About The Only Thing Left Was To Notify The Others With
~~"B I N G O ~~ I'M The WINNER"~~