It is a matter of honor for all military to be honest about their combat service record.
It’s not appropriate for a Vietnam “era” vet to pass himself off as a vet with Vietnam “service” if he never stepped foot in that country.
I’ll get shot at for this, but I don’t consider anything to be a tour unless you put actual feet on the ground. If you float by or fly over the Tonkin of some other contiguous body of water, then you are NOT, in my opinion, a vet with Viet service.
One of the recent scandals devaluing combat service was the Bosnia/Kosovo decisions to award “broze stars” to support troops who never put foot in those countries but sat at desks in Italy or elsewhere.
I’m in favor of ending all “service” awards of the broze star and requiring that in the future the bronze star be for combat valor and nothing else. The Silver Star is already so limited.
An MSM or LOM with a narrative explaining “for service in a combat zone” is better alternative. After all, they already are the service equivalent of those combat awards. Let’s not devalue our combat medals.
| Gen. McChrystal wants New Medal for Soldiers Who Practice "Courageous Restraint" - Video ^ |
I’ll get shot at for this, but I don’t consider anything to be a tour unless you put actual feet on the ground. If you float by or fly over the Tonkin of some other contiguous body of water, then you are NOT, in my opinion, a vet with Viet service.
Darn, by your Vietnam service 'standard' I just don't know how to catagorize my late Father's combat service which consisted of two tours to Vietnam. He was not US Army, nor Marines - so he did not perform the 'ground-pounder' role which seems to be the only legitimate qualification for your standard of combat service in Vietnam. You see, he never "put actual feet on the ground".
However, during his two combat tours to the Vietnam theatre, he was regularly flung off the deck of two U.S. Navy carriers (with his RIO) in an F-4B as part of the U.S. Navy Fighter Squadron VF-96. Both he and his RIO, plus all others in VF-96 were shot at on a regular basis since when they were not used as a MiG CAP, they were employed to drop 500lb bombs on well defended NVA targets, just as did their sister U.S. Navy Attack Squadrons. But perhaps since he did overfly the Gulf of Tonkin, was never shot down, just shot at over North Vietnam - this does not meet your standard of 'legitimate' combat service in Vietnam.
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