Posted on 11/20/2009 5:48:49 PM PST by jongaltsr
Thanks for the post.
You can tell when Harkin and his ilk are lying because their lips are moving.But I wonder how the question on the census form(s) was worded.I,for example,served (a full hitch,with an honorable discharge) during the Vietnam *era* but was never assigned within 7,000 miles of the region.Yes,some....like Harkin....would deliberately lie but perhaps many others misunderstood that question,perhaps because it was badly worded.
Yes, I agree... The term Vietnam Era vet was coined by the Defense Department to deal with GI-Bill Benefits granted by Congress... and little more.
Most Americans have not a clue as to the difference... With no slighting to their service - a Vietnam Era veteran could well have served in Germany or South Korea, etc. But not in the Vietnam Theater of War.
Those who served in the Vietnam Theater of War - on the seas or in adjacent countries did honorable war service... Any number of combat pilots never set foot in Vietnam - taking off from Aircraft Carriers, or from Thailand or the Philippines.
I doubt that the ground crews or mechanic crews of the fighter jets and bombers stationed in Thailand thought any less of their service as compared to the same ground crews who were stationed in Vietnam at some sprawling airbase there. On average there was only 500 to 700 miles difference. And the Thai air bases were in fact shelled or rocketed on occasion.
Right back at ya Brother Eagle!
NO!
NO! MEDAL! FOR! YOU!
This 2.7 million number is the last one we’ve been fed,,,
When I got out I went to work for the local rag it was 8 million(’69).
Then 7,,,then 5,,,then 4,,,then 3 ,,, over the years,,,
I would like to see the number that was followed by
Project Pace...
“is it a solder serving anywhere during the vietnam war?
is it a soldier stationed anywhere NOT in the continental US during the vietnam war?”
My dad was drafted and served in Germany during the war. I’m sure he’d say he isn’t a Vietnam Vet (and I sure am glad he didn’t go, not that I wouldn’t be proud, but only because of the decreased likelihood that I’d have ever been born).
“A soldier sitting in hawaii during a conflict in korea or vietnam is a vet.”
Yes, they are vets, in the sense that people who served during peacetime are vets. But veterans of the war? I don’t care what the military says, I think it’s a misuse of terms to say someone who didn’t either serve in combat or in a forward area, or in support of troops in a forward area (and not indirectly, as in “He held down our position in Germany so that we could fight in Vietnam”; that’s too much of a stretch), is a war vet.
“and alaska and hawaii are considered ‘over-seas’”
That’s just a geographical mistake about Alaska, there. You can get to it overland.
“and the Philippines , Indonesia , Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand stayed free of Communism.”
true but now they’re infested with worse than communism, it’s called Islam.
“Fact: The United States withdrew from Vietnam, Vietnam became and still is a Communist country, and the Philippines , Indonesia , Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand stayed free of Communism.
The domino theory was total BS.”
One could always argue that although we lost, our bombing campaigns and slaughter of millions of people was enough of a deterrent. I don’t agree, but demonstrating our effort failed is not ipso facto proof of the domino theory’s inefficacy.
Besides, it’s definitely not TOTAL BS. What about Cambodia and Laos?
I said they are considered overseas. I didn’t say they are overseas.
And what I said is accurate.
“I think the average joe would only go so far as to differentiate between a ‘vet’ and a ‘combat vet’”
I am an Average Joe, and that’s the distinction I care about.
“I was doing no good in college and had no idea what I wanted to do and Uncle Sam was paying for a trip to an exotic place”
That reminds me of the old Army slogan: “Join the Army, See the World,” which was once parodied as: “Join the Army and See...the Opposing Army!”
VietNam vet is one who served in VietNam.
VietNam (era) vet is where the distinction varies and so does the stigma.
The definition of “vietnam vet” is debateable.
is it a soldier serving in a warzone?
~~~
No it is not,,,
It is a member of the Military that was “in country” or
Navy or USAF over or off-shore the country,,,
All others are Vietnam ERA vets,,,
Check with your local VA...
More than one is sitting in the Senate or House.
“I said they are considered overseas. I didn’t say they are overseas”
I wasn’t correcting you, but whoever came up with the terminology. Of course, they could simply be trying to use the simplest terms possible, and far be it from me to force them to make up seperate categories for Hawaii and Alaska (if they must be seperated from the continental U.S. in the first place). But isn’t this what the government does all the time? Ignoring truths, for whatever reason, like Alaska not being over any sea in relation to the continental U.S.
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