You're right. And members of the Armed Services who spent the years 1941 to 1945 typing toilet paper requisitions in New Jersey were considered WWII vets for the purposes of joining the American Legion.
I'm not surprised that the AP would make a big deal out of it, but I'm very disappointed that so few Freepers seem to know this.
Here's the memory ~ two things in one day. I arrived downtown near Independence avenue and parked. Walked over a block and found the parade. I went on an adrenalin high for the next week ~ in the meantime I picked up the book that named all the dead guys and went through it, every single page, in one evening and identifed 14 fellows, including my best friend, who died there.
So, I still don't call myself anything, but something definitely happened.
This is the first time I have ever heard such a statement. Matter of fact I served in the Air Force from 1963 to 1967 and not once have I referred to myself (and wouldn't in repect to actual Vietnam vets like my brother)or been referred to as a Vietnam vet. To top it off, when I got out of the service I applied for membership in the VFW and was denied because I was not a "Vietnam" vet. However, years later when their membership started declining they sent me a membership application. You can imagine where that went.
As I recall, the only requirement to join the American Legion is you must have served at least one of active duty during a time of war. The specific dates are on their web site. No need to have been in a combat zone. AmVets is even easier...one day of AD, period. The VFW makes it harder, but I do have an issue with them allowing anyone who served a tour there eating kimchee and visiting all those ally establishments during what is really a time of peace. I personally would be too embarrassed to join the VFW if my only qualification was spending a year in South Korea living the good life.
I was wondering if anyone was going to bring up that point. It seems that people who served in the Vietnam "Era" but not actually in Vietnam, (such as myself), are always going to be stigmatized ad infinitum as no other veterans of previous wars ever were. And the ones who love to do it most are the "REAL" Vietnam vets.
That being said, I don't think that Commander Morin is doing the right thing here. But then, he is from Massachusetts. I wonder what Cleland's excuse is. Maybe he's just dumb as a board as someone suggested earlier.