Do you think the average joe really recognizes that “vietnam ERA vet” is a different label than “vietnam vet”?
I don’t.
I think the average joe would only go so far as to differentiate between a “vet” and a “combat vet”.
“...well no, I’m not a COMBAT vet, but I’m still a vietnam veteran”
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.
“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.