I dropped out after my Rat Year at VMI, killed termites for a year, then volunteered - no idea why, lottery number probably would have been OK. Came from a seafaring family, mostly Navy, so I enlisted there in ‘72. Had always admired the stories of the Corpsmen, so I signed up there.
First ship a sub tender - boring: swapped with a guy in the Gator Fleet on an LST, made two West Pac cruises, the first one including action off the coasts of Cambodia and Vietnam when they fell - three months of hostile fire pay, Combat Action Ribbon and such, but never really felt the right to call myself a Vietnam Vet without having been in country. Others might disagree, but that's just my personal take on things.
The guys who were “in country” were the real VN Vets, IMO, and it never bothered me that I got no thanks or honor when I came home. I never counted myself among them, nor thought much of my “service” to the country until a rally in a small, largely Hispanic town in northern New Mexico right after 9/11.
They asked all the Veterans in the crowd to come up on the stage, where we all got enormous applause, which was nice. But as I again left the stage to resume my place in the crowd people just kept coming up to me and embracing me and thanking me tearfully for my service. It went on for a long time, and I couldn't stop crying.
I still tear up thinking about it, that someone, anyone, especially Americans from a different ethnic group, ever bothered to personally thank me, even years later, and even though I did so little compared to others. I pass the thanks I received on to you vets who really deserved it.
I got choked up reading your post.
Thank you for your service, Dag. You’ve earned all of our thanks because you were there, and you would have done whatever your country asked of you. That’s enough for us.
Same here. Turning circles on the gun line and bobbing up and down at Point Yankee wasn't really the same experience as slogging through the rice paddies, and my very best to those who did.
"What Is A Vietnam Veteran?" Old. ROTFLMAO!
We used to call the National Defense Medal I received in 1991 as the DOD Award (Defender of the Drydock) or the CNN Award for watching the Gulf War on tv. Like you I just did my job, crossed the arctic circle, passed through the Straits of Gibralter and never felt like I’d done anything special.
20 years later I appreciate our military and the people serving in it far more than I ever did when I wore the uniform.
“never really felt the right to call myself a Vietnam Vet without having been in country.”
Same here, even though we ferried the first helicopters and troops, back in 1962. When Princeton was relieved, we circled Okinawa for three days - Hanoi or home. To this day, I regret that we came home.
I might not have survived, but so many others might have. Especially USMC Corporal (E-4)Larry King KIA Quang Tin, South Vietnam Sept 28, 1965. Friend, classmate and hero.
but never really felt the right to call myself a Vietnam Vet without having been in country. Others might disagree, but that’s just my personal take on things.
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A lot of us had that same ‘attitude’. I was over ‘there’ very early, in fact leaving in 1962 to go to Submarine School.
I believe the term ‘Vietnam ERA Vet’ was coined for this reason, those that felt the real Vietnam Vets were in country etc but as usual, the libs turned the phrase around to make it seem we were ‘ashamed’ to be associated with Vietnam. Of course this was before ‘they’ thought it was fashionable to be a Vietnam Vet. (Think kerry)
I was awarded VSM with star for duties done in and around Vietnam and although I will acknowledge myself as VN Vet, I kind of get out of the conversation when the ‘real troops’ are reminiscing.