[Travis McGee]

In the video link up at 17, Chief Stolen Valor calls himself a Vietnam veteran. (Not era, time, etc.)

And he says he served in the Marines from 72 to 76. This indicates to me his boot camp and training was in 72, so no way was he in VN.

It’s not possible he was an embassy Marine, they didn’t put teenage FNGs on Embassy duty.

[Bell Bouy II]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Era

[Widget Jr]

From the link in post #26: "Lance Cpl. John Stewart, now 58, of Nacogdoches, Texas, was assigned to take a bus through Saigon to pick up those eligible to leave. He was 18 and had only been in the country a couple of weeks"

Then there's Stewart on PBS:

"Lance Corporal John Stewart, U.S. Marine Corps

“I had come to Vietnam for the first time eight days before the fall. I was 18 years old, and like all MSG’s I fell under the State Department. They needed bodies that could help process evacuations..."

It is theoretically possible that Phillips was a 18 year old marine in Vietnam, outside of a combat unit. Not likely, but possible.