Question:
Hello, My Dad served in the Marines from 1958-1962. He passed away this year and the National Cemetery provided his grave marker which states "Vietnam". I asked them to remove this as he never served in or near Vietnam or in wartime, and he would never have considered himself a Vietnam era veteran. They state their policy is the dates 1961-1975 with the verbiage "inclusive. in the case of a vet who served in Vietnam during that period". Wouldn't that mean my dad, who served in that period, but not in Vietnam, should not have Vietnam indicated on his marker? Thank you for any clarification you can provide.
Jim's Reply:
The Department of Veterans Affairs...the VA...is much like the military in that it runs on acronyms and abbreviated phrases. When space may be limited, as on a grave marker, abbreviations are the rule.
The federal government says that the Vietnam era began February 28, 1961, and ended on May 7, 1975 and anyone who served in Vietnam during that time is a Vietnam veteran. The era of the veteran who didn't serve with boots on the ground in Vietnam being called a "Vietnam era veteran" technically begins August 5, 1964 ending on May 7, 1975.
You'll find other examples here of how VA abbreviates headstones, for example if the vet served anywhere during WWII it simply says WWII.
It appears you would have a case for seeking a correction of the marker if you feel strongly about it. I'm never quite sure how to answer these and similar questions when VA makes what appears to be an error on a marker and a family member wants it corrected on behalf of the deceased veteran because they're sure the veteran would want it this way.
He served as a Marine during what was the beginning of a war that took tens of thousands of American lives. Whether or not he set boots on the ground in Vietnam you can bet he was aware of it and he was somehow involved in supporting the effort from CONUS. Keep in mind that just because he never spoke of any involvement doesn't mean it didn't happen. America's role back then was fairly dark with a lot of clandestine "advisory" work being done.
I'm a Vietnam era vet myself, I served in Germany my entire tour of duty 1967-1970. I never set foot on the soil of Vietnam but I was as involved in it as everyone else in the military with the training of new troops and care (I was a medic) of wounded outside Vietnam.
That war was real and deeply personal to everyone who served then. I'd vote to leave it alone.