a question for military people

[Kurby]

can you call yourself a vet of a war if you don't actually see action?

it's a question here since a WW1 vet was too young to actually join and before he saw action it was found out and he was sent away for training and the war ended long before he would have been legal age to join


so does that make him a vet because he was actually over there in a different country or is he not because he was too young to join in the first place - got caught and instead of sending him home they sent him for "training"


i think we're confused on what makes you a vet of a war -

i think you have to actually serve in the action be it fighting or pealing potatoes or doing paperwork your still serving but if your in another country your serving in the military but not that war so are you still a vet of that war?

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Generally speaking, those who serve during war time but do not see active combat refer to themselves as >>>>> War Era Veteran. "Vietnam War Era Veteran."

Being a veteran of the military does not automatically mean you've seen active combat.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm not sure your answer as it is a curious question.

If he did not join the military until AFTER the war ended, that pretty much answers the question for that specific war.

The closest thing I could find was through the VFW...


To be eligible for membership in the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), the criteria is:
http://www.joinvfw.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=

Eligibility:
• Must be a US citizen
• Must be currently in the US military or have an honorable discharge

• Must have served overseas during a conflict for which you received an expeditionary medal, a campaign medal or ribbon, or imminent danger/hostile fire pay

and/or


• Received the SSBN Deterrent Patrol Insignia, the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), the Combat Medic Badge (CMB), the Combat Action Ribbon (CAR), the Combat Action Badge (CAB), the Air Force Combat Action Medal (AFCAM), or Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon (with Gold Border)

and/or


• Served 30 consecutive days duty in Korea or 60 days of non-consecutive duty in Korea

and/or


• Be currently deployed in an area that qualifies for VFW membership

 

[ginna74]

can you call yourself a vet of a war if you don't actually see action?

it's a question here since a WW1 vet was too young to actually join and before he saw action it was found out and he was sent away for training and the war ended long before he would have been legal age to join


so does that make him a vet because he was actually over there in a different country or is he not because he was too young to join in the first place - got caught and instead of sending him home they sent him for "training"


i think we're confused on what makes you a vet of a war -

i think you have to actually serve in the action be it fighting or pealing potatoes or doing paperwork your still serving but if your in another country your serving in the military but not that war so are you still a vet of that war?

Well you are a veteran no matter if you see war or not. You are a veteran of the "era" if you were in during the war time like "gulf war era veteran" but never saw action. Right now if you go to Iraq or Afghanistan you will be a war veteran no matter what you do. It will show on your dd 2 14 as to what you participated in as well.

 

[suejai]

I think I know what you are referring too Kurby. Are you Canadian? And talking about the last WWI vet that just passed away? He joined when he was 14 or 15 managed to make it to the front or close to the front but was discovered to be too young for service and brought back to England before he ever saw action. He did join before the war ended but served his time in a unit made up of boys who had been deemed too young to fight. Although some actually did see action before they were discovered. Hope that all made sense.

I think that as long as you were serving/deployed in the theatre of war then you can be considered a veteran of that war. England was the holding and training area for the war so I guess they can stretch a point to include them.

 

[Kurby]

yes - that's who i'm talking about - a lot of info has come out about him that has raised questions and that was one of the biggest i had - him being way too young and never actually serving


i wonder if they had sent him home if he'd still have been considered.

very interesting info though - he gave up canadian citizenship when he was about 20, became an american and served in the us military for years then didn't return and regain canadian status until he was 107 - he died 18 months later.

we can't even come up with a reason why he would even bother

 

[MichelleinMaine]

The closest thing I could find was through the VFW...

The VFW drives me nuts with its rules for eligiblity. My FIL was in the air force for 28 years, from Viet Nam and the first Gulf War. Because of his job, he was never actually in-country. VFW won't let him join.

To answer OP, I say anyone who was in a branch of the military during a war is a veteran of that war.