Letter: 'Vietnam-era veteran' label a slap in the face

My father and six of his brothers served in either World War II or Korea. Some of them went overseas, some did not. When they all returned home, they were considered either World War II or Korean War veterans. There was no mention of eras or whether they served "in country" or not. They were all welcomed home as veterans.

Now to my gripe. I proudly served my country during the Vietnam conflict/war. I and many of my fellow service members who did not go to Vietnam were only a set of orders being handed to us from going to that conflict.

I feel I have been slapped in the face because the VFW says I cannot be a full member of their organization since I didn't serve "in country" and am only considered a Vietnam era veteran. I assume this applies to all the men and women who also served in the many other countries where we had troops stationed during that time.

As my job in the service, I wrote casualty reports, which on occasion required me to talk directly to the parents, wives and other relatives of the service members and sometimes the service members themselves. I am sure many of them would consider me a veteran and not an "era" veteran as I am now known. I am proud of the job I did.

Sadly, I will no longer be contributing to the VFW and will instead continue my support of the AMVETS and Paralyzed Veterans organizations.

I don't know where this "era" designation came from, but I think it should be abandoned. Does this also apply to all the conflicts/wars we have been in since?

I know this may seem petty, but I had to get this out of me.

Alan A. Cukla

Carpentersville