50 signatures reached
To: US Congressman Morgan Luttrell
VA's misguided Vietnam Headstone policy
Current VA Vietnam Headstone policy allows "VIETNAM" to be engraved on headstones of any veteran who served anywhere during 1964 to 1975.
1. This causes confusion. Almost everybody, myself included just assumed that
everybody with VIETNAM on his/her head-
stone actually served IN Vietnam. Not true.
2. This bestows an undeserved honor on
Veterans who never served in Vietnam
during the Vietnam War.
3. This cheapens the service of Veterans who
actually served IN Vietnam during the
Vietnam War.
A solution is to correct or amend the current VA Vietnam Veteran Headstone policy to mandate engraving VIETNAM WAR on headstones of Veterans who served IN Vietnam or Vietnam coastal waters during the Vietnam War. Engrave VIETNAM ERA on the headstones of Veterans who served somewhere else during the Vietnam War (like stateside, Japan, Germany, etc.). In otherwords, if the Veteran received the Vietnam Service Medal and is documented on the Veteran's DD-214, he/she would have VIETNAM WAR engraved on his/her Headstone. All others would get VIETNAM ERA engraved on their headstones.
OR, continue placing VIETNAM on headstones of deceased Veterans who actually served in Vietnam and stop putting VIETNAN on headstones of deceased Veterans who never served in Vietnam.
This would give proper recognition to all deceased Veterans of the Vietnam War Era and eliminate confusion. Serving in Hawaii or Germany was not the same experience as serving in Vietnam during that era.
1. This causes confusion. Almost everybody, myself included just assumed that
everybody with VIETNAM on his/her head-
stone actually served IN Vietnam. Not true.
2. This bestows an undeserved honor on
Veterans who never served in Vietnam
during the Vietnam War.
3. This cheapens the service of Veterans who
actually served IN Vietnam during the
Vietnam War.
A solution is to correct or amend the current VA Vietnam Veteran Headstone policy to mandate engraving VIETNAM WAR on headstones of Veterans who served IN Vietnam or Vietnam coastal waters during the Vietnam War. Engrave VIETNAM ERA on the headstones of Veterans who served somewhere else during the Vietnam War (like stateside, Japan, Germany, etc.). In otherwords, if the Veteran received the Vietnam Service Medal and is documented on the Veteran's DD-214, he/she would have VIETNAM WAR engraved on his/her Headstone. All others would get VIETNAM ERA engraved on their headstones.
OR, continue placing VIETNAM on headstones of deceased Veterans who actually served in Vietnam and stop putting VIETNAN on headstones of deceased Veterans who never served in Vietnam.
This would give proper recognition to all deceased Veterans of the Vietnam War Era and eliminate confusion. Serving in Hawaii or Germany was not the same experience as serving in Vietnam during that era.
Why is this important?
To give proper recognition to deceased Veterans who actually served IN Vietnam.
To differentiate between Veterans who served IN Vietnam during the Vietnam War and Veterans who did not, but served during that era.
To eliminate confusion.
To correctly record for historical purposes as these headstones will be a historical record engraved in stone and will be around for a couple of hundred years.
To differentiate between Veterans who served IN Vietnam during the Vietnam War and Veterans who did not, but served during that era.
To eliminate confusion.
To correctly record for historical purposes as these headstones will be a historical record engraved in stone and will be around for a couple of hundred years.