Sometimes the military itself aids in the delusions of it's members. For instance, I know a Vietnam era Navy guy who was credited with being in a combat zone, but was never any closer to Vietnam than 10 miles off shore. But he has that ribbon to help with his stories.
I know an USAF enlisted desk jockey who was allowed a ride on a cargo plane that made a drop in the desert during the first gulf war. Plane never even came to a complete stop, yet he was credited with having been in the war zone on his records. A couple of minutes over the runway and he's a war hero. He is now an officer in the local VFW.
I myself have many stories of my service time during the Vietnam War. However, many of my stories are funny and some are down right embarrassing. The closest I got to Nam was Turkey and I still deal with some guilt over all the fun I was having while others were being shot at. Best, most fun time of my life!
Ya know, all of us who served had two things in common...
we went were we were sent... and we did the job we were trained to do...
We all can't be combat heroes...
At the same time, many who did serve in combat, are the heroes to those of us who did serve
but didn't have to get shot at...
Some of the biggest down to earth heroes you ever could meet, and the silent guys who acknowledge putting
it all on the line in a combat zone... but come out of it with the attitude, we did what we had to do...
I've got a lot of friends on the campfire here who have served, and I'll admit, most don't have a clue
of how much respect I have for them... and how much a hero they are to me personally.
and others, are just local heroes... EMTs, Paramedics, Firefighters or Firemen...LEOs...
Anyone who has served their community, state, our country have my sincere gratitude....
