Rear-Echelon Positions
Marc Leepson, an Army clerk in a personnel services unit, says that after the war people who didn’t serve and even some veterans contended that the service of rear-echelon troops (like clerks, cooks and truck drivers) was inferior to that of “combat veterans,” even though troops in the rear also came under fire and were killed. He suggests that veterans and the public should stop using the term “combat veteran” and instead simply say “Vietnam veteran.”
I take issue with the views expressed in the article “What did you do in Vietnam?” by Mark Leepson (Reflections, October 2019). Vietnam Veterans, including me, are very grateful to all support personnel who served in the war. However, it is absurd to suggest that the term “combat veteran” be stripped from those who suffered through extensive combat experiences.
The differences in physical and
