Can a person who spent all their military service time as an office clerk on base- in Vietnam- refer to themself as Vietnam Combat veteran?

Only Al Gore was a combat vet. He an John Kerry saw so much heavy combat that they had to leave after only a few months in-country.

Patton Claimed he was at the Battle of the Bulge when he was in a Hotel in Luxemburg City 86 klm away

Working behind a desk does not anybody a combat veteran more like

a pen pusher.

I have heard of Vietnam Veterans that deployed to the to the DEMOCRAT MILITARY WEAPONS MANUFACTURERS.

Never saw/heard of a Vietnam Combat Veteran license plate?

Where are these ISSUED, 

UNCLE HO????????????

If you were in country  , and pushed papers in hostile territory..... you very well might qualify for the Combat designation.  Your base might have been under constant attack...you may have been called to defend it on occasion. 

You can't just flat out dismiss the claim.....any more than you can just readily accept it....without some facts and evidence. 

There probably isn't a war movie made, where there's always that one guy......the Navy Corpsman, the clerk, the photographer,   .....who swears he's NOT there to fight and kill.......but then finds himself in a situation, where he's forced to pick up the damn gun, and defend himself or his buddies, or the base..----and ultimately ,  has to kill someone. 

They Can't.  But they can claim to be a Vietnam Veteran,  but not a COMBAT Veteran, unless they actually have the Combat Action Ribbon.

I fall into that Category.    I spent Nine Months in Saigon on Staff Duty, so I am not a Combat Veteran.

You can claim flat out lies. 

Not even an office clerk served a full tour in Vietnam without seeing any combat.

I personally know someone that ran the secure communications center at an area headquarters and was in direct combat at times.

Vietnam vet, yes.  combat?  no.

If they have a combat ribbon they are a combat veteran or the branch of service they served in counter part.

Keep in mind that conflict had no real front lines.

So any way it would take a look at the persons DD-214 to say yes or no.

They can refer to themselves as a battle of Bull Run veteran.