I was drafted, then I enlisted. According to you, that makes me a veteran but not a patriot. It makes you a jerk but not a nice person. I expected to go to Vietnam as a communications tech. Half my radio class did just that, and were under fire. I lucked out. You volunteered for the navy and you say you were Vietnam ERA. I was too. I assume you expected no combat in the navy, since North Vietnam had no cruisers. I took more of a risk than you did.