I wouldn't call this guy a liar, but he's certainly trying to create a false impression:
The national commander of the American Legion never served in Vietnam although he describes himself as a "Vietnam veteran," a newspaper reported Sunday.
Paul Morin, who was elected Aug. 31 to a one-year term as commander of the nation's largest veterans organization, spent his time in the Army from 1972 to 1974 at Fort Dix, N.J., The Boston Sunday Globe reported.
Neither the federal government nor the 2.7 million-member American Legion makes a formal distinction between veterans who served in Vietnam and those known as "Vietnam-era" veterans.
"I am a Vietnam veteran," Morin, of Chicopee, Mass., told the newspaper. His biography on the Legion's Web site also describes Morin as a "Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Army."
The Legion's top spokesman, Joe March, backed Morin's position. He said any current service member stationed in the United States at present could claim to be an Iraq war veteran.
Maybe the Legion and the federal government don't make a distinction between "Vietnam veteran" and "Vietnam-era veteran," but veterans do. Whenever they get together and one says, "I'm a Vietnam vet," the first question always is, "Where did you serve?" "New Jersey" is not an acceptable answer. It's interesting to note that before he sought the national commander's post, Morin did refer to himself as a "Vietnam-era veteran." Just another case of a politician saying whatever he thinks he needs to in order to get elected.
