Reply #85: You are classified as a Vietnam Era vet if you left service in 65.

[MADem]

It's simply a categorization tool used by DOD to identify veterans who served at a specific period.

They use the term to distinguish between people like you, who served during Vietnam, and people who were WW2 era, Korean War era, and AVF (all volunteer force) personnel, who came in after they stopped using the draft.

The ear thing you signed may simply have been an "I've been told, I know about this" acknowledgement. You'd want that piece of paper if you decided to try for a disability compensation.