How do you feel if you never participated in combat?

It doesn't matter what you did in Vietnam. What matters is that whatever you were assigned to do, you did it without question. As everyone knows, coming out of boot camp, we didn't have a choice of what our MOS was going to be. Hell, I was a very good horn , bugle and trumpet, player and I honestly thought that I would have a chance to play in the USMC Drum & Bugle Corps, the Commandants Own. Well that didn't happen until I was being released from Active Duty. Out of boot camp my MOS was 0311 and because of that, I was attached to a Combat Unit, Bravo 1/3, out of Quang Tri Province in northern I Corps. It was March 1969 when I arrived in Vietnam and things were heating up at a very fast pace. I stayed with Bravo Co until the 3rd Marine Division was ordered to Stand Down and the Battalion was sent back home. During this deployment, we saw our share of firefights and let me tell you that at times, I was scarred shitless. The only thing that I knew is that no matter what, I was going to come back home to the World. There was no doubt in my mind about that. I did what I was told to do without question and I listened to the advice of my squad leader and others that had more time in the bush. I quickly was promoted and became the assistant squad leader and I carried a 45 and the M79 (blooper). Believe me, that saved my butt so many times. I stayed in Vietnam and was re-assigned to Fox 2/1 south od Da Nang. Again, another Combat Unit. I did what I was told and soon was promoted to Corporal and was a squad leader. I left Vietnam in August of 70 at the rank of Sergeant and again, it was because I followed orders and listened to my superiors. Anyway, the long ad the short f it is that no one, not one person who ever went to Vietnam should feel badly because they didn't see action or combat. Just being assigned to that hell hole was enough. Hell, how many idiots left the US and went to Canada because they didn't want to go to Vietnam? It was the pick of the drawer and as long as you served honorably and did your duty to the best of your ability, that is what it's all about. We all had a job to do and as long as you did your job, that is all that counts.
BTW, before mustering out of the Corps, I was given the opportunity to play in the US Marine Drum & Bugle Corps and it was all because of a SgtMaj, who was in my Combat Unit. He made sure that because of my Service to the Corps, that I would get the opportunity to play my horn again. That was, without a doubt, the greatest and proudest moment of my life. SF!

When I deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2010, I was armed with an M9 and an M4. We convoyed outside of the wire to an ANA Fielding Depot every morning and returned every evening. Granted, I wasn't an active combatant, but the potential for sniper fire and IEDs was always there. In fact, there were plenty of each occurring fairly regularly - just not to me or my team of Soldiers and Airmen.
I do have the "what ifs" bounce around in my head from time to time, but the overarching feeling that emerges is thankfulness for a productive and somewhat safe tour.

Regardless of what you did in country, you were still in harms way. Regardless of how close or far it was. I served two combat deployments to afghan and came home without a combat action ribbon. Now being in the infantry it has that culture that I did "nothing" on my deployments when in fact I was out patrolling every day, received indirect fire, and inaccurate machine gun fire. I've woken up to ak shots and have been as close as 5 feet to an rcied before realizing it was that. It's been stupid meeting other grunts who think I skated on my deployments but I was always blessed to know I came home with my brothers . Since then I've met some humble guys who've told me, it's a 98 cent piece of fabric . It's worthless. The what ifs will only take away from the fact that you did what was right when it was needed. What matters is that everyone as a whole gave their 110% when it was needed.