On Memorial Day, 2012, President Barack Obama gave a speech honoring Vietnam veterans. Read the speech carefully. Let us tell the story of a generation of servicemembers -- every color, every creed, rich, poor, officer and enlisted -- who served with just as much patriotism and honor as any before you. Let’s never forget that most of those who served in Vietnam did so by choice. So many of you volunteered. Your country was at war, and you said, "send me.” That includes our women in Vietnam -- every one of you a volunteer. Those who were drafted, they, too, went and carried their burden -- you served; you did your duty. You persevered though some of the most brutal conditions ever faced by Americans in war. The suffocating heat. The drenching monsoon rains.�An enemy that could come out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly. Some of the most intense urban combat in history, and battles for a single hill that could rage for weeks. … So let us also speak of your courage -- at Hue and Khe Sanh, at Tan Son Nhut and Saigon, from Hamburger Hill to Rolling Thunder. All too often it's forgotten that you, our troops in Vietnam, won every major battle you fought in. ––President Barack Obama 2012 What does President Obama say about those who served in Vietnam? Most, including all women, were volunteers. Most were drafted into service, but still did their duty. There was not much diversity among those who served.