Vietnam vet stripped of specialty licence plate

A Winnipeg war veteran is fighting to keep his specialty veteran’s licence plate.

Ron Parkes, 71, joined the U.S. army when he was 19 and was later sent to fight in Vietnam in 1965. He has veteran’s red poppy licence plates on his car but was recently told he has to give them back because he didn’t serve in a Canadian unit.

“We feel we deserve them,” Parkes said. “We’re honourably discharged veterans, we’re Canadians, we served with honour. We fought against communist aggression, which was the enemy in the 1960s.”

The province announced special licence plates for veterans in 2004 and put the Royal Canadian Legion in charge of deciding who can get them.

At first, Vietnam vets were not entitled to the plates, since they hadn’t served in the Canadian Forces. Canada did not officially participate in the U.S. war against communist forces in Vietnam, but tens of thousands of Canadians crossed the border to enlist in U.S. forces.

In 2012, Parkes said, the Royal Canadian Legion changed its eligibility rules for veterans’ licence plates to include those who fought with the U.S. army.

“If we had served three years and had an honourable discharge, it’s the same requirements for the Canadian Armed Forces, we would be allowed the plates,” said Parkes.

Earlier this month, Parkes received a letter from the Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Command stating an error had been made and his specialty plate is being recalled. He knows of one other Vietnam veteran in Winnipeg who also received a letter.

“We decided we’re going to argue against having to give our plates up,” he said.

Veterans who fought in Vietnam and are living in Ontario are eligible for veteran plates. Parkes said it’s unclear why veterans in Ontario would still receive the plate, while those here do not.