Thank you for that question, Rachel.
The difference in commemoration is rather large. I understand why, and I actually agree with it in some levels. During my service career, I had five different tours, one of which I think qualifies me to be reidentified as a wartime service veteran, and for the other four, I'd be happy with my special duty service designation. Currently, all five of them are designated as “special duty area” service.
This country, rightly so, has put a lot of focus on the sacrifices and the military history—and for extremely important reasons—of their wartime service veterans. I had the good fortune to be posted to SHAPE in Belgium for three years. I was basically on the French-Belgian battlefield sites within a couple of hours' drive, so I made it a personal goal to go visit all the cemeteries and to go to Vimy Ridge. The experience made me feel extremely small. I really don't know if I would have had the courage to do what those soldiers before me did, but it was my way of paying homage to their service.
As I'm speaking about this, I'm getting chills up my back.