Former navy man Harvey Tutauha wants to know whether he can call himself a veteran or not.
He has a chestfull of medals and a certificate of appreciation and lapel pin with the word "veteran" on each of them, but has been refused a Veteran SuperGold Card.
"If they're not going to classify me as a veteran, how do I go about sending the medals back?" he wants to know.
The Hawera man turned 65 in April. He was refused the veteran card because he didn't fit the new definition for veteran in the Veterans' Support Act 2014.
It lists operational services that "qualify" a person for that label - those that are war or war-like situations. The act has a long-list that includes peacekeeping missions, the Berlin Airlift and observing French nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll.