MR I MAJOR, of Great George Street, Leeds, writes:

How very sad that highly decorated and distinguished war hero Robert Mitchell has received so much adverse publicity over his military career and brave exploits while serving in Vietnam and is having trouble convincing his doubters, following the removal of a bullet from his leg after 40 years.

All military personnel, both ex and serving, are united in their abhorrence and contempt of anyone claiming decorations to which they are not entitled.

While those who are entitled would received nothing but loyalty, admiration and support of all their comrades.

It was, of course, a criminal offence under Section 197 of the Army Act 1955 to bear or falsely represent oneself to be entitled to such decorations and could have been reported to the police for investigation by any member of the public.

It is unclear whether it remains an offence, since the Army Act was superseded by the Armed Forces Act 2006.

However, it is quite easy to obtain all the evidence Mr Mitchell requires and shame his doubters into issuing their apologies and put an end to the matter.

Mr Mitchell says he has unfortunately lost both his discharge papers and the citation for the Distinguished Service Medal – due to a rat infestation – and so will no doubt be relieved to learn that duplicate copies of his service records are available free of charge from: RN Disclosure Cell, Room 48, West Battery, Whale Island, Portsmouth PO2 8DX. All he will require is his service number, which no one ever forgets, and proof of ID.

Medal entitlements can be obtained from Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency, Joint Personnel Administration Centre, Ministry of Defence Medal Office, Building 250, Royal Air Force Innsworth, Gloucester GL3 1HW.

Could it be, however, that the bullet removed and shown on the chain has been in Mr Mitchells leg longer than 40 years – for even he says he is not entirely sure how it got there?

You see, the bullet looks very much like a 303 calibre, complete with rifling crimping fins, which are usually less pronounced once it has been discharged.

The 303 rifle, Lee-Enfield, was replaced to all British regulars in 1957 by the standard Nato SLR, self-loading rifle, which fired a 7.62mm calibre bullet. Albeit the 'old' Lee Enfield was still in use by some territorial units up until 1962.

The Viet-Cong used type 56 assault rifles which were abundantly supplied by the People's Republic of China and is a Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov AK47 – often termed the Widowmaker – and also used 7.62 calibre ammunition during the Vietnam War.

The Minstry of Defence has never admitted to having an active presence in the Vietnam conflict, which doesn't help Mr Mitchell either, though some chaps from a Hereford-based unit 'may' have been there in an advisory capacity; but I have no recollection of any Green tops – Royal Marine Commandos.

It must have all been very very hush-hush, hence Mr Mitchell's dilemma.