You're on the right track here.
The US military in the world wars was overwhelmingly civilians in uniform for the duration. Serving in uniform became a status symbol during World War I, exemplified by the service flag each family hung in their window, which was repeated in World War II. The red and white flag with the blue star did not differentiate between servicemen and women serving at home or overseas. A member who died while in service had a gold star on the flag to replace the blue, and again there was no differentiation as to location or manner of death. The sacrifices of all were equal. This status was so important that Congress codified the practice, in essence licensing the manufacture and designating who was authorized to display.
The huge military described in the above post has often been characterized as a spear, with the fighting man at the "sharp end of the spear." It was not so much that the resources were not there for everyone to serve overseas, but that the spear was mostly a support organization to maximize efficiency for a war machine fighting globally. More than half of the military served in the continental United States (CONUS now, Zone of the Interior--ZI--then), as training cadre, in home defense units, transportation organizations, in procurement, in a plethora of staff and desk positions. Likewise, of the those that did serve overseas, most of those served in similar functions. It was said that for every fighting man there were nine who supported him and never saw the front.
"Serving overseas" was a means by which families of those at the sharp end could recognize the additional hardship without demeaning those who didn't. It became the most common expression used for that recognition. This continued after the war when the military demobilized the civilians in uniform. They returned to a life where being in uniform no longer had status and used the expression as a reminder that whatever capacity they served in, they (and their families) sacrificed more than those who remained behind.
We know that Bob Hunter served in the South Pacific which at minimum exposed him to serious diseases such as malaria. The late Michael Tanner did not.
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