See all 6 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Dec 20, 2017 the stolen valor community takes itself very, very seriously. Weve put together a list of the top 5 most outrageous stolen valor incidents. Lbjs medal for valour was sham world news the guardian. Leading that charge was another survival show reality star. Dale claims to have served for nine 9 years in the raaf in 1973 and discharged in march 1982 to pursue a career in business. Fake general denies fraud after donning medals houston. Army investigating we were soldiers legend for inflating awards. The stolen valor act of 2005, signed into law by president george w. True stories of liars in violation of the stolen valor act.
Teti levied a lawsuit against these 5 defendants stating that they had defamed him for calling him a liar about many of his military claims. Military lies are harmful to actual veterans share this. Real veterans dont advertise their deeds and claim unbelievable acts of heroism. The claim of both the silver star and the purple heart may put foley in direct conflict with the federal stolen valor act of 20. It doesnt help, though that, even then, he would make the distinction to reporters that he was a real marine, like in a march 1981 washington evening star. Usmc stolen valor points out fraudulent citizens that claim they have earned the title of marine. We read or hear much about the false heroes and veterans claiming honors that they never earned. The stolen valor act of 2005 makes it a federal crime to claim unearned military honors. The term is taken from a 1998 book by vietnam veteran b. They want us all to stay six feet apart because covid.
There was a proposed 6 star general rank which was posthumously awarded to george washington so that no man may ever outrank him. As a 14 star general, i assure you that 17 stars will not fit on a hat. If the claims by leroy foley were used to leverage work, military or civilian promotions, or anything else of value, he may have been in violation of stolen valor laws. Burkett, a vietnam veteran, and glenna whitley, an investigative journalist. A book was written about nguyens heroism by william charles anderson. You may enjoy reading this study by a bunch of eggheads. Mar 09, 2010 stolen valor offensive, but is it criminal. A trio of stolen valor phonies the american legions burnpit. James craig doc glynn us army green beret medic, msg, distinguished service cross, 2 silver stars, 10 bronze star medals, 9 purple hearts, blog of shame 14. If prince charles, 69, were an american, he would be arrested for stolen valor pretending to military service, ranks and awards that he had not earned.
Former staff sergeant expelled from ots over purple heart claims. The six star general insignia never worn by a living general thats kind of dumb, promoting a dead general. Ocasio was later arrested and charged under the stolen valor act. They had just concluded a rare general court martial for that command, attempted murder. Pretenders, liars and frauds claiming military honors they didnt earn. A raleigh man pretended to be an army general heading to a classified briefing and flew in a helicopter to sas in cary, the u. The 2005 stolen valor act, which doug sterners wife, pam, helped draft, made it a crime to falsely claim military decorations, but the supreme court overturned the law in 2012. Slaughter character or even remus, frankly being a valor thief at his peak, when kayfabe was still strong, past a few mid1980s marines. Slaughter well, robert remus, the man behind the wrestling gimmick. Joe teti, formerly on discovery, tucks tail thanks to. All this relentless research burbles up in burketts 692page book, stolen valor, which he wound up having to publish himself verity press, at its web site of. He received the navy cross, the silver star, and two purple hearts for his time as a marine. My goal is to have that one out for the end of the month. It had ended with an acquittal and the entire jag staff was outraged.
In an extensive case of stolen valor and fraud, a man in minnesota now faces a heavy prison sentence. Bronze star, and a combat action medal for his time in vietnam, but, when the commander of a marine corps league checked the list of award recipients online, ocasios name was absent. Apr 09, 2015 jonson also said he was a prisoner of war during vietnam, a green beret, and had received both the distinguished flying cross and the silver star. Stolen valor will now get you up to a year in the slammer. Lying about military service not uncommon, rarely prosecuted. The 20 law increased the maximum jail time to one year in prison, up from the previous six month maximum established by the stolen valor act of 2005. Fake general denies fraud after donning medals fake general. Im working on the star engine, this month, which is the seventh book of the shadow space chronicles.
How the vietnam generation was robbed of its heroes and its history 1998 is a selfpublished book by b. Man who wore fake military medals challenges stolen valor. Part of the stolen valor law was struck down by the supreme court who said it was a violation of freedom of speech to arrest and prosecute those who wore unauthorized medals without criminal intent. Today, on his unusual awards series, he pays homage to several military working dogs. Jun 14, 2017 anderson may be the countrys most prominent stolen valor detective. Home of heroes does not have access to individual military personnel records and is unable to research stolen valor. Wearing fake stuff wearing a ranger tab, special forces tab, those things are hard.
This great site exposes and shames fake heroes and it is great that these scumbags can now be sent to prison. Fraudulently claiming military service or awards there has long been concern over persons who falsely claim to have served in the armed forces, to have been awarded military awards, or to have been members of elite fighting units such as the army rangers, the green berets, or the navy seals. Steve hill had been working as a sergeant loadmaster on c hercules transport aircraft and had finally secured a place on a rotary wing conversion course, to train as a helicopter loadmaster, crewman and door gunner. Meet the countrys most prominent stolen valor detective.
War against stolen valor still raging in colorado, where it got its. Stolen valor the penalty for wearing unauthorized medals of valor has increased from 6 months to a maximum of oneyear confinement along with forfeiture of pay and a badconduct discharge, the. The fake history from a real historian that fooled presidents and publishers. The battle of khe sanh had ended by march 1968six months before yandle left. Ask a group of folks to name a hero from world war ii. Im really excited for this one, its a pretty intense book. He also claims that he joined the army reserve in 2004 or 2005 and was appointed as an officer after graduating from the royal military college duntroon on 25 march 2007 as the oldest graduate in history. The worst is darrial kouhout, a snively little shit. Why its criminal to lie about military honors the atlantic.
Supreme court deemed lying about military service or medals a matter of free speech when in 2012 it struck down the stolen valor act of 2005, signed into law by president george w. In the wake of the supreme court decision, legion past national commander fang a. Guys just leave a got dang like creeeddit to original creators. Mar 23, 2017 stolen valor fake military veterans retired navy. Of course, asswipe dugout doug macarthur wanted to be a six star general, just as he wanted medals for valor that he did not deserve. How the vietnam generation was robbed of its heroes and its history by b. We provide expertise in all forms of stolen valor investigations that take place inside and outside the veteran community. Stolen valor names names and backs up the uncovering of these honor thieves with facts. Jan 06, 2015 for example, the stolen valor facebook page, which exposes people who lie about their military service, has over 370,000 followers. The 75yearold wore his marine dress uniform and played a bugle, according to the patriotnews. Kelsie denise hoover gained national attention in 2015 when she was the first person to be arrested under the stolen valor act of 20.
Guy says he is a colonel, cia, airborne, and a navy seal. She was caught pretending to be a male soldier who had been. Eventually, i would track down his book, stolen valor. Slaughters stolen valor is kayfabe still kayfabe when the lie bleeds over into the wrestlers personal life. Military lies are harmful to actual veterans the denver post. The actual story line of dales book is not as important as the main character he introduces us too. I arrived at my new duty assignment in japan in february, 1972. These fake veterans give a true vet a case of heartburn that can only be remedied by locking the jerks up and losing or throwing away the key. Army investigating we were soldiers legend for inflating. Jun 22, 2017 apparently ive got valor i dont deserve to have. In their book fake warriors, henry and erika holzer estimate that 70. Former staff sergeant expelled from ots over purple heart. Read on mason another in the series of unusual military valor awards, today ill be highlighting the literal dogs of war.
We cannot keep up with the cases sent to us, one member of the group said. Ford took part in a wreathlaying ceremony in pennsylvania. A military impostor is a person who makes false claims about their military service in civilian life. Hawke accuses teti of violating stolen valor laws for, among other. Robert keith english us marine corps force recon, silver star, purple heart, 70 confirmed kills, poser, blog of shame 8. The investigation, which was initiated based on information obtained from a stolen valor website, revealed that in 1979 the defendant falsified military paperwork when he transferred from the navy to the coast guard by adding a silver star, bronze star, five purple hearts, navy seal trident, and numerous other medals of valor and badges to his navy discharge paperwork. See more ideas about veterans discounts, military benefits and women figure. Derek mylan alldred, 47, was sentenced by a federal court to 24 years in prison after he pled guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identify fraud, kare 11 news reported wednesday.
General law part iv, title i, chapter 272, section 106. He claimed to have earned a purple heart and bronze star, among other awards he was never actually awarded. Part 2 robert howard dunn the life long fuck up phony seal. The vietnam vet and twotime bronze star recipient launched a website. Burkett is a retired army officer and financial advisor. Stolen valor, where people impersonate military personnel or exaggerate.
It reveals that numerous people claiming to have been mentally injured by serving in the vietnam war never served there. How the vietnam generation was robbed of its heroes and its history burkett, b. Air force cross, silver star, purple heart, combat infantryman badge, combat action badge, combat medical badge, combat action ribbon or air force combat action medal and obtains money, property or another tangible benefit. Feb 22, 2014 retired navy seal don shipley busts a trio of car salesmen claiming to be navy seals for employment and to impress and they havent earned it. Met a lad on holiday last year claiming he was a bootneck and that he was a firearms teacher and that on prmc his sgt told him he was the fittest lad he had ever seen. It received the colby award for military writers in 2000.
Military experts say falsely claiming to have earned military medals and awards is not an issue of free speech as is being claimed by attorneys for suspects charged with stolen valor. In some cases, stolen valor has involved renting the military service of. The fellow who beat this rap was a decorated sergeant e5 who, after his tour in vietnam had been reassigned to a cush job at the nearby army hospital command. Why this disservice to veterans remains an ongoing problem stolen valor, where people impersonate military personnel or exaggerate their military experience infuriates. Well, hes been known in the stolen valor community for quite some time. Why its criminal to lie about military honors as the supreme court decides whether to uphold the stolen valor act, the public should note the damage that fraudulent veterans have already done. Colorado boulder with a gentleman who claimed to be a general working undercover. Agencies that need to verify valor award recipients should contact the appropriate military service.
In the united states since the early 2000s, the term stolen valor has become popular slang for this kind of behavior, so named for the 1998 book of that name. Top 5 most outrageous stolen valor incidents the sitrep. Had the honor and privilege to sail and serve with the marines several times back in the 70 and 80s and would do it again if i could. The awards include the medal of honor, distinguished service cross, silver star, purple heart, combat action ribbon or medal, and more. Army veteran faces federal prison time, fines for stolen valor and. Posts about fake marine written by militaryphonies. Navy, finished buds in 1988 which implies us navy seal, blog of shame. Section 53378 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof effective october 1, 2014. According to wikipedia the highest military rank is a general of the army or 5 star general. Fake marine, force recon, military phonies, military phony, rob goins, robert goins, stolen valor, usmc. There exists out there in the digital ether scores of youtube videos taken in a. Its like the british, who will dig up dead criminals and hang their rotted bodies.
Several states have stolen valor laws on the books, including alabama, massachusetts, new jersey, pennsylvania and texas. He frequently bragged that he had been awarded the silver star for combat heroism. The law amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a person to claim they have served in the military, embellish their rank or fraudulently claim having received a valor award specified in the act, with the intention of obtaining money. Working with ten plus years in this field, with several notable prosecutions. Another stolen valor arrest the american legions burnpit. He is best known as coauthor of the selfpublished book stolen valor 1998, written with journalist glenna whitley. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives in general assembly convened. The mission statement on the website guardian of valor, founded in 2012 and now the most popular outlet for stolen valor content, makes this clear.
In 2014, joe teti sued the entire special forces association, two stolen valor websites and two retired special forces soldiers. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. The absurd conservative obsession with stolen valor the. Other terms include fake warriors, military phonies, medal. The 191st general court of the commonwealth of massachusetts.
I got threatened with a ban if i didnt go to a voice chat with him so i can get insulted. We value our service members, veterans, those who have given the ultimate sacrifice and their families. Stolen valor is one book that every vietnam veteran should read. How the vietnam generation was robbed of its heroes and its history. If you havent heard already, stolen valor, the second forsaken valor book, comes out june 8th. In the war against stolen valor, the hunters can be just as dedicated as the phony. Marine imposter rick strandlof exposed on anderson cooper 360.