OT Stolen Valor

Bruce (VA)

Well-known Member
I had the unpleasant task of exposing (again) another fraudulent “war hero”. The sad part about it was that the guy really was a veteran; he served 20+ years in the Army Reserves. All stateside, all as a clerk, but that somehow wasn’t good enough for him. No, he wanted everyone to believe he was a Special Forces V-N vet, complete w/ a Silver Star.

Bottom line, if someone served in the military in any capacity, in any branch, active or reserve, they have earned my respect and that of 99% of all Americans. There is no need to pretend to be Rambo. Because it won’t take long for someone who really was there to see through the BS. And it’s usually the small chit that gives them away.

I can’t speak for WWII, Korean or Gulf War vets, but the answers to but a few simple questions can usually smoke out an alleged V-N combat vet imposter.

“What is a puncture wound 25?” (It’s a PRC-25, FM back-pack radio)

“What do you use a battery bag for?” (the PRC-25 battery was about the size of a cigarette carton & came in a thick plastic bag. You put your wallet & smokes in it)

“What did you always carry in your top left pocket?” (a plastic C-ration spoon. Or, if you were lucky, a large metal soup spoon stolen from a mess hall. And the metal spoon was called an ‘e-tool’. As in entrenching tool)

"What was the 'basic load' of hand grenades carried by a Vietnamese soldier?" (none. They couldn't throw them. You never issued grenades to Vietnamese)

There are plenty more questions like this from V-N & I'm sure every other war.

I had no idea stuff like this was so common until I started reading about it. Yea, I'd run into a few beer hall BS artists over the years, but never to the extent of actually wearing unearned medals, etc. Too bad the media doesn't find these stories as newsworthy unless it involves some scumbag politician.
Stolen Valor
 
I was a squad leader in A Co 2nd Bn 327th Inf 101st Airborne in VIet Nam. I don't remember carrying a plastic spoon in my pocket. As a squad leader I was entrusted with a map of our AO and that I folded up to fit in a prc 25 battery bag. My extra smokes and wallet I carried in a "go-go" box, an M60 ammo box that I strapped to the bottom of my ruck. The pack of butts I was working on was in a plastic case stuck in the elastic band on my steel pot.
I ran into a fellow patient a the VA Hospital who was wearing a "Viet Nam Veteran" hat. I said "where were you in Nam?" He said "I was stationed in England but it was during the Viet Nam war so I'm a Viet Nam vet.
It takes all kinds.
 
" The pack of butts I was working on was in a plastic case stuck in the elastic band on my steel pot. "

Yep. I remember those plastic cases. We never wore steel pots, so no where to put them!
 
Thanks, Bruce. I also spent 21 years in the service and got a few medals, but in a submarine, and not very importent medals. I never had to pick up a weapon, or try to kill anyone, or jump in a foxhole to try to save myself. Those men who did, deserve all the thanks and recognition we as a nation can give.

Imposters are a discredit to every one who served, and especially those who never returned.
 
When I got home from Viet Nam in March of 1966 I would sometimes get asked somewhat sarcastically what was I doing over there. I would say picture yourself in a foxhole, 10,000 miles from home, rain coming down, so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face and someone out there that would like nothing more than to do you in. Then I would add that I have never been so scared in all my life. You could usually see a frown on their face but I told the truth.When I am talking to other Veterans I keep one thing in mind, something Gen George Patton said. " If a man goes into battle and says he is not afraid, he is either a liar or a moron".
 
I don't even like to visit a sub. Can't imagine being on one 24/7!

My thanks to you.

I heard from a buddy who served on a fast attack boat that there are only two types of military ships: subs & targets.
 

Thank you all for you service. Some are looking for glory unearned instead of celebrating the actual glory they deserve...sad.

Thanks again
 
Part of the problem is the combat soldier is getting the glory. The support guys tell each other how smart they are cause they get the same pay and bennies but no one shoots at them plus they may have job skills that will transfer into civvy jobs. Then they see that people want to talk the to combat soldier and not them. Most people don't want to hear about the guy who carried a type writer across the beach head at Normandy 48 hours after it was secured, they want to hear about the grunt in the 1st wave or the person punching a key board in a bunker in Kubal, they want to hear about Nick Ranstad and his 1.3 mile sniper shot.

The sad part is the support people make it possible for the combat guy to do his job. They should really take pride in that they made it possible.

Course the other side of the coin is that if you get rid of the combat folks you have no need for the support guys.

Rick (US Army ret, Armor)
 
" The sad part is the support people make it possible for the combat guy to do his job. They should really take pride in that they made it possible."

Amen.

You really don't need to spend much time in the military to figure out just how bad life can be w/o all the support guys. Mess hall chow looked mighty nice after a week or so eating C's........

Getting paid was nice. Having radios that worked was nice.
 

What is interesting is that those who really were in the thick of things often dont talk about it. If I met someone who was boasting about all the things they did might make me think something was wrong.
My Grandfather Allen Holifield never mentioned a thing about WWII - turns out he really was in the front lines during all of it. Scroll down to WWII and this was the regiment he was in:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxfordshire_and_Buckinghamshire_Light_Infantry

Also a book was written after the war titled 'enshrined in stone' - he was mentioned three or four times in there and there was a story floating around the family that one time during a canal crossing a german threw a 'potato masher' into their small boat - my grandfather grabbed it and threw it overboard saving all on board - I wrote to the author mentioning this and apparently my grandfather and a couple of his surviving buddies went over to talk to the guy - turns out the story was true!!! After you read the book you just cannot believe how on earth they did it...really rough going - particularly when they crossed into German soil - apparently the Germans fought well up to that point but then they just became fanatic as they were fighting on home territory. The book is a good read but a lot of maps and diagrams which are a bit hard to make head or tail of.

Lee
 
" What is interesting is that those who really were in the thick of things often dont talk about it. "

Yep. The worse it was, the less they talk about it.

I had an uncle WIA at Tarawa; he got a medical discharge in 1944 as a result. He rarely talked about it to anyone, much less me as a kid. But, after I got back from V-N, he would talk a little. But he was clearly uncomfortable about it, so I just left it alone.

Your grandfather's regiment is pretty well known, even to us 'Yanks'. That was some really hard going for them in Holland.

One thing I always found interesting about nearly every WWII vet I knew growing up was their basic dislike of the military. My father & my uncles rarely talked about their service & never joined veterans groups. None of them. While I'm sure he expected it, my father wasn't at all impressed w/ my enlisting in the Army in 1967.

I think most of that generation saw their service as doing what had to be done. And once the war was over, they just wanted to forget about it & get on w/ their lives.
 
my grandpa was a tailgunner in a B-17...finished all his missions, then worked supply--retired after 20 years. He only talked about the B17 once that I remember.
 
Well said Rick.
It brings me back to one of my historical pet peeves.
How General McArthur was the main American signer of the Japanese surrender document and not Admiral Nimitz.
After transporting, supplying and supporting the Army throughout the Pacific War the Navy with it's immense logistical pipeline, its vast air service, it's massive ground support through out the islands and it's Marines should have been recognized as the primary branch of service in that war.

h49707.jpg
 
Thank You for your service Bruce.

I have so much respect for the Vietnam Veterans.

This country....
The 60's have done a number on this country.
The V-N Vets have put up with so much from ungrateful you know whats...

I get goosebumps when I think of my great cousin who volunteered for numerous tours in Vietnam as a Marine. He later served in the DEA (big ole dude!)

But I also have a love for the Korean War Vets (my brother-in-law's father who inspired me to join).
Now he was a tall man with outright authority when he spoke. You knew just from being in his presence that he had been through a great deal in the "Frozen Chosin".

God help those who mis-represent or lie about service to their country to the detriment of the humble who served faithfully.

Semper Fi,

Greg
 
I can vouch for not talking among some.....my father was a disabled vet from WWII who came home on a hospital ship and honorably discharged. Other than a few times and seeing his medals, and my mother speaking of his waking from nightmares it was hard to tell he had ever been in the service. In fact, one of my aunts brought a newspaper clipping and asked the minister to read it during his funeral service. It was a writeup from a local newspaper from 1942 on his receiving the Bronze Star medal and a few details regarding the event that caused him to receive it. That was the first time I had heard of it, or that the article was ever written. He certainly was not one to boast about what went on there, and living with him for 19 years I bet I could count the times he mentioned his service time on one hand. Usually when I brought it up he would quickly change the subject. I have the utmost respect and thanks to all who served to protect our freedom.
 
dad was in pearl most of the war,as a aircraft mechanic,he always talked about how good of an airplane those pby's were.From the way he talked they used them for just about everything from hauling freight to fighters.
 

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