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    'stolen valor'

    Attachment 5312

    Back in 1998 when I first got hooked on this computer stuff, I joined an all-PTSD---all-Vietnam Veterans site where we discussed PTSD and our stories concerning combat. One fascinating book came out then titled 'Stolen Valor' that hit at the heart of we combat veterans. Amazing stories in this book of how hundreds of phonies
    went to extreme lengths to convince the government and or their friends that they had indeed served in the military and had served in a combat theatre. Of course, for many, the reason these charlatans spent time dressing up in full military attire etc. was to cash in on the many VA benefits that were and still are available.


    I thought you might like to read from a few of the many cases of phonies who are currently trying to sham their way through the system. Check out some of these stories and pictures of these dudes who have made up stories about their time and their particular valor from our latest wars over in the Mideast.
    http://thisainthell.us/blog/?page_id=30655

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    The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 was found unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 2012. However, the Court did what a court should do when it finds a law unconstitutional. The Court did not act like a legislature and fix the law; it told Congress how to fix it, should Congress wish to do so. Congress did fix the law and it was passed in 2013.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter1469 View Post
    The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 was found unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 2012. However, the Court did what a court should do when it finds a law unconstitutional. The Court did not act like a legislature and fix the law; it told Congress how to fix it, should Congress wish to do so. Congress did fix the law and it was passed in 2013.
    Yeah, I don't have much of a problem with these jerks who seek their 15 minutes of fame by dressing up like a war hero. My problem is with those who seek to profit personally and or
    financially from their phony attempt to deceive the VA administration. I do have a problem with those charlatans wearing or displaying phony medals as well. Looks like the congress did act to stop this nonsense as you stated.

    http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/13/politi...len-valor-act/

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    Cool

    Countering stolen valor...

    Purple Heart Would Receive More Protection With New Law
    Jan 17, 2017 | This year, a piece of legislation is expected to come up in Congress that could help protect the Purple Heart.
    The Purple Heart is more than just a medal -- especially to the recipients who have sacrificed while fighting for their country. "It gives me a distinguished feeling," said Sam Houston, who was awarded a Purple Heart in 1970 after his service in the Vietnam War. "No matter where I go, if I'm wearing a Purple Heart hat, people always stop me. There's that saying, 'all gave some and some gave all.' " This year, a piece of legislation is expected to come up in Congress that could help protect the Purple Heart and preserve that distinguished feeling.

    Rep. Paul Cook, R-Calif., plans to introduce the Private Corrado Piccoli Purple Heart Preservation Act this session. The bill would penalize the sale of any Purple Heart awarded to a member of the Armed Forces by imprisonment up to six months or a fine, which would be determined by the Department of Justice based off the federal fine schedule. "The purpose of the bill is to see the Purple Heart protected and to ensure medals find their way back to families or homes of honor," Cook, himself a veteran, said in an emailed statement to the News Herald in Panama City. "It's wrong to turn profits on the sacrifices of our service members. These medals are powerful symbols of selflessness in defense of our nation. They deserve to be cherished by families instead of being traded like a pack of baseball cards and auctioned to the highest bidder."


    Piccoli's medal was purchased in an antique mall for $100. The woman who purchased the medal gave it to her son, Capt. Zachariah Fike, who served in the Vermont Army National Guard. Fike then founded Purple Hearts Reunited, a nonprofit that returns lost or stolen military medals of valor to veterans or their family. Cook introduced the bill last year, but it was at the end of the congressional session, and no action was taken. He is optimistic it will pass this time and expects it to get referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations as it was last session. In 2013, President Barack Obama signed the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a federal crime to fraudulently claim to be a recipient of certain military decorations or medals to obtain tangible benefit.

    Houston, who is chapter commander of the Sgt. Timothy Padgett 811 Military Order of the Purple Heart, said that it "happens quite often" that a military medal may end up in a pawn shop or antique store. Those who find one should turn it in to a local chapter of Purple Hearts Reunited, advised Houston. Awarded since 1917 to those wounded or killed while serving in the U.S. military, the Purple Heart is an important badge of honor in military service and should be regarded as such, Houston said. "It's the oldest continually used medal in our history," he added. "It's the only medal given out strictly for combat wounds, that's what makes it prestigious. As a recipient, I'm glad they're trying to get a handle on this. People should not be able to buy any military award for heroism or wounds. It takes away from what it truly means."

    http://www.military.com/daily-news/2...n-new-law.html
    See also:

    Symbols of Sacrifice Should Not Be for Sale
    Dec 20, 2016 | Rep. Paul Cook is a Republican from California and a retired Marine Corps colonel. He serves on veterans affairs, armed services and foreign affairs committees in the U.S. House of Representatives.
    This year, I introduced legislation to provide special protection for Purple Heart medals awarded to service members wounded or killed while serving in the Armed Forces. This legislation would end the buying and selling of Purple Hearts, a practice that transforms these symbols of our brave service members' sacrifices into collectible commodities. This legislation isn't just about good public policy. I'm compelled to act by the personal stories attached to some of these medals.

    One letter began, "They broke into my home and stole it. That was my grandfather's medal, the one he got from MacArthur. I know they're just looking for anything they can sell, but that medal was priceless." Another family's story reads, "This medal was precious to my parents. On special occasions, they would let us touch it and hold it in our hand. As I grew older and missed my brother more and more I realized, this is the only tangible thing we have left." These stories are two among many. The Purple Heart has become a powerful symbol of sacrifice to our nation's veterans.


    Purple Heart

    After the roar of battle ends and service members come home from war, some were met with parades and honors while others unfairly endured the silence of an indifferent country. Regardless of how their war ended, veterans of every conflict soon learned that America's attention span can be short and, without symbols and memorials, the sacrifice of past generations is sometimes forgotten. That's why symbols like the Purple Heart have such a special place in our country. They remind all of us to reflect on the sacrifices that have secured our freedom and recognize the veterans among us who stood in defense of our liberty.

    When these symbols are cheapened, it hurts us all. While most military collectors are honorable, good people, there is also a distasteful and downright ghoulish desire by some collectors to acquire Purple Hearts awarded to veterans wounded or killed in famous battles. Unlike collecting military gear from past conflicts, like helmets or uniforms, trading Purple Hearts puts a monetary value on something priceless: blood spilled in defense of our nation. Our national symbol of sacrifice should be off limits to profiteers. Allowing disreputable collectors to hawk a veteran's Purple Heart on the auction block like a baseball card demeans all veterans, especially those wounded in combat.

    MORE

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    Angry

    Dindu Nuffin tries to claim he's a war hero...

    NY Man Accused of Fabricating Decorated Green Beret Military Career
    15 Dec 2017 - Guardians of the Green Beret said they started probing Wright after receiving tips from Internet users.
    A New York man fabricated his decorated military career, with claims of being a Green Beret, receiving medals for courage under fire and serving for 25 years all being exposed as lies, according to military documents. Papotia Reginald Wright, of Brooklyn, claimed he served with Special Forces, but military documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, showed the veteran was not a Green Beret and did not go beyond a "specialist rank," the New York Post reported. Wright also boasted of serving in the Army for 25 years and said he received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star -- but records showed he only served from 1982-1990 and spent most of his time as a driver in Alaska, Texas, Georgia and Egypt. Despite apparently living a lie, Wright became a revered military figure in his community. Last year, he founded an organization in Brooklyn to help veterans. He called the organization the 8th Special Forces Regiment New York Honor Guard.


    Photos on the group's website showed Wright at a New York Giants football game wearing what appears to be a fake Green Beret uniform. According to the Stolen Valor Act, any individual who rewrites "provisions relating to fraudulent claims about military service were subject to a fine, imprisonment up to a year or both." Guardians of the Green Beret said they started probing Wright after receiving tips from Internet users. "It bothers us. Stolen valor is an epidemic. We cannot keep up with the cases sent to us," a member of the group told the New York Post. "Wearing fake stuff -- wearing a Ranger tab, Special Forces tab, those things are hard to earn. Wearing a Purple Heart...that stuff's unforgivable there."



    Papotia Reginald Wright



    Jeff Johnson, 37, who served in the Army for more than 11 years and worked at Wright's veteran organization, said he felt deceived. "It wasn't confirmed to me until three or four days ago when I got a call from one of the members of the unit who was heartbroken," Johnson told the New York Post. "For a while I just started chuckling. It was like this uncomfortable chuckle. That's when I realized I was played for a f------- fool." Johnson said Wright would tell him stories about his supposed military days, including one where he claimed a person cut out his kidney. "He said he was living off half a kidney," Johnson said. "He's an amazing storyteller because he will get into details."


    Thomas Miskel, a veteran who volunteered for Wright's Honor Guard association, said he was shocked by the allegations. "He started to appear before football games and all that and the flags and all that," Miskel said. "He sort of blew my mind a little bit when I found out that bugle he was blowing was a recording." Miskel said Wright has also failed to pay his rent in Park Slope, where his association's offices were based. The group said it would be investigating the claims as well and would stop posting on social media for the time being. There was no immediate word on if Wright would face charges.


    https://www.military.com/daily-news/...ry-career.html

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    I remember reading about this guy. They found him wandering around some military base a while back, acting weird.



    And if you're going to be wearing a bunch of medals you don't rate, you might want to at least learn what order they go in and how to wear them.



    And then there's this guy.

    Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.” - Robert E. Howard

    "Only a rank degenerate would drive 1,500 miles across Texas and not eat a chicken fried steak." - Larry McMurtry

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    Reminds of my Austro-Hungarian medals. Most of them have an image of Emperor Franz Josef on the them. I should display them.
    Whoever criticizes capitalism, while approving immigration, whose working class is its first victim, had better shut up. Whoever criticizes immigration, while remaining silent about capitalism, should do the same.


    ~Alain de Benoist


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    If people want to pretend to be something they're not, then that's on them. They should have the freedom, under the law, to do so.
    Power always thinks it has a great soul, and vast views, beyond the comprehension of the weak. And that it is doing God service when it is violating all His laws.
    --John Adams

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ethereal View Post
    If people want to pretend to be something they're not, then that's on them. They should have the freedom, under the law, to do so.
    Perhaps, but they certainly should not be able to profit in anyway from the alleged service. Many of the actual government sponsored benefits require a copy of your DD214 so you can't get into the VA or gain money just by saying you are a Medal of Honor recipient. However, you can con the public into giving you special treatment.

    I will have to say that as a Vietnam Combat veteran I earned my medals and the right to claim I am a veteran. I abhor those who claim Vietnam service when they did not go. I ran into one guy last year who claimed to be a Vietnam vet. The only problem was he was only about 45. He would have had to been about 6 when he served.

    What does anyone gain by lying about who they are and their accomplishments. How does false adulation benefit such a person?

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    Quote Originally Posted by nathanbforrest45 View Post
    I ran into one guy last year who claimed to be a Vietnam vet. The only problem was he was only about 45. He would have had to been about 6 when he served.
    That reminds me of a scene from the movie Falling Down...where the guy stops Michael Douglas in the park, wanting money and claiming to be a Vietnam vet, and Douglas's character says, "What were you, a drummer boy?"
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