usnret Loc: Woodhull Il

Went to Wal-Mart today. As usual there was a long line at the checkout register. I noticed that the guy behind me was wearing a USMC ball cap. I asked him about the places he served, length of service, etc. I was taken aback by some of his answers. Said he served in the special forces in Nam, Cambodia, Okinawa, North Korea (huh), Japan(huh), Somalia (huh) and a bucket list of other places. I noticed that he looked to be about 50. ??. I asked him what all citations he received. When he mentioned the two purple hearts and a trident I knew this was a bad case of stolen valor. Seems to me there ought to be a law against it.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

niteman3d Loc: South Central Pennsylvania, USA

Beyond a certain point, there is a law against it:

https://courtmartiallaw.com/court-martial-defense/stolen-valor-is-a-federal-crime-lying-about-military-credentials-is-not/?msclkid=afedebfcb16f11ec97e062ddb5c90264

Sinewsworn Loc: Port Orchard, WA

These fakers should be jailed!

dancers Loc: melbourne.victoria, australia

poor stupid man.

Tdearing Loc: Rockport, TX

Terrible.

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

It's called stolen valor, and there are a lot of practicioners out there!

Dannj

Stuff like this really pisses me off.
Sen. Blumenthal of Connecticut in his 2010 campaign falsely claimed on several occasions that he had served in Vietnam. He never left the States. He’s still in the Senate.
As a USMC Vet who served during the Vietnam ERA, if military service comes up in a conversation I make it very clear that I spent no time in country. I am proud of my service but I have too much respect for my fellow Vets who went to Nam to take credit for what they endured and in too many cases still endure.

n4jee Loc: New Bern, NC

I am not a veteran. I met my military obligation by serving 6 years in the Army Reserve because it had the least impact on my career path. I hold those who served in the highest esteem and cannot imagine what type of person would try to take credit for something that others gave so so much for.
To those of you that served, I give my sincere thanks.

Leon S Loc: Minnesota

The other day at the casino I talked with a man in his 70's-80's wearing a WWII field jacket. The jacket had a couple of patches I didn't recognized. He also wore a 1st Leui bar that was rusty. I had my doubts about him until he told me he was still in the National Guard and had just requalified on the pistol range. He said they used 44's because that's all the guard had. Even after I offered him that he may have meant 1911 45s, he insisted they were 44s. The 44 was military issue in 1870. Now I think he may have been lying about his age (too).

pendennis

You served. Period. I was also a reservist who did active duty in the Navy Reserve and did a total of ten years. Your reasoning is nobody's business but yours.

Most Army reservists I know did at least six months active duty as part of their obligation. So you owe no one an apology for your terms of service. You also faced the possibility of being called up individually, or en masse, in case of national emergency. The same is true for NG/ANG personnel and units. My former boss was a Colonel in the Army Reserves. He was called up for the first Gulf War, and came home with permanent physical ailments. So much for not being committed.

In personal history, I knew several National Guardsmen whose units were called up for service during the Viet Nam War. I was attending business college with four of them who were killed in country. I attended their funerals, and nobody ever questioned their commitment to their country. I still shed tears for them to this day.

Thank you for your service.

LDB415 Loc: Houston south suburb

Anyone who has worn the uniform has served. My opinion of course and meaningful only to me. I appreciate all who serve. I have cards made up to give to anyone I meet who is wearing the uniform thanking them for serving. They can't be appreciated too much.

RoswellAlien

I, too, am Vietnam era (67-68 Navy aviation electronics tech, Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club) and will always make it very clear I was never in-country. The two experiences are worlds apart. I have real disgust for the liars and fakers and salute those who were really there.

pendennis

I recall a statistic that circulated about Viet Nam service. At the time, about 10% of everyone on active duty ever saw Viet Name service; of that 10%, only 10% of those actually saw combat. The DoD set terms of service, and defined the SE Asia war zone. So, if you were there, you were a Viet Nam vet. Your AE rating supported the F-4's, A-4's, A-7's, which dropped the ordnance on target. The adage is, "All gave some, some gave all."

My brother was a Seabee EO1 reservist who cross-rated to Navy Counselor (NC1), and went back on active duty in the early 70's. He was assigned to a couple of air squadrons, and ship's company on Constellation. He was awarded nearly every Viet Nam service medal, and "Connie" probably didn't come within 100 miles of Viet Nam, but they were in the South China Sea, so...

My own active duty was in Seabees Public Affairs. Our job (drill team, honor guard), among others, was to provide funeral details for sailors and Seabees who were from New England, and died in country. Nothing like presenting a flag to a grieving widow/parent to bring home the grief.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Dennis, if you served in the honor guard at funerals for those KIA, I think you had the toughest job in the military.

US Army DaNang, RVN ‘68-‘69