"Stolen Valor" story

[PBF]

This is really a shame, but for anyone who wants to know how some of these things unfold, it happened again last week.

Apparently a person in New Mexico has been telling people for years that he was a highly decorated WWII Ace, and also a member of the VMF-214 Black Sheep Squadron. Here is the story:

http://www.daily-times.com/ci_17115908


The piece was not written by a Reporter, but appears to have been submitted by someone in the community who wanted to publicize Terry Fredericks' story. Evidently, after it was printed, and picked up online, very serious issues about the facts were raised.

Here is the correction to the record after the Editors investigated:

http://www.daily-times.com/ci_17164757?source=most_viewed


While it's certainly valid to say that this story should've never made it past the Editors to begin with, at least they immediately launched an in-depth investigation, and printed it.

It's astonishing that this person's claims have gone unchecked for years, but within a week it's all been unraveled.

 

[bunk22]

Another Skeeterman....or maybe this is Skeeterman?? Funny how all liars have the same excuses!!! Disgusting IMO.

 

[H60Gunner]

Glad they busted this fake. These dudes piss me off and I hope he is prosecuted under the Stolen Valor Act. Funny how these "stories" all have common themes. "All my records were lost". I personally had an awesome exchange with HC-7's squadron historian regarding a very similar issue.

 

[Schnugg]

Just plain sad.

 

[eas7888]

This really is just plain sad. My grandfather was a veteran of the second world war. He never lied to me about his service as a cook onboard a destroyer. It wasn't glamorous, but he was proud of what he did, and we were proud of him. That's ultimately what its all about. I don't understand what compels people to go this far in their lies. We all have stories about how we 'caught the biggest fish...' but this is miles beyond that.

An a different note . . . aren't people like this now covered by the first amendment?

 

[Pariel]

This really is just plain sad. My grandfather was a veteran of the second world war. He never lied to me about his service as a cook onboard a destroyer. It wasn't glamorous, but he was proud of what he did, and we were proud of him. That's ultimately what its all about.

Well said.

 

[helolumpy]

An a different note . . . aren't people like this now covered by the first amendment?

Sad but true. Lying is considered free speech.

I guess the underlying issue is lying is illegal if it causes harm. Since portraying yourself as a war hero doesn't really cause harm, it's tough to separate it away from folks embellishing on their resume (or FitRep) or maybe making themselves seem a little mo'better when talking to members of the opposite sex.

Not saying I oppose the Stolen Valor Act, I'm just saying that it's tough to write criminal law to prohibit lying when the 'spectrum' of lying is so immense.

9th Court ruling: http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2010/08/17/08-50345.pdf

 

[HackerF15E]

How many of these will there be when we're old geezers and guys are claiming to have been OEF/OIF vets?

 

[eas7888]

How many of these will there be when we're old geezers and guys are claiming to have been OEF/OIF vets?

It seems to me like there's already plenty of them running around. I've personally met a few impersonators myself. Though, as time goes on, I'm sure their numbers will only grow larger.

 

[Boomhower]

I talked with a WWII veteran a number of years ago that was telling me about D-Day. He showed up at H-Hour+6. Which I was absolutely amazed by. His honesty was incredible. He had the opportunity to "WOW" this young LTJG, but he went the modest route.

"You'd be amazed how much things had calmed down by then," he said to me, "I was working on a General's Staff, and running reports around was as 'hairy' as I wanted it to be."

At a Hunt For Heroes event here, recently, I met a Korean War Marine that was quick to correct me when I asked him about the cold weather and harsh conditions he suffered. "I worked in an office. Three square meals a day and a warm rack every night."

I respect the hell out of guys like that. They had the opportunity to tell me anything they wanted and I would have believed them. But, they are honest about their service and don't glorify their accomplishments. There's something to be said about that. Both of those guys were extremely successful in the business world, too. That's telling.

The liars are the ones that are living on welfare and having to scam a hundred bucks a month from the VA so they can stock up on Raman Noodles.

 

[ryan1234]

Remember seeing re-runs of "Baa Baa Blacksheep" when I was younger. You could always tell when someone was about to shoot another down... they would zoom in on the shooter's guns right before the 'kill'.

 

[SynixMan]

My grandfather was a veteran of the second world war. He never lied to me about his service as a cook onboard a destroyer. It wasn't glamorous, but he was proud of what he did, and we were proud of him.

I'm pretty sure you weren't trying to play it down, but being on a DD/DE during WWII was a no shitter. Picket ship duty in WestPac, Convoy escort in the North Atlantic, beach bombardment for amphibious landings, etc. Those babies went into the line of fire and took the fight to the enemy, and everyone, from Seaman Mess Cook to the Skipper, had a role to play in the fight. It might not have been as glamorous as 101st Airborne with 4 combat jumps, but he's a hero in my book.

And on that note, it blows my mind that some ENS/LTJG was in charge of a PT Boat back in the day, and LT qualified you as a DE Skipper. Just crazy.

 

[eas7888]

The way he explained it to me, they were stationed somewhere in the NorthEast, and they basically just were guarding ports in the area. He said that his ship was on escort duty a couple of times, but they didn't see much action. I don't know if he was being modest, but it sounds like my combat tours. Weeks of monotony followed by five minutes of sheer terror

He did a lot of interesting things, looking at his record. He served in the Navy early in WWII, and then, in 1945, he went in to the Army Air Corps (still as a cook), and then he eventually ended up in the Air Force after the big change over. He was in Iceland for part of his tour. After my grandmother and grandfather had passed away, we found boxes of slides from his time in the service. Sitting down and going through those was really amazing. Crazy to see how my fellow soldiers/sailors/airmen lived 60 years ago.

 

[twobecrazy]

I caught someone claiming to be a Navy Seal. Anyone that has served in the military could look at the uniform and his appearance to tell that he was not in the military. His teeth were JACKED up. His uniform looked like shit and his ribbons weren’t in the correct order. He told me he was part of Seal team 6. After talking to him further I couldn’t stand it and left. This guy was picked up by the cops thanks to a couple of us.

Both my grandfathers served in Korea. My step-grandfather was a WWII vet that received a silver and bronze star. I remember as a kid he didn’t talk about it much except where he went. Before he passed my step-father came to me to tell me that he may mistake me for someone else and not to worry if this happens. When I walked in the room I was relieved to hear him say hello to me. But about a half hour later he began talking to me like I was one of his buddies with him in a fox hole. Shortly after that I realized why he never talked about it. The things he said was crazy. I couldn’t believe the things he had gone through. I found out later about his night terrors that he had after the war and shortly before he passed. I couldn’t imagine going through it once. I don’t know how someone can claim they went through some of the things these individuals have with no remorse.

 

[Tex_Hill]

At a Hunt For Heroes event here, recently, I met a Korean War Marine that was quick to correct me when I asked him about the cold weather and harsh conditions he suffered. "I worked in an office. Three square meals a day and a warm rack every night."

I respect the hell out of guys like that. They had the opportunity to tell me anything they wanted and I would have believed them. But, they are honest about their service and don't glorify their accomplishments. There's something to be said about that. Both of those guys were extremely successful in the business world, too. That's telling.

My dad was a cryptographer in Korea during the war. He got a letter of recommendation from Gen. Ridgeway for following regs. My dad was NCOIC of 8th Army's crypto center and Gen. Ridgeway along with my dad's CO showed up to inspect the center. My dad met them at the door and asked to see their IDs. General Ridgeway couldn't produce his, and my dad - citing Army regs - refused to allow him into the center. My dad's CO blew a gasket, said he would vouch for the general, but my dad wouldn't budge. General Ridgeway was a by the book officer, told my dad's CO that my father was right, and commended him for having the guts to tell a general no.