Stolen honor--claiming undeserved medals
Scores of Americans, from clergymen to lawyers to CEOs, are claiming medals of valor they never earned.The paper contacted several of those making the fraudulent claims and got various responses and "explanations." I once prosecuted a guy who made the fraudulent claim that he had been a POW in the Korean War. He had made the claim in order to induce returning POW's from Vietnam to invest their back pay in municipal bonds of dubious quality. The case was tried in Kingsville, Texas. He was convicted and given the maximum sentence. He finally had the honor of being the first person to receive the maximum sentence under the Texas Securities Act.A Chicago Tribune investigation has found that the fabrication of heroic war records is far more extensive than one might think.
Take the online edition of Who's Who, long the nation's premier biographical reference. Of the 333 people whose profiles state they earned one of the nation's most esteemed military medals, fully a third cannot be supported by military records.
Even in death, these stories live on. A look at 273 obituaries published in the past decade alone found that in more than four of five cases, official records didn't support decorations for bravery attributed to the deceased.
The Tribune also found bogus decorations, including at least two Medals of Honor, engraved on headstones in military cemeteries across the country.
In all, more than half the medals for bravery examined, including the exalted Medal of Honor, are unsupported by official military records obtained by the Tribune from federal archives under the Freedom of Information Act.
The men whose obituaries or profiles in Who's Who make these claims are mainly individuals of note and accomplishment: lawyers, physicians, clergymen, CEOs, business executives, company presidents, university professors, career military officers, teachers, policemen, elected officials, even a psychiatrist.
"The problem is rampant," said Mike Sanborn, a former Marine who is the FBI agent in charge of investigating violations of the Stolen Valor Act. The 2007 law makes it a federal crime to falsely claim, verbally or in writing, that one has earned a medal for valor. Penalties range from six months to a year in prison and up to a $100,000 fine.
The fraud is more than a slur on real heroes or a source of false bragging rights. Money also is at stake. The Department of Veterans Affairs, for instance, provides financial and medical benefits on the basis of decorations that support claims for post-traumatic stress disorder and other war-related illnesses.
There have been an estimated 40 prosecutions under the Stolen Valor Act, nearly all ending with pleas of guilty and some in prison sentences. But enforcement of the act is hampered by the absence of a national database where employers, biographers, obituary writers, VA officials and others who need to know can verify such claims.
Although a bill is pending in Congress that would create such a database, at the moment the only official compilation is for recipients of the Medal of Honor, maintained online by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
The Medal of Honor is the nation's most esteemed decoration for bravery under fire, and Who's Who features six living recipients who can be found online, including Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and former Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb. But Who's Who also lists 15 others who did not receive the honor and, in some cases, never even served in the military.
Short of examining original military records, as the Tribune did, there is no easy way to verify claims for the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross or the Air Force Cross, the so-called "service crosses" that rank in order just below the Medal of Honor.
After examining Who's Who and obituaries, the Tribune used military records to unearth 84 bogus Medals of Honor, 119 Distinguished Service Crosses, 99 Navy Crosses, five Air Force Crosses and 96 Silver Stars.
...
I thought that there had to be a false claim for benefits or some other reward/advantage before the Stolen Valor Act could result in a prosecution. For example, a guy in a bar claiming a Silver Star or a Navy Cross just to show off could not be prosecuted due to freedom of speech issues. Only if he claimed benefits or a discount or a speaking fee or even a dinner or something else physical could he be prosecuted. All of us veterans have known BX/PX heroes, guys who have bought a chestful of ribbons and medals to try and impress someone. If they are retired, a veteran, or a civilian who never served, I still do not believe that they can be prosecuted for merely CLAIMING they have said medals, verbally or in writing. Only if they derive some sort of actual, tangible benefit from the false claim could they be prosecuted. A politician looking for votes, someone looking for VA benefits, etc.
ReplyDeleteJust lying for lying's sake is not and should not be against the law. If so, every husband and wife and child in America would be locked up, beginning with politicians.
OBTW, I would not trust a database. The famous former navy SEAL Richard Marcinko (former leader of SEAL team 6) is not listed in the supposedly complete database for Silver Stars. Nor is a great uncle of mine who is now deceased, and we have his discharge papers and the photos taken of the award to prove it. Nor is another great uncle of mine who won the DSC over Europe in WWII flying P-51 Mustangs. Again, we have the documentation. So I'd distrust any such database. Also, there was a bad fire in records many years ago and about a gazillion records were destroyed. The only record of my father's service in the Korean warare from hois doscharge papers. Thankfully, he had it entered in his county recorder's office. When he died, we had to prove his service to get his veteran's plaque for his headstone. Army records had nothing (due to the fire), but by checking with his (then) home county's court records we found the papers. His medals, his service, all of it was there, and we got a certified copy (5, actually) to prove it to the VA. So don't trust any government database unreservedly