Stolen valor, again
Dai Uy
or http://tinyurl.com/yemdghp
11/23/09 4:36 AM
CHATFIELD: Stolen valor, again
GAIL CHATFIELD | Posted: Monday, November 23, 2009 12:00 am
We may never know the real reason why David Weber of Ramona
fraudulently posed for four years as a retired two-star U.S. Marine
Corps general.
His undoing came earlier this month when he attended the Ramona VFW
Marine Corps birthday celebration. Wearing full dress uniform loaded
with medals, including five Legions of Merit, Weber basked in the
adulation as he told his fake war hero stories to fellow Marines and
local press.
Thankfully, his photograph made its way to the Marine Corps powers
that be and his charade was soon over.
What he did was disrespectful and unforgivable. It was also illegal.
Under the 2005 Stolen Valor Act introduced by Rep. John T. Salazar (D-
CO), it is a federal misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment and/or a
fine to fraudulently wear military medals. Impersonating a military
officer is a crime punishable with a fine, imprisonment for up to
three years or both. Sadly, Weber is not alone in these military
career deceptions.
Last month in San Diego, the FBI arrested Richard Strandlof, 32, who
is charged with posing as a Marine captain in order to get money from
individuals, businesses and organizations in Colorado. Standlof
falsely claimed he received the Silver Star and Purple Heart in Iraq
as he campaigned for local politicians and solicited donations to his
philanthropic group, Colorado Veterans Alliance.
Last week a 39-year-old Palm Springs man was charged with "false
claims of receipt of military medals" after attending his 20th high
school reunion wearing a Marine dress uniform decorated with a Navy
Cross, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. A classmate who is a legitimate
Navy Commander photographed the phony sergeant and dobbed him in.
And these are just three who got caught.
Every branch of service has its impostors, and no medal, it seems, is
off limits.
The volume of medals awarded during the Iraq/Afghanistan wars
certainly makes these masquerades more believable and more difficult
to verify.
In 2004, MSNBC reported that in the first two years of the Iraq war,
the Air Force handed out more than 69,000 awards and honors, including
1,900 Bronze Stars. The Army presented more than 40,000, including
13,000 Bronze Stars. The Marines had 200 Bronze Stars out of 1,000
medals presented. The numbers have only gone up.
So how can an employer, for example, verify an applicant's medal
claims when any supporting paperwork is said to have been lost? (And I
ask this on behalf of a small business employer.)
In January of this year, Rep. John T. Salazar (D-Colo.) introduced
HR666, which would require the establishment of a searchable public
database of all military valor awards. Rep. Bob Filner is the only
representative in our area who is a co-sponsor of the bill. The bill
is now in the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee but
as yet no hearings have been set.
And that’s a shame. Americans love heroes, and obviously there are
some very skilled impersonators eager to deceive.
When we let these posers continue their masquerades, we diminish the
honor of our true war heroes.
Gail Chatfield writes from San Diego and can be reached at
my500...@yahoo.com.
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Mac McKinzie
"Dai Uy" <Dai...@hawaii.rr.com> wrote in message
news:a8d3346a-c242-4dc8...@m33g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
we have our own "hero" in our midst whose "career" in the military
included, what, basic training in the Marines? I've wondered how someone
could get out of the Marines and go to another branch without fulfilling
their original enlistment. Purple Heart Card counting?