Stolen Valor

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

Fell into a rabbithole about reading about these dudes (and a few dudettes) who either make up or embellish their military records.

They seem to fall into a few broad categories.

Some of them embellish perfectly good military careers because as time goes by, they start to think they weren't quite badass enough. It wasn't enough to have been a supply clerk for three tours in Vietnam, so they fudge it toward combat infantry. Extreme cases will claim to have been POWs, and to have won Silver Stars, etc. And if you read the stories on these sites, it seems like nobody served in Vietnam or any Middle Eastern war who was not a Seal, Green Beret, or recon sniper. Nope, there were no truck drivers, cooks, supply clerks, or quartermasters -- just an entire army of Special Forces assassins. 

Others are just fucking nuts. Schizos who claim to have been generals and shit like that.

Others are rattling tin cups. In a few cases, they will fabricate cancer or a heart attack and then toss in either a made-up or greatly embellished military career to turbocharge their bogus GoFundMe.

Some are in it for the poon. These dudes often never served at all, but they think military badassery is a way to get over on some ladies. It works, apparently.

Some do it to enhance political careers. Usually this type did serve in some capacity, but they are frequently tempted into fish tales about their service.

Others do it to enhance their resumes for non-military employment.

Others will try to excuse a life of crime and / or addiction on PTSD they suffered in combat, but then their service records will show that the only combat they ever might have seen was in the chow line at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. 

They have a bingo card on that site I linked to of the most typical type -- weekend warrior biker dude. Beard. Wrap-around shades. Leather vest with all kinds of badass military patches on it. Beret. Often as not, some kind of badass tactical dog in pics. When you call them out, they will say their service record is "classified." Or maybe that they are sporting that patch or running that pic on their FB page "to honor" someone else, and they are sorry that you believed it was meant to be about them. With Facebook, and if you are dealing with one of the olds, they will trot out the "my account was hacked" excuse. 

These sites seem to turn up about five of these people every week, ranging from WW2 vets to twentysomethings. It's really pathetic, because anybody can put in a Freedom of Information Act request and get basic service details on total strangers, and that's just what these sites do. (Even more pitiful are those who claim to have won Medals of Honor or Silver Stars -- that shit is online for anybody to Google up in a couple of minutes.)

Dudes lie about a lot of shit. You should seen that bass that got away -- a 12-pounder for sure. I only bang tens, even when I'm drunk, and I bring them all to screaming, multiple orgasms every single time. I was an all-district QB tw-, no three times in HS but then I blew out my knee.

 

And I guess dudes have always had a tendency to embellish their war tales too, but nowadays, that's a really, really bad idea. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2018 by MaybeACoordinator

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

My son is active duty army in Korea and here's his take on it. (He's seen more of the videos than I have -- it's a big deal on YouTube. I just read the accounts.)

Quote

Personally I think the dudes who take those 480p grainy ass vertical videos of them spitting their own special blend of monster energy and dip spit into some obviously mentally ill dudes face as they rant incoherently about how many brothers they've seen die/the sacrifices they've made/how freedom only persists because they somehow miraculously managed to stay in 20 years and retire an E-6 are far more embarrassing than any 'valor thief' I've ever seen.

 

[El Diablo 4,232]

I've known one. This was in '89. Said he was Vietnam POW, had been tortured, had escaped, MoH. No internet at the time. Girlfriend of his at the time, they broke up. Next guy she dated was former Green Beret and knew people. Asked some questions. Nope. Now with google-fu anyone can look. Nope. Complete bullshit. Just a sympathy ploy in this guys case is all I took from it.

[conVINCEd 21,469]

Wife’s mom dated a faux vet for a while in the 90’s.  Wife’s father (parents are divorced) did a little digging around once it became apparent this fuckstick would be spending a lot of time around his kids.  Dude just left when confronted and was never seen again.

[Jerry Callo 8,709]

On the flip side, I know a guy that served in the military (close to 75-80 now) who won't take recognition as a veteran.  He was stationed stateside and feels that the honor should go to those who actually fought or or at least participated in theater.  When you sign up to serve, you have no idea if you're going to go to combat or not.  Knew a few that got called up for Desert Storm while in college.  Everyone who has donned a military uniform (and received an honorable discharge) is a veteran and have every right to be honored.  There is a special place for the ass clowns that you describe.

 

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

5 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

On the flip side, I know a guy that served in the military (close to 75-80 now) who won't take recognition as a veteran.  He was stationed stateside and feels that the honor should go to those who actually fought or or at least participated in theater.  When you sign up to serve, you have no idea if you're going to go to combat or not.  Knew a few that got called up for Desert Storm while in college.  Everyone who has donned a military uniform (and received an honorable discharge) is a veteran and have every right to be honored.  There is a special place for the ass clowns that you describe.

 

Yeah, it's weird. My son is entitled to membership in the VFW now because he is technically serving in a war zone, whereas other people who have deployed overseas do not. But if you served stateside, you should be proud to call yourself a vet, because the military regards you as one. It's like being an offensive lineman -- your efforts enabled the skill positions to do what they do, even if your work is not as glamorous as theirs.

[Lone Star Horn 2,018]

When I'm talking to people and it comes up that I was in the Air Force, generally the first question usually is, "Were you in combat?" I always say, no, not in combat. Yes, I was in a combat zone, two of them actually, but I never saw hostile fire.

"Operation Just Cause" The invasion of Panama, to oust Noriega.

"Operation Desert Shield/Storm" (I always tend to say it that way, the "Shield" part was the waiting, from Aug to Jan, and you're damn right that I'm going to mention waiting all those months in Saudi Arabia, for the war to kick off)

It does feel good to be acknowledged and maybe that's why some of these guys who lie about it, do it.

My wife did buy me a nice looking Desert Storm Vet cap, and I tend to wear it often. I sometimes don't know what to say when someone "thanks me for my service" I tend to smile and nod, (acknowledging them)

https://national-desert-storm-war-memorial.myshopify.com/products/desert-storm-veteran-hat-with-medal

I did not know until she found this cap, that they were even in the process of trying to get a memorial built. I've donated and I intend to go to DC when it's completed.

 

[Homercles 10,206]

Just about every bonafide badass I’ve met has been a silent warrior.

That includes my dad retiring as an AD O6 in the USAF having started as a reservist captain and bailing on the private sector at 34 due to his employer collapsing, my grandfathers leaving behind young wives to repair guns and radios in Corsica/Sicily in WWII, to the PJs that shared the pool with us clueless teenagers in Incirlik during OPC in the 90s, to the wide-eyed Rangers/Airmen/Troopers/Sailors I always tried to shake hands with during my international business travel a decade ago.

Guess I don’t get the concept of stolen valor. You don’t have to be a frontline grunt to get my respect, everyone that has served has done so that I/my family/my friends don’t have to. Trying to bank in on that just makes me want to be sick. Makes me sad those clowns don’t feel the same.

[Nivek 16,949]

So now that there will be a space force, do I need to stop embellishing about my service?

[LongestHorn 759]

If you know anyone who claims to have been a SEAL, send Don Shipley an email, and he will confirm it with their name.  Or ask the what SEAL class they were in.  If they answer with a year, they're FOS.  Don Shipley is easy to find.  He and his wife have a youtube business exposing Stolen Valor.

If you know anyone who claims to have been US Special Forces, contact the admin at www.professionalsoldiers.com, and he'll know.

 

[InkaUtexas 26,022]

7 minutes ago, LongestHorn said:

If you know anyone who claims to have been a SEAL, send Don Shipley an email, and he will confirm it with their name.  Or ask the what SEAL class they were in.  If they answer with a year, they're FOS.  Don Shipley is easy to find.  He and his wife have a youtube business exposing Stolen Valor.

If you know anyone who claims to have been US Special Forces, contact the admin at www.professionalsoldiers.com, and he'll know.

 

My dad can help with this for the SF dudes. Retired as Deputy Group Commander and gave his all to making SF. Hates the pretenders.  I loved being in the Middle East and meeting all the "D" Boys. Shit, I never knew we had a Regiment of them. 

 

[Stinkpalm 687]

We already have an aggy thread on the football board

[Guest]

7 hours ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

Yeah, it's weird. My son is entitled to membership in the VFW now because he is technically serving in a war zone, whereas other people who have deployed overseas do not. But if you served stateside, you should be proud to call yourself a vet, because the military regards you as one. It's like being an offensive lineman -- your efforts enabled the skill positions to do what they do, even if your work is not as glamorous as theirs.

Glamour?

I don't think you meant any disrespect, but that's not a reason most people serve, and the combat vets almost unanimously do not view it that way.  

The fakers do. 

It boils down to this: badasses don't have to tell anyone how badass they are. Earl Campbell never had to say a word about his play on the field, right?

I see some people who did serve, ride the shit out of it, like the guy who still wants to talk about how they won state in football in '85.  Yeah that was high times.  What have you done since?

 

For me, that's another layer of differentiation, whether a guy was injured in combat and what he's had to overcome since then. I have friends who served more recently than I, who are absolutely tormented by PTSD.  They aren't out there running their mouths about how tough they are. They miss their buddies and constantly refight the worst parts of their tours. 

 

As evidenced by the thread, there are multiple layers to this and varying degrees of bullshit people are willing to act on or talk about. Again, most of the badasses don't have to tell anyone, in fact they tend to be more reluctant to discuss it. They are very proud to have served, but hardly see it as glamorous. 

Edited July 9, 2018 by slorch

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Nivek said:

So now that there will be a space force, do I need to stop embellishing about my service?

What was your 40 time, in parsecs?

[Homercles 10,206]

If you know anyone who claims to have been a SEAL, send Don Shipley an email, and he will confirm it with their name.  Or ask the what SEAL class they were in.  If they answer with a year, they're FOS.  Don Shipley is easy to find.  He and his wife have a youtube business exposing Stolen Valor.
If you know anyone who claims to have been US Special Forces, contact the admin at www.professionalsoldiers.com, and he'll know.
 

Believe he was on a spectacular documentary about BUD/S class 234, standup dude. I watched the whole thing on YT a few years about but they got wise and it’s mostly gone, which sucks because it was an incredible insight into just how excruciatingly difficult it it so make through Phases 1-3. I remember being incredibly moved when the honor grad finally made it on his third try.

[Nivek 16,949]

10 hours ago, slorch said:

What was your 40 time, in parsecs?

Whatever Han Solo did, minus 2.   

 

In the 90s, I did have a roommate who was a SEAL.   In retrospect he seemed a little lost outside the structure of the military.   He really only talked about getting the shit kicked out of him and getting picked because he was a body builder.  I didn't pry.    He drove a geo storm.   

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

10 hours ago, slorch said:

Glamour?

I don't think you meant any disrespect, but that's not a reason most people serve, and the combat vets almost unanimously do not view it that way.  

The fakers do. 

It boils down to this: badasses don't have to tell anyone how badass they are. Earl Campbell never had to say a word about his play on the field, right?

I see some people who did serve, ride the shit out of it, like the guy who still wants to talk about how they won state in football in '85.  Yeah that was high times.  What have you done since?

 

For me, that's another layer of differentiation, whether a guy was injured in combat and what he's had to overcome since then. I have friends who served more recently than I, who are absolutely tormented by PTSD.  They aren't out there running their mouths about how tough they are. They miss their buddies and constantly refight the worst parts of their tours. 

 

As evidenced by the thread, there are multiple layers to this and varying degrees of bullshit people are willing to act on or talk about. Again, most of the badasses don't have to tell anyone, in fact they tend to be more reluctant to discuss it. They are very proud to have served, but hardly see it as glamorous. 

"Glamorous" was a poor choice of wording, but I think you night what I mean. The frontline dudes get the most respect, especially if they were in the shit. 

There's an old saying you can't get away with typing anywhere other than sites like Surly: No woman is truly a woman until she's given birth, and no man is truly a man unless he's seen combat. There is some truth in that, even though it's not true in all cases. I can't speak for women, but I do know that I've always wondered how I would have handled combat. Or even military service for that matter. 

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

15 hours ago, Nivek said:

So now that there will be a space force, do I need to stop embellishing about my service?

Trying to angle my son in to service as a door gunner on the Space Shuttle. 

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

3 minutes ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

Trying to angle my son in to service as a door gunner on the Space Shuttle. 

How can you shoot Martian woman? Children?

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

19 hours ago, El Diablo said:

I've known one. This was in '89. Said he was Vietnam POW, had been tortured, had escaped, MoH. No internet at the time. Girlfriend of his at the time, they broke up. Next guy she dated was former Green Beret and knew people. Asked some questions. Nope. Now with google-fu anyone can look. Nope. Complete bullshit. Just a sympathy ploy in this guys case is all I took from it.

The "I was a POW in a tiger cage but I strangled my VC captors and crawled through the jungle for weeks before getting back to American lines" is a common trope amongst these dudes.

Almost always, these same guys served honorably in Vietnam, but in a support tole. 

 

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

1 minute ago, Cheeseweasel said:

How can you shoot Martian woman? Children?

Lead 'em a little less and hope zero-G doesn't just make your bullets drift off into space.

But I assume that Space Shuttle Door Gunners will have laser guns. 

[J.R. Juniors Junior Jr. 1,084]

18 hours ago, Jerry Callo said:

On the flip side, I know a guy that served in the military (close to 75-80 now) who won't take recognition as a veteran.  He was stationed stateside and feels that the honor should go to those who actually fought or or at least participated in theater.  When you sign up to serve, you have no idea if you're going to go to combat or not.  Knew a few that got called up for Desert Storm while in college.  Everyone who has donned a military uniform (and received an honorable discharge) is a veteran and have every right to be honored.  There is a special place for the ass clowns that you describe.

 

 

[El Diablo 4,232]

3 minutes ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

The "I was a POW in a tiger cage but I strangled my VC captors and crawled through the jungle for weeks before getting back to American lines" is a common trope amongst these dudes.

Almost always, these same guys served honorably in Vietnam, but in a support tole. 

 

I have no idea if the guy I referred to actually served or not. The way the subject came up was he and I worked together doing facility maintenance at an aluminum extrusion plant in North Carolina back in '89. One Saturday we were working some overtime pouring a concrete slab and he took off his shirt because it was hot as hell and we were sweating like pigs. His back was one massive burn scar. I asked about it and that's when he told me what he did. Said that the VC had put him in a hole in the ground and poured gasoline on him and lit his ass up. I had no reason to doubt it at the time. It wasn't until I was out visiting with his ex (she let me come out to her place to fish) and she told me that her then current boyfriend had done some asking around after hearing the same story that I'd been told and that is was BS, at least the part about being awarded the MoH was. The rest? Who knows?

[BillyGoatHill 4,312]

41 minutes ago, Nivek said:

Whatever Han Solo did, minus 2.   

 

In the 90s, I did have a roommate who was a SEAL.   In retrospect he seemed a little lost outside the structure of the military.   He really only talked about getting the shit kicked out of him and getting picked because he was a body builder.  I didn't pry.    He drove a geo storm.   

What book did he author? (only way to be sure....)

[You don't know me 1,161]

My sister's father-in-law was a Marine during Korea, but that's about all that her or her husband (his son) knew.  One day when I was at my sister's house, her husband gave me a book and said that I may like it.  It was a biography about a guy that had retired from the Marine Corps.  Originally enlisted in the Army at the tail end of WW2, got and went into the Marines and served in Korea and Viet Nam.  The guy had really been through hell.  During Korea he was captured by the Norks and had been handed over to the ChiComs and held as a POW in a political re-education camp.  They actually did end up escaping and it was quite the story. 

Now for the interesting part of the story.  While reading the book and the part about the escape, my sister's father-in-law's name showed up as one of the leaders of the escape and received a medal with a V device for his actions.  I asked my brother-in-law where he got the book, and he said that his dad had given it to him.  I asked him if he read it, and he said no.  I then let him know that his dad was a key person in it during the Korea portion. 

His dad didn't like to talk about his military service.  When I first got out of the Marine Corps and moved near them, he really kind of opened up.  We talked about the book, and of course he said that he didn't feel like what he did was any different than what any other Marine would have done in the situation.  He also told me that he was just some admin guy on a convoy delivering mail when they got captured. 

As for me, I was a computer guy.  Never did anything much.  Never went into a combat zone.  Served from 1988-1999 and spent much of Desert Shield/Storm guarding the Northern Front in Norway (exercise).  Spent a little time in Cuba during the Cuban and Haitian migration of the early 90's.  Then when I got out, I did get to a couple of combat zones, but as a contractor it's much different.

Long story - My sister's father-in-law was a good man that did some amazing things that didn't like to talk about it to many people.  I'm a vet, and proud to have served, but I also get very uncomfortable when people thank me for my service.  In all honesty, it was an honor and privilege to have served and I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

So, thank you to all you tax payers for paying me to do some pretty cool shit and learn a skill that has parlayed into a pretty good career for me.

Oh, and stolen valor guys are creepy and I don't quite get why they go through such elaborate stories for no apparent reason.

[NameAlreadyInUse 5,114]

16 hours ago, Nivek said:

So now that there will be a space force, do I need to stop embellishing about my service?

This probably isn't the thread where I admit I was the very first Space Force officer, right?

[Nivek 16,949]

10 minutes ago, NameAlreadyInUse said:

This probably isn't the thread where I admit I was the very first Space Force officer, right?

Would you like to know more?

[FondrenRoad 4,378]

20 hours ago, MaybeACoordinator said:

Yeah, it's weird. My son is entitled to membership in the VFW now because he is technically serving in a war zone, whereas other people who have deployed overseas do not. But if you served stateside, you should be proud to call yourself a vet, because the military regards you as one. It's like being an offensive lineman -- your efforts enabled the skill positions to do what they do, even if your work is not as glamorous as theirs.

On a side note, VFW posts are dying out.  I'm surprised they haven't expanded to all vets yet.  Even then, younger VFWs/vets simply don't want to join them.

Also, I never understood why anyone would steal valor.  In the grand scheme of things, being a veteran is only useful in places where it is verifiable.  But I guess, judging by El Diablo's story, some guys will do anything for some ass.

[jimmyjazz 46,001]

It does seem that most of the Viet Nam vets I've encountered are pretty close-lipped about it all.  They saw some shit.

My best buddy from age womb for some reason decided to join the Air Force a while back.  This was after getting undergrad and graduate degrees in engineering, and then years later going back to school for veterinary.  He entered as a mid-level officer and basically became a combat medic in Afghanistan.  He says he saw almost no action, just the results of action, but on one occasion did end up near a firefight of sorts while tending to a wounded soldier.  According to him, the sound of a bullet going overhead was far more terrifying than he thought it would be.

Two of my cousins are Rangers.  The older one jumped in early during the Gulf War and didn't make it 2 weeks before stress and anxiety got him shipped out.  His younger brother is still in, and has been wounded more than once.  I doubt their genetics are all that different, but some guys just deal with that shit better than others.  Neither talks much.

As far as I'm concerned, all of them are equally deserving of our respect.  Fuck the play soldiers who try to piggyback on the real thing.

[Jograves 357]

I graduated AIT right before Christmas and we all got like 10 days leave before having to report to our first posts. When I arrived at my unit, there was a story/rumor one of my basic training classmates got married over the break in his Class A uniforms. He promoted himself to master sergeant, gave himself a Combat Infantry Badge, Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and any other medal he could find. Must've looked like a North Korean general by the end of it. He was supposedly court-martialed after hanging his wedding photos in his locker. 

[Cheeseweasel 26,438]

8 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

It does seem that most of the Viet Nam vets I've encountered are pretty close-lipped about it all. 

Truth.

Buddy of mine (who recently died of cancer) served and would never talk about it. As the cancer took it's toll, he opened up to me and told me that he and his squad were headed into action but he came down with a serious stomach bug that sent him to the hospital. He found out there that his squad was wiped out. He said he felt like he cheated them and he should have been there with them. I'd know him for 20 + years and he never told me about it. 

Fuck anyone who would steal what those guys actually went thru.

[Huckleberry 33,045]

14 hours ago, LongestHorn said:

If you know anyone who claims to have been a SEAL, send Don Shipley an email, and he will confirm it with their name.  Or ask the what SEAL class they were in.  If they answer with a year, they're FOS.  Don Shipley is easy to find.  He and his wife have a youtube business exposing Stolen Valor.

If you know anyone who claims to have been US Special Forces, contact the admin at www.professionalsoldiers.com, and he'll know.

 

My wife went to elementary and middle school with a guy who went into the Navy. Long story short, a game of telephone later my wife mentions offhand that he's a SEAL. I didn't know the guy well, but from what I knew of him there was no way he was a SEAL. Just based on personality, etc. She asked me why I would say that and I just said he's a great guy but I don't think he's a SEAL. She sets off to prove me wrong.

To my wife's credit she told me I was right when word finally filtered back. He was in some sort of support role for the SEALs but his exact quote was "Oh hell no, those guys are a different breed." Basically he was talking to his mom about what he did, she talked to my wife's mom, who talked to my wife, and somewhere in that process he turned into a SEAL. Anyway, I'm not enough of a military guy to remember exactly what he said he did, but long story short I was right and my wife almost said "you were right, I was wrong" but stopped halfway through. If she'd actually said the whole thing then this story would have been way less believable then all those stolen valor tales.

[BottleRocket 647]

I have a buddy that was a Navy JAG officer that volunteered for two tours of duty in Dessert Storm.   He always joked that he was in it for the  lifetime $2 bourbon and cokes at the local VFW. 

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

49 minutes ago, Jograves said:

I graduated AIT right before Christmas and we all got like 10 days leave before having to report to our first posts. When I arrived at my unit, there was a story/rumor one of my basic training classmates got married over the break in his Class A uniforms. He promoted himself to master sergeant, gave himself a Combat Infantry Badge, Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and any other medal he could find. Must've looked like a North Korean general by the end of it. He was supposedly court-martialed after hanging his wedding photos in his locker. 

Yeah, there are a few active duty guys on the link in my OP. For being photographed in bling he did not earn, the army busted a sergeant down to E-1, sent him to the brig, and fined him $500 for ten months running. In the comments, people were speculating that he would be chaptered out after they got that $5000 out of him.

A Navy guy did something similar and was also busted down to the lowest rank, sent him to the brig for 45 days, and put on half-pay for two months.  

This one is pretty funny. 

Quote

When he returned home to Wisconsin, he got what every soldier expects – a family welcome – plus a little bit more that he did not expect.

There was a military honor guard. And that’s not all – the local newspaper was there, too – along with representatives from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

“It was supposed to be my family there,” says Olson. “I didn’t know the news was going to be there.”

If he had known, he might not have worn what he was wearing – a sergeant’s stripes and a parachutist’s badge. And he might have canned that fake limp.

You see he wasn’t wounded in Afghanistan. He isn’t a sergeant, and he never went to jump school.

And he may be in trouble.

Major Mike Garcia at Joint Base Lewis McChord says, “I have no explanation … nor can I explain the rank and patches, badges he is wearing.”

And the kicker...

Quote

The local newspaper in his hometown, the Appleton Wisconsin Post Crescent, published some photos from Olson’s return showing him with his mom and a young woman identified as his fiancee.

Trouble is – he’s got a wife at Fort Lewis.

 

 

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

Here are some of the videos my son was talking about:

 

 

[Jograves 357]

Good lord. That's incredible. 

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

1 minute ago, Jograves said:

Good lord. That's incredible. 

I haven't watched much of it, but to walk into a recruiting station in tennis shoes, claiming to be a colonel, and then beg for money, and then remained so composed when put under questioning like that, it pretty fucking amazing. That chick has balls of steel, if nothing else. 

[Guest]

 

No fucking money at a recruiting station.  LOL

 

She's more stupid than brave.   Airplane voucher, "more rank"  and walkin around in go-fasters.

[CooterBrown 18,019]

My grandfather was on the beach at Normandy, liberated a concentration camp, and spent time in North Africa. He never said shit to anyone other than one day he said they were coming out of a pub in London and the bombs the Germans were dropping sounded like lawnmower engines. The only other first hand info anyone got was a scrapbook copy of a letter published at the time in my hometown newspaper where he described what the concentration camp was like. Everything else was pieced together from his discharge papers and a book about his unit. He did have a trunk that included a half dozen nazi belt buckles and an SS officer arm band. I assume taken from dead nazis.

 

[MaybeACoordinator 8,349]

3 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

My grandfather was on the beach at Normandy, liberated a concentration camp, and spent time in North Africa. He never said shit to anyone other than one day he said they were coming out of a pub in London and the bombs the Germans were dropping sounded like lawnmower engines. The only other first hand info anyone got was a scrapbook copy of a letter published at the time in my hometown newspaper where he described what the concentration camp was like. Everything else was pieced together from his discharge papers and a book about his unit. He did have a trunk that included a half dozen nazi belt buckles and an SS officer arm band. I assume taken from dead nazis.

 

Mt grandfather was in the 10th Mountain Division, but never made it overseas. He fucked up his back playing football on the base...But he hated even talking about that, because most of the dudes he trained with were killed in Italy. 

[Texas_Rocks 346]

If you know anyone who claims to have been a SEAL, send Don Shipley an email, and he will confirm it with their name.  Or ask the what SEAL class they were in.  If they answer with a year, they're FOS.  Don Shipley is easy to find.  He and his wife have a youtube business exposing Stolen Valor.
If you know anyone who claims to have been US Special Forces, contact the admin at www.professionalsoldiers.com, and he'll know.
 

Shipley gives no fucks. Dudes usually crumble to peaces once he gets them on the phone. Shipley is actually giving these guys valuable life lessons.

[jimmyjazz 46,001]

Most people learn in their teens that it is far easier to tell the truth than it is to lie.  It's just too damn hard to keep the backstory straight when you lie.

I think these people have a disconnect.  Maybe they're just stupid, but I think it's probably a little more complicated than that.

[Spankytoes 1,742]

Stolen valor is pretty shitty. The worst offenders are military servicemen’s wives. They are on a whole other level of entitlement for shit they didn’t do and try to benefit from. Below that are people that make videos about stolen valor. They’re the SJW of the military variety. Just report the asshole instead of showing everyone just how military you are.

Edited July 10, 2018 by Spankytoes

[Murfdogg21 4,414]

Rambo was based loosely on my service. 

 

Jk. But I do deeply regret not doing a military sponsored medical school coming out of UT or enlisting in the reserves as a technical ops specialist after grad school. I believe I’m too old for all branches now except reserve Army and Marine Corps as a grunt, despite having a PhD in engineering, based on looking into during a recent career change. 

[jimmyjazz 46,001]

22 minutes ago, Murfdogg21 said:

Jk. But I do deeply regret not doing a military sponsored medical school coming out of UT or enlisting in the reserves as a technical ops specialist after grad school. I believe I’m too old for all branches now except reserve Army and Marine Corps as a grunt, despite having a PhD in engineering, based on looking into during a recent career change. 

I mentioned one of my oldest friends above -- BS/MS Engineering (MS @ UT) and a Veterinary degree (UGA).  He joined the Air Force at ~ age 45 as a Major.  He hinted that they were so short on qualified medical officers they started scouring veterinary programs, which seems far-fetched, but at any rate I don't think it's impossible to join as an officer even years out of school.

[Thetexashammer 1,062]

16 minutes ago, BurntEyes said:

I've never know anyone personally who was SOCOM  that ever talked about it in public. Most of them I've know barely talk about it at all. I'm sure YMMV but someone I don't know starts in with I was a SEAL early in meeting them or on the internet and Im skeptical as hell.

What is really interesting is the reason they don't talk about it.

[SKJ 1,311]

Go on...

[FartingMonk 3,608]

I will proudly admit it.  I got the veteran designation on my driver's license because it gets me free entrance to the strip club.  It wasn't about the stolen valor though.  It was a business decision.  I pay 25 bucks for something that is valid for 6 years that gets me free access to the ballerinas.  I'll take it any day.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,515]

I was with the Green Berets,
Special Unit Battalions...
Commando Airborne Tactics...
Specialist Tactics Unit Battalion.
Yeah, it was real hush hush.                    
I was Agent Orange,
Special Agent Orange, that was me.

 

seriously is there any consensus about that the homeless guys proclaiming their veteran status on their cardboard signs?  I figure that a few might be there because of mental illness issues but shouldn’t vets have resources to help them as opposed to begging?

as to different levels of veterans, my dad served stateside in the 50s.  Drafted after dropping out of school.  He wanted very little to do with being recognized as a vet in relation to those that served in a war zone.  He didn’t seem to want to be thanked for serving as he didn’t have much of a choice and didn’t put his life on the line.  

Edited July 11, 2018 by Nice Guy Eddie

[Lat22 4,015]

On 7/8/2018 at 11:31 PM, LongestHorn said:

If you know anyone who claims to have been a SEAL, send Don Shipley an email, and he will confirm it with their name.  Or ask the what SEAL class they were in.  If they answer with a year, they're FOS.  Don Shipley is easy to find.  He and his wife have a youtube business exposing Stolen Valor.

If you know anyone who claims to have been US Special Forces, contact the admin at www.professionalsoldiers.com, and he'll know.

 

These guys are relentless. If you’re going to pretend to be a veteran, you best not pretend you were a SEAL.