Fake military guys & the Stolen Valor Act of 2005

"William Black" wrote:

s a Brit I have some real problems with all this.

Why does anyone care?

If you 'plug in' to the ex-service system you'll certainly come into contact
with people who will know, and there's no advantage in pretending you're
something you are not.

When it comes to Vietnam vets, there are certain advantages to
maintaining the fiction that most of them were jungle rotted victims
of PTSD sprayed with Agent Orange on daily basis and twice on Sundays.

What advantage accrues to someone in the USA if they pretend to have had a
distinguished military career?

In the current enviroment of near worship for the service member and
the veteran one accrues at least of modicum of social respect and
status by being a service member or veteran.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

http://derekl1963.livejournal.com/

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

In message , William Black
writes
If you 'plug in' to the ex-service system you'll certainly come into contact
with people who will know, and there's no advantage in pretending you're
something you are not.

Exposing "walts" is one of the approved sports on the Army Rumour
Service, for example. It's just not wise to pretend to be what you're
not. Someone _will_ ask "so which office were you in, when you were with
MND(SE)?" and claiming "it was so classified I can't tell you" doesn't
work. The floorplan was known to all present, including who was allowed
into which corridors with what clearances.

(FWIW I was in Room G029 But that was in 2005 and they've doubtless
reorganised since then)

Back in this thread someone mentioned that someone pretended to be a MoH
winner.

Surely something like that would be exploded in seconds, it's not as if
there are that many of them. Certainly, in the UK, a VC winner would be
someone of note in the local community and someone claiming to be one who
nobody knew about would be liable to be checked out reasonably quickly.

What advantage accrues to someone in the USA if they pretend to have had a
distinguished military career?

Be fair, the US are a lot nicer to their servicemen than the UK is in
general and some silly sods may decide that being a "decorated hero" may
mean even _more_ benefits, trust and gifts than simply "having served".

I once got bought dinner by one Paul Lemmen, who claimed to have been a
PIRA brigade commander before he defected and started a new life in the
US, and in 2004 was given to wandering around Washington DC in US Army
uniform with brigadier-generals' rank tabs and licence plates before
heading out to Iraq to continue the feat. Last I heard of him he'd been
arrested and was in custody on assorted fraud and embezzlement charges.
He seemed to be able to make a nice living out of sheer brass neck and
claiming to be One of Our Boys, for a while at least. (He cost me
nothing: others who trusted him more, did rather worse)

I've only got one medal and it's only for "showing up, sticking around
and not screwing up _too_ much". Campaign medals cover a multitude of
sins.

--
The nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its
warriors, will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done
by fools.
-Thucydides


pauldotjdotadam[at]googlemail{dot}.com

Paul J. Adam wrote:


I've only got one medal and it's only for "showing up, sticking around
and not screwing up _too_ much". Campaign medals cover a multitude of sins.


So do I. So many people have seen me as a unimedalist that
I couldn't claim much greatness. Keeps us honest, doesn't it?

Cheers
CJ Adams CD & scar