Anthony Lione; when good service ain’t good enough
The above plaque is posted in VFW Post 2342 in Fort Lee, VA NJ in honor of past post commander, Anthony Lione. Notice that it lists 2 Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star with a “Valor” device, a Silver Star and an Air Medal. Well, according to his FOIA, Anthony has one Purple Heart, but the rest is bullshit;
According to his records, the wound for his Purple Heart was a John Kerry wound;
But, thanks to Scotty for sending us his research on Lione.
Category: Phony soldiers
Sheesh. These cases are the ones that really bother me.
The guy served in combat, honorably, and shed blood for this country. He really has “been there, done that”. But apparently that just wasn’t good enough and he had to be a legend in his own mind.
Sad. Just freaking sad.
Jonn: the VFW post in question is in Fort Lee, NJ – not VA. That’s right across the river from Manhattan, at the west end of the GW Bridge.
That might explain it. Must be something in the water in parts of Jersey near NYC and Philly. We seem to see a sh!tload of posers from those areas.
Yes, but the plaque clearly indicates that he served in the
“U.S. Marine Corp.” I think that is a subsidiary of a the First New Jersey Bullshitters and Posers Corporation.
Lione liar. USMC has a stingy reputation about medals. Even Marine icon Carlos Hathcock didn’t have the decorations this POS pretender tried passing off.
It’s too bad Hallowe’en is over, isn’t it? We could have such fun making up stories about our own exploits to see who can produce the largest pile of cow patties.
This individual should have just thanked his lucky stars that he got back home in one piece with only a minor wound; instead, he decided to stain his honorable record with lying bullshit.
@5 – Open thread time.
@7 – Yeah!
That FOIA form doesn’t include the Republic of Viet Nam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Award, which has been awarded to EVERY soldier, sailor, marine, and airman who served in the Republic of Viet Nam, the blanket order having been published in the “PACIFIC STARS AND STRIPES” and “ARMY TIMES” newspapers.
In 1970, I was briefly stationed on Dong Ha Combat Base, when the Army took over after the Marines left.
During that brief time that I was at Dong Ha, we were frequently recipients of 122mm rocket attacks, plus at least one ground attack, and one sapper attack which made the front page of the “PACIFIC STARS AND STRIPES” newspaper, because the sapper blew up the POL and killed a couple of G.I.s.
I also watched as a UH-1 helicopter crashed (shot down?) in the town of Dong Ha, and heard that all souls aboard had been killed.
A lot of stuff happened in Viet Nam that never got recorded on paper.
I’m not excusing what Lance Corporal Anthony Lione did, nor do I even pretend to understand it.
But, being an ordinary supply clerk, “in the rear with the gear”, still was hazardous in the Republic of Viet Nam, and especially at Dong Ha, which is so close to the DMZ, that you can actually see (through binoculars) the giant red flag waving in North Viet Nam.
Since that plaque is on the wall of a VFW post, does that mean Lance Corporal Anthony Lione is deceased?
I never asked as I never thought of it until now but can a soldier refuse a Purple Heart for a “wound” like this?
I wonder what circumstances alerted Scotty to request Lance Corporal Anthony Lione’s service records?
Was it a complaint from a veteran who was personally acquainted with Lance Corporal Anthony Lione, and/or had served with him in Viet Nam?
Maybe he (if he’s alive) was telling a war story that a fellow veteran realized was untrue?
I don’t know about the ARMY. From personal experience,I refused the write-up for 2 little cuts. My thinking recieved 2 cheap PHs, I would get the big one and a box to go with it. Joe
If the poser is alive, he needs to refund the VFW Post the cost of the plaque. What a sick individual.
On his medals awards. A Air Medal but no listing of the Enliasted combat Air Crew Medal (his wings). Joe
Before the pre-9/11 days, I re-enlisted for Alaska and I was on my way there on orders. Anyway, I had a lay over at the Seattle airport and I am not sure if I was at fault because I really don’t like sitting down and waiting for a flight so “apparently” I was walking up and down the airport looking at shops, bookstores, fast food, whatever when I was approached by six security guards. Like out of a western movie, three guards approached me from the left and three from the right out of my field of vision. A slow moving tumbleweed would have been appropriate at this moment in time. All six of those guards came into my field of vision and blocked my movement. One of them proceeded to ask me questions. I think/believe he asked “What are you doing here?”, “Where are you going?”, “Who are you traveling with?” Etc… Furthermore, I think I told the guy that I was on my way to my new army base in Alaska and the guy proceeded to ask me for my military identification which I then produced and showed him. After he eyeballed my card, he muttered something to the other five guys and they backed off and they went-off in different directions. The main guy, I can’t remember his name, claimed that he was once also stationed in Alaska and he shook my hand and walked away.
To this day, I’m still not really sure why that happened. Maybe, I was just wandering around instead of sitting down, or because I was traveling alone, or because I don’t look, walk, talk, or act like someone from Seattle. Who knows???
Oops, posted on the wrong thread!
@14 JOE WILLIAMS:
During the war in Viet Nam, a lot of infantrymen, who were not air crewmen, and did not earn air crewmen wings, got the Air Medal.
http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/air_medal.aspx
http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r600_8_22.pdf
Looking at the dates he was in Vietnam (looks like at least 8 April 1967-8 April 1968), he would have been entitled to four campaign stars on his Vietnam Service Medal:
Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase II
Vietnam Counteroffensive Phase III
Tet Counteroffensive
Vietnam COunteroffensive Phase IV
So the four service stars on his Vietnam Service Medal would appear to be legit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Service_Medal
Don H: correct. If he was in-country for those dates he would rate 4 campaign stars for his VSM. All services use stars on campaign/service medals to show campaign participation vice multiple awards.
Based on his FOIA and in-country dates, the guy’s actual awards are: PH, GCM, NDSM, VSM w/4 Bronze Campaign Stars, and the VCM. He also appears to rate the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross w/Palm (Unit Award). My guess is his records never were updated to show that, since it was approved for the US military not too long before he was discharged from active duty.
Nothing else on the plaque appears substantiated by his records on-file NPRC. All the rest is thus almost certainly bogus.
Hondo: I wouldn’t be surprised about the records not being updated for the Vietnam Gallantry Cross. When we wrote for my dad’s Korean War medals in about 1978, they sent us a Korean Presidential Unit Citation, which didn’t show on his DD-214 and he didn’t know he had been awarded (and he was the company clerk, so if he’d known about it, it would have been there).
But I agree about the bogus awards. Especially given how the Marine Corps is about not giving out awards. If he had a Silver Star and a BSM w/V, I’m sure he’d have shown up in Marine history someplace.
Also, since the Combat Action Ribbon wasn’t created until after he was discharged, it may be a legitimate award as well, since it was retroactive to 1961, but wouldn’t have shown up on his DD-214.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Action_Ribbon
As usual wiki isn’t entirely accurate, That CAR could be awarded back to Dec 7 1941.
Jonh, all the shop personel who flew portside gunner in my squdron.while awarded the Air Medal and their wings. Joe
Just An Old Dog: at the time the CAR was created in February 1969, it was only retroactive to 1961. A later Public Law (PL 106-65, effective 5 October 1999) passed over 30 years later made it retroactive to 7 December 1941).
— break —
Don H: The only information I’ve been able to find about the ROK PUC was that it was approved “retroactively” for all US forces in Korea during the Korean War. Unfortunately, the date of acceptance by DoD (foreign awards must be accepted by DoD and authorized before they are authorized to be worn or recorded in official records) is not readily available in any of the references I’ve consulted.
Since the blanket approval was “retroactive” and the period is 27 June 1950 to 27 July 1953, I’m guessing it formally accepted by DoD and authorized for wear sometime well after the end of the Korean War.
I also wondered why the guy had no CAR. My understanding of USMC criteria for a CAR is scanty, so I’d assumed that IDF didn’t qualify. But the fact that it didn’t exist at the time could indeed explain why it’s not in his records if he never submitted a retroactive request. (smile)
Joe Williams: the Army and USMC apparently handled door gunner and air crew duties (and air crew badges) somewhat differently during Vietnam. Different services, different rules.
Just goes to show
Tall Corn
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