Richard Talent; Time clock phony POW
AverageNCO sent us a link a few weeks ago about a 4th of July parade in Mount Angel, Oregon where the reporter ran into a parade-goer in his Rascal by the name of Richard Talent who told her about his military career;
One onlooker, Richard Talent, viewed the parade from his motorized cart that sat at the sidewalk corner outside the town’s iconic Glockenspiel Restaurant. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Talent was glad to see how the nation’s birthday is celebrated in his relatively new hometown. The Oakland, Calif., native moved to Mt. Angel in 2001.
“It means more than I can say because there are a lot of small-town people here. I like this because I am from a big city,” he said.
Having served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966 to 1970, Talent saw combat and was a prisoner of war held in Cambodia. “It was 17 days, 14 hours and 36 seconds,” the veteran said. “I remember when a Marine guy picked me up and said, ‘Sarge, you are going home.’ “
See, he had his time as a prisoner right down to the second, he spent a lot of time looking at his watch I guess. Richard Talent did indeed spend time in the Air Force, but he wasn’t a POW, if it had happened, it would have happened in Thailand because that’s where he was in a supply unit;
I’m guessing that he was shacked up with a Thai ladyboy who tied him up for 17 days. Then a Marine came along one night in a bar, picked him up and said “You’re coming home with me, sweet hips.” It all got a little mixed up in his mind, so it’s not his fault.
Category: Phony soldiers
Timex, takes a licking and keeps on ticking….
Ol Dick was doing the ladyboys before Yon (allegedly) made it popular.
Perfectly honorable service shot to shit.
Amen.
Once again.
It boggles the mind.
This is all I have:
My first thought when I saw this was, “So at the moment he was captured, he said, ‘hold on, I need to check my watch'”
Thanks for posting Jonn.
A bit of back story. Of all the categories of phonies out there…phony Vietnam POW’s are the ones I REALLY hate. First, because I respect the genuine NAM POW’s so much. Mike McGrath, Jeremiah Denton, Bud Day and the others HEROES! Secondly, because it’s so easily disputed. The established list of POW’s is so easily verified. But knuckleheads like this guy, the ice cream man in York, PA; David “Scruffy” Groves, and Honk Kong Phooey Jerry Partain; They all think the can get away with it and it drives me nuts.
And while this guy doesn’t have the pizazz of some of those guys, Mary’s return of his FOIA, came at a really good time.
I was told officially told yesterday (Japan Time) that my services were no longer needed in the Air Force; I am being involuntarily retired. It’s currently 0048, and I’m just now winding down from the effects of some good pals buying me lots of booze so we could sit around and say a lot of cuss words about the Big Blue Air Force. Jonn posting this less than stellar phony is a well-appreciated last shot of the night. Good night TAH brothers and sisters….and to paraphrase Green Thumb….ALL PHONIES ARE TURDS!!
Average NCO, Having been both sides (Active and Reserve) and also in Japan (Okinawa), Just think about it as an amicable break up and don’t be bitter about it.
It’s not the Air Force that it was when we joined. (Me, 1984) and it’s always better to end things before it gets *REALLY* ugly and trust me, most of my friends that have gotten out in the last 5 to 10 years said it’s *SO* not getting any better.
/SMSgt Chip
Sorry to hear it. Big Blue is losing a lot of good people. I saw the writing on the wall back in Dec with the TERA and force shapping announcements. Applied for TERA first day possible and official retirement date is FRIDAY!!! If yah need help with transition let me know as I’ve just been through it and am happy to help.
I’m sorry you’re getting jacked up like that, here’s to your success over here on the other side… and hey, thank you for your service.
Now’s the time to dig up all those air farce stories and put them where everyone else can see them.
You know, like the one about never walking behind a jet engine that is just starting up, especially if there’s no deflector behind it?
There you go. You’ll be very busy. The hours fill up with plenty of stuff to do.
I had a great time in the Navy. Heck, the first ten years I was in I should have been paying the USN it was so much fun. The last 15 not so much, but I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.
Having said that, you would think that I would miss it terribly…but, you would be big time wrong! I hark back to what a Navy Captain I knew said when asked if he missed the Navy life. “Why, yes, I did…for about 30 seconds!”
I felt exactly the same.
Fake POWs occupy a special place in hell.
Turd.
In case anyone was wondering, and in the interest of completeness:
1. No individual with the last name “TALENT” was among those listed as being returned alive as a POW from SEA:
http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/vietnam/reports/pmsea_returnee.pdf
2. No individual with the last name “TALENT” was among those who escaped/were rescued from captivity in SEA. This list includes multiple individuals held less than 48 hours.
http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/vietnam/reports/pmsea_escapee.pdf
3. No individual named “TALENT” remains MIA and unaccounted for from SEA.
http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/vietnam/reports/documents/pmsea_una_p_name.pdf
To me, that adds up to a rather obvious conclusion. You do the math.
We know, Hondo, we just like to bitch.
I know that, Ex-PH2. But we do have occasional and non-regular readers too. That was more for their benefit than anything else – I wanted to “dot the Is and cross the Ts” regarding this guy’ claims being false.
In the past, there have been a few that TAH has needed to correct or amend.
I, for one, appreciate the completeness of your evidence not because I doubt you or the site, but because it removes any doubt that may occur.
Nice job.
I really want to send “journalists”/media types to military education school. There, they would learn things that would be pertinent when writing stories about the military. That way I won’t have to pull my hair out every time I read one of their half cocked stories and other mindless drivel. I’m almost certain that this guys story would have set off alarms had he told any of us that bullshit.
Leasson 1: The Google. Use it.
“Dick Talent”.
Another case of not even being able to write my typical snarky, self centered commentary with laughing too hard to type it out.
sincerely
John “Faker 6” Giduck
Are you still teaching Shovel-do?
I think there are better opportunities teaching fakers to be Russian Anti-SEALs…less accountability and it makes one “Shipley-proof”
http://thetruthaboutsocnetlies.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/likely-itar-violations.pdf
As I’ve stated before, it may look like three old fat guys in a pool at the top of page 25 of the link, but its actually the only photographic evidence… of…. well… errr….crap, who I am kidding? It’s three old fat guys in a pool.
sincerely
John “Faker 6” Giduck
Hondo, Math is hard, Bullshit is easy. If Mount Angle is as small as was reported, it should be easy to run this asshat out of town. Perhaps we should drop a line to the “Reporter” and force a public retraction. Small towns are usually quite insular and are often distrustful of folks from the big city. This guy needs to go back to Kalifonia where the libs are more likely to buy his lies.
This esteemed veteran was only in Thailand from September 1967 to January 1968, if I read it correctly. Heavy black felt marker on his 2-1….that means black ops per The Iceman. The Iceman was confused about Cambodia/Thailand as well. Wonder if he received a smiley face in the mail from a 5th grade class while he was POW as did Rice.
GDContractor: pretty sure the Jan 68 entry is for change of duty position vice change of station. Looks to me like he was in Thailand at Korat AB (about 140mi NE of Bangkok) for a full year, then returned to CONUS for leave and reported in at Barksdale AFB (Shreveport, LA, area) in Oct 69.
Thanks Hondo, my bad. On my phone and at a disadvantage.
This shitbag has a real TALENT for telling bullshit lies to gullible idiot reporters…
EXCLUSIVE:
Video of Richard Talent in the hands of the enemy being forced to entertain his captures:
Editorial Response and Discussion Regarding Video of Richard Talent held by Cambodians:
Love this movie.
Were there any Vietnam vets that weren’t POW’s?
FFS this “reporter” needs to find a new profession.
I know that comment was tongue in cheek but I need to sat that we only see a very small percentage of the total number of people who served in Vietnam.
I have nothing but admiration and respect for those guys. They fought an umpopular war at a time when most of america were either openly opposed or not willing to openly support them. They cam home not to parades but to protest.
I hear all the time Welcome home said to Vietnam Vets. 40 years to late. The support or services get now is due in no small part to the Vietnam Veterans community that said we wont let another generation deal with what he had to.
For every fake POW their are a thousand who only came home and tried to get on with their lives.
Thank you and thank you. Your words mean a lot to me!
Same here,Thank you very much.But I did have an uncle that was a WWII POW. Taken prisoner in Tunisia on 17 Feb 1943,spent the next 25 months at Stalag IIB. RIP,Uncle Bud.
Correction to my comment. Uncle Bud had to spend 27 months as a POW.
Since the article was apparently written by a ghost called Amy Joyner(not listed as an employee by the paper) here is the paper’s executive editor’s information.
Michael Davis
Executive Editor
503-399-6712
mdavis4@statesmanjournal.com
You guys know what to do.
Can somebody explain to me how you get a campaign and service medal for a conflict in which you never deployed to?
Thailand was part of the Vietnam campaign, so that is valid. At least 3 Thai airbases were used for B52, transit and bomber escort missions. My wife grew up in Udon Thani, NE of Chang Mai where USAF was flying fighters for escort missions, the rest of his story is demonstrably false. S/F
It appears Ms. Joyner used to work the entertainment desk for the StatesmanJournal but is now a freelancer and mostly associated with the Silverton Appeal Tribune, which is the next town over from Mount Angel.
Totally unfair for Jonn to drag the Corps into this, just because this jackass incorporated us into his story. The Air Force alone must bear the burden for this clown! hehe
So, we got us a phony, first name Dick, last name Talent, who for obvious reasons has neither a “dick” nor “talent”!
Based on this characters elapsed time keeping criteria, I guess all of us who had a Snoopy or naked girl Short Timers Calendar were all wrong in just crossing off the elapsed days. Damn, instead of a 8×11 sheet of paper,it would have had to have been big enough to tack up on a 4×8 sheet of plywood or big enough to have been seen from earth orbit.