Frank George Clayton; phony Vietnam veteran

| April 23, 2016

I hate these, I mean, I really hate these. Someone sent this to us a few months ago about this Frank George Clayton for whom someone set up a tin cup in order to pay for his Burial expenses.

Clayton GoFundMe

Frank served our country in the United States Army for 16 years and 6 months. He served in Vietnam where. He received 7 Purple Hearts, 3 bronze star with valor, Vietnam Service medal, and many more medals and commendations.

According to the GoFundMe site, Frank passed about three weeks ago, but nothing in that paragraph above is true. He was in the Army for four years, all four years were after the Vietnam War, there are no Purple Hearts, no Bronze Star Medals. He has the National Defense Service Medal because he joined two months before the eligibility period ended for that medal. It looks like he had a fairly good career as a commo guy in Army Security Agency units and he had a parachutist badge and served in the 82d Airborne Division.

Frank Clayton FOIA

Frank Clayton Assignments

I know I’m going to catch flak for posting this one, especially from the Facebook people, but what I want is to stop posting these damn things. I want people to come clean with their families before they pass on, so I don’t have to be the bad guy. Frank, here didn’t need to rattle a tin cup for burial expenses, the VA would have covered it for his family, so there was no need to go out like this.

I’m becoming a softie in my old age, I have a pile of FOIAs on people who only barely qualify as liars and phonies – but I just can’t bring myself to post them and it’s people like Frank, here, that make it so hard. The GoFundMe thing used to say Frank was a POW, too, that’s what initially brought him to our attention, but I guess someone confronted them and they edited that out while we were waiting for the FOIA.

ADDED: Here is the fake DD214 that he’s been lying about for years and his actual DD214;

Clayton DD214 Forgery

Clayton DD214 Actual

Category: Phony soldiers, Valor Vultures

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Animal

From the gofundme page:

“I am working with local American Legion post 19 and other resources to help make this possible.”

It would seem the AL and other resources should’ve known about the VA burial funds also and that makes me wonder if it wasn’t all a scam to get more money.

SGT Fon

i’m thinking that it is a scam to get money just using the guys name. just my two cents…

Scott Kampen

It was not a scam. Just a family member who got scammed by Frank trying to help in his final moments on earth.

Please read my full comments further below in this post.

Scott Kampen

I met with Richard Perez from AL Post 19. Richard came to the nursing home to visit with me and to see Frank. Frank was pretty much unresponsive by this point.

nbcguy54ACTUAL

You’d think that AL Post 19 would be able to provide some fruitful advice and assistance to the family regarding cremation expenses and VA benefits…

nbcguy54ACTUAL

I sent the Post a message and link asking if they knew anything about this. We’ll see what they say….

Scott Kampen

I met with Richard Perez from AL Post 19. Richard came to the nursing home to visit with me and to see Frank. Frank was pretty much unresponsive by this point.

MSG Eric

Well, the VA would’ve wanted receipts and only given certain choices.

With a Gofundme account, they can distribute the funds however they see fit.

MSG Eric

I remember my grandfather was in WW2. I’m working on the FOIA for him with the examples you guys put here a while back so I can see what he did. He never talked about it so all I know is that he was in for 8 years. He could’ve been sitting in an office in the US or running up the beach at Normandy.

But, it seems there are more often families who hear that their service member single-handedly took on a Kraut Division, or Pulled a battleship through mud, or was the one guy who downed a WW2 plane with his 1911, etc etc.

As others are saying, the AL might’ve wanted to be a little more nosy about his records perhaps?

sj

I got a hold of my USAF Master Sergeant Father in Law’s 214 and he wasn’t truthful. He always told me he “was just a crew chief”. El wrongo. He was a hell of a lot more than just a crew chief. Had more time in Nam than me and spent time in neighboring countries even though the US wasn’t in those countries, wink wink. When he passed we found Air Force One swag in his stuff.

MrBill

Yup – the guys who really “been there, done that” often don’t feel the need to talk about it.

What do you call the inverse of stolen valor? Unclaimed valor, maybe?

Hondo

Modesty. Kinda rare these days.

Cpl/Major Mike

People are pathetic, some sad shit.

AskaMarine

I may be wrong, but I don’t think the VA covers cremation costs.

Have no idea what the funeral home charged for his cremation in Arizona, but do know based on experience in another State, the cost was @$1000 and the person was a Veteran (not retired).

Am speculating that Frank’s wife knew he was dying, but may have been in denial about his upcoming death and failed to make coordination with a funeral home to prepare for his remains to be cremated.

Am also speculating the guy did not have life insurance to cover that costs as well.

Agree this is hard to post. But, what is sad is either Frank embellished his military service without sharing his DD 214 with his wife or the wife may be embellishing.

As others who have been against the Stole Valor Act: “Stolen Valor is a victimless crime.”

The truth is now out. You did the right thing, Jonn. Unfortunately, you are having to be the whipping boy for exposing the truth (IMHO).

And sadly, as long as there is the GoFundMe campaign, this will continue. It is amazing when one researches on the Internet “Google & Vietnam POW”, there are others out there using the same story/lie/embellishment.

Cacti35

The VA covered my brother in laws cremation costs. It was just under $1600. My wife wrote out the check to cover it until my sister in law got the reimbursement money.

Charley Gomes

Even tho I am a disabled vet and get a free plot in Phoenix, all my family is here in Tucson. I went to South Lawn and got a cremation plan and it only cost 525. My burial is PAID IN FULL now. No worries for my family. And yes, I was in Phan Rang 69-70

Civilwarrior

Homeboy was an 05C. Served with the 82nd. Why isn’t that enough?

Mike Kozlowski

…And sadly, if there’s one thing we’ve learned here it’s that if they lied about their service, they lied about other things too.

I know it had to be a tough call, but you did the right thing.

Mike

Hondo

Guy had a perfectly honorable peacetime career – and had to go p!ss all over his own record by lying about it.

Sad. Just freaking sad.

Yeah, I know – theoretically someone else could have exaggerated his career. And theoretically I suppose Santa Claus could be real, too.

MSG Eric

What do you mean Santa Claus “could” be real????

Hondo

I did say “theoretically”. However, I didn’t say I’d place a bet on that being the case. (smile)

HMCS(FMF) ret.

Jonn, you and I and others know that people like Frank will go to the grave rocking the lie about what they did in the military, and will convince their own family members and friends of their “service” to the country. And when the truth is revealed, they will defend their friend because they can’t deal with the fact that their loved one/friend was a liar. We all have seen it here time and time again.

You and the other MilBlogs that do this work have a heavy load to bear because you have the morals and character to tell the truth when it needs to be told. Sometimes it’s the hardest thing that we have to do – you and I know that.

Right now in this country, it seems to me that we have a problem with “the truth”… we need more people like you Jonn, and others here at TAH, to help us remember that’s there’s no need to be embarrassed about your service, in any capacity, to our country.

Frank Clayton decided a long time ago to lie about his service, and he was wrong for it. He made the decision to lie, and took it with him to the grave. Unfortunately, his family may not like seeing the truth, but it needs to be told.

You’re an honorable man, Jonn. If I had children of my own, I would hope that they would spend time with you and others here learning that there is nothing wrong with being truthful and honest.

Scott Kampen

Hello. Thanks for your comments. I appreciate seeing and hearing the truth, especially since we (his family) didn’t receive it from Frank himself.

A few days before Frank died I found a DD214, which listed an impressive military career. It was based on that one and only pice of paper that I set up the GoFundMe account to help raise enough funds to have him cremated. That was during the week of March 27th.

Last week my cousins daughter and son-in-law founds other DD214 forms which now clearly show that the first one I found was a fraud.

Frank lied about his military career and his entire life. The bad thing is we found out about it after he died and we grieved for his loss. Wish we would have known the truth before he died so we could have confronted him in person about it.

I am truly sorry for any deception I have caused and am truly sorry for shaming all veterans who truly deserve our respect and gratitude.

AskaMarine

I also hope his cousin or others can explain how Frank served in Vietnam considering he was born in June 1957.

Yuma Arizona court records show he had a substance abuse problem in 2000. May explain why the initial claim was “Prisoner.”

Again, don’t know the funeral home policy in Arizona if they request $$$ up front for cremation costs.

An honorable career. The guy served. Who knows who is doing the embellishing…the deceased, his “wife” who has a different last name or the cousin.

And yes, if the deceased was affliated with AL 19, one would think they would help.

So many unknowns here. Thought it was bad taste the cousin had to post that picture of Frank.

Thank you, Jonn, again, for having the guts, courage and gonads to tell the truth. You do indeed put up with a lot of S!@t.

AskaMarine

Well, this is interesting.

Frank also was from Vancouver, Washington.

According to those Court Records, he was born in June 1952.

Yet, the Arizona Court Records has June 1972.

Don’t know which year is correct…confusing and I guess now OBE, but as the records show, he definitely did not serve in Vietnam.

Hopefully, the Cousin who started the GoFundMe campaign will come here and explain all of this.

Scott Kampen

Hello. Thanks for your comments. I appreciate seeing and hearing the truth, especially since we (his family) didn’t receive it from Frank himself.

A few days before Frank died I found a DD214, which listed an impressive military career. It was based on that one and only pice of paper that I set up the GoFundMe account to help raise enough funds to have him cremated. That was during the week of March 27th.

Last week my cousins daughter and son-in-law found other DD214 forms which now clearly show that the first one I found was a fraud.

Frank lied about his military career and his entire life. The bad thing is we found out about it after he died and we grieved for his loss. Wish we would have known the truth before he died so we could have confronted him in person about it.

Frank also led us to believe he was born in 1947 so he could continue to lie about his military record. Well last week we found his birth certificate and it clearly shows he was born in Vallejo California on June 15, 1957.

I am truly sorry for any deception I have caused by continuing the lie Frank left for us after his death and am truly sorry for shaming all veterans who truly deserve our respect and gratitude.

OWB

Will join you, Jonn, in hating this kind of stolen valor more than any other. Perhaps the worst of it is that we will likely never know if he himself lied about the nature of his service, and if he did if it might have been influenced by dementia or other physical/mental disability.

Families often get confused about the military service of their loved ones. Did that happen here? Again, we are not likely to ever know.

Sad. In the meanwhile, I will try to honor this man’s brief service. He earned that much for sure – I don’t really know if he also earned my scorn. Someone has, but it may or may not have been him personally, or completely of his own doing.

Jarhead

The guy’s dead and gone. F___k a bunch of assholes who wanted their Audie Murphy hero buried and remembered with honors he did not deserve. Liars deserve no respect, even in death. ESPECIALLY when a lot of their lies were about having made claims about military service. As for the AL, don’t expect a lot from them. It’s membership and dues with certain posts folks. That organization, as MANY others, is not the AL we knew years ago. One post in particular I could name but will only say in S. IN, has the usual problems. Complaints about some lesbians and their behavior in front of other members even when having their family along to eat….nobody is going to do ANYTHING because one of the lesbos is the sister of the post commander. Additionally, over time many town folk have been regularly allowed to come in and drink/socialize who never served a day. Originally and for probably a while, they were brought in and signed in by member friends. After a while they were and still are allowed in without the friend’s nightly sign in. This is NOT a major complaint against the A L as a whole, so don’t go postal on my comments. It is simply an explanation as to the level some organizations individually allow themselves to self destroy. This ain’t Kansas Toto. No complaints from here Jonn. You did the right thing by posting and hopefully exposing another military fraud. The P C crowd who goes through life with the attitude “We don’t want to offend anyone” are pathetic losers who lack the back bone and maturity to deal with the real world. I don’t speak for you or anyone else, but those who want to make you out to be the bad guy…Get a life and get a grip you candy ass spineless earth worms. They can all stick their “flak” up their ass. Thank you Jonn for doing the RIGHT THING. Not every person who posts here are going to respond this way, but you can bet the MAJORITY feel the same. To any… Read more »

mr. sharkman

If these ‘cases’ ever get you down, you need to remember for a moment all of the guys, silenced way too early, whom you are defending.

For every guy in his 20s who wanted to make it home for Christmas again and didn’t, because he stepped up and put honor and duty before self – no exceptions.

There’s a poem about a serviceman who didn’t make it home that has stuck with me since the first time I read it;

‘Remember the time you lent me your car and I dented it?
I thought you’d kill me…
But you didn’t.

Remember the time I forgot to tell you the dance was formal, and you came in jeans?
I thought you’d hate me…
But you didn’t.

Remember the times I’d flirt with
other boys just to make you jealous, and
you were?
I thought you’d drop me…
But you didn’t.

There were plenty of things you did to put up with me,
to keep me happy, to love me, and there are
so many things I wanted to tell
you when you returned from
Vietnam…
But you didn’t.’

It’s fine to feel a little sympathy for surviving family that was lied to.

But that sympathy should have no relation to any self-doubt or personal regret.

You are upholding the honor of guys who gave their lives for the very same honor, and you are defending the sacrifice of their friends and family who also suffered greatly.

Don’t ever forget that.

Just An Old Dog

Go-Fund-Me is rampant with all kinds of bullshit sob stories, only a fraction of them are Stolen Valor related.
GFM don’t give a flying fuck either because they are getting a piece of the pie, regardless.
Its the internet version of standing on the corner with a cardboard sign. The thieves are here and gone in a flash.
Like that eyebrowless skank in Idaho last week. 800 bucks. Easy money for her, and it didnt involve a truck stop and scratched up knees.

Parachutecutie

I have come to loathe gofundme just about as much as I loathe posers and liars.

Well done, Jonn

Snotcrow

I concur. Most GoFundMe are retarded. Some people set them up themselves for their birthdays now. Geez.

And yes, no flak John. It has to be done.

Green Thumb

Another turd whose lasting legacy will be to continuously shame his family from beyond the grave….

ex-OS2

Cocksucker, period.

Scott Kampen

Here is how the entire event went down. Frank didn’t set up the Go Fund Me account, I did. I received a call from Frank when he was in the hospital, he said he was dying. So I flew to Arizona to be with him and to help my cousin prepare for his loss. My cousin is his wife. When I arrived in Arizona Frank was in a nursing home and for the most part unresponsive by this time. That was Sunday the 27th of March. The next day while cleaning out his car I found, what I believed to be, his DD214. At the time I was shocked and blown away by his military record. That was the only piece of paper I had to go by at the time. Not ever being in the military myself, I didn’t know who to contact. I did find a card in Frank’s wallet to the local American Legion so I called them, they came and meet with me but that was it. Knowing that Frank was just a few days from dying, I started calling around to find out about burial and cremation costs. Average price was around $1000. So that is why I started the GoFundMe account. Meanwhile during that week I continued to help my cousin (she is 80) pack up because I needed to move her to Washington state back home. Frank died on Thursday the 31st of March. We had him cremated, loaded up the RV, and headed north to Washington. While unpacking and cleaning out the RV last week Pats daughter and son-in-law found more DD214 forms, Frank’s birth certificate, and other pieces on information that now show he was a fraud. The DD214 that I had found on the first day is clearly a forged document that Frank made. I am so ashamed that I feel for that and that I used that as my only evidence that he actually served. Not sure how I can apologize to all those who read about Frank or donated to his cremation costs, but at this point I… Read more »

Scott Kampen

In my post above I meant to say “he wasn’t a decorated war hero”

Scott Kampen

Here is how the entire event went down. Frank didn’t set up the Go Fund Me account, I did. I received a call from Frank when he was in the hospital, he said he was dying. So I flew to Arizona to be with him and to help my cousin prepare for his loss. My cousin is his wife. When I arrived in Arizona Frank was in a nursing home and for the most part unresponsive by this time. That was Sunday the 27th of March. The next day while cleaning out his car I found, what I believed to be, his DD214. At the time I was shocked and blown away by his military record. That was the only piece of paper I had to go by at the time. Not ever being in the military myself, I didn’t know who to contact. I did find a card in Frank’s wallet to the local American Legion so I called them, they came and meet with me but that was it. Knowing that Frank was just a few days from dying, I started calling around to find out about burial and cremation costs. Average price was around $1000. So that is why I started the GoFundMe account. Meanwhile during that week I continued to help my cousin (she is 80) pack up because I needed to move her to Washington state back home. Frank died on Thursday the 31st of March. We had him cremated, loaded up the RV, and headed north to Washington. While unpacking and cleaning out the RV last week Pats daughter and son-in-law found more DD214 forms, Frank’s birth certificate, and other pieces on information that now show he was a fraud. The DD214 that I had found on the first day is clearly a forged document that Frank made. I am so ashamed that I fell for that and that I used that as my only evidence that he actually served. Not sure how I can apologize to all those who read about Frank or donated to his cremation costs, but at this point I… Read more »

Jarhead

Scott…From my personal point of view you are forgiven. Likewise respected for writing and explaining how you were hoodwinked. It could happen to anybody, but VERY DAMNED FEW would have the guts to write and admit what you did. No need for you to feel bad, you did what you thought was right at that time…not for personal gain or to further take the lie Frank had been living.
As for Frank the poser and liar, most veterans would stand in line to piss on his grave. He dishonored all those who made the ultimate sacrifice, so he could be the big hero everyone worshiped. He may be dead, but he’s just another dead asshole. You aren’t the first and won’t be the last fooled by a phony. Your apology is accepted and I regret that Frank’s lifetime of lies has caused you to suffer this indignity.
Well done sir. And while I’m at it..f__k Frank with a french fry up his cold dead a__.

Jarhead

As for Frank’s ashes, flush them down the toilet where other s___t goes and belongs.

Hondo

Mr. Kampen: As Jarhead noted above, anyone can err and trust the wrong person or otherwise be fooled. It takes guts to admit you’ve been fooled – and serious guts try to set the record straight.

You’ve done the latter. Kudos for that; thanks.

But for what it’s worth: maybe you should think a bit before you decide what to do next. You’re angry; you could easily overcompensate out of anger.

If it were me, I’d have the man’s ashes laid to rest properly – even if I was too p!ssed-off to attend. Regardless of any later lies, the man did serve honorably when many would not. IMO he still rates a proper burial, even if he did later lie about his career. But that’s your call.

A Proud Infidel®™

DITTO what Hondo said.

Scott

Thanks Hondo. We haven’t decided what to do with his remains at this time. As a family we are still trying to figure right from wrong, truth from fiction. Frank will get the burial/service he deserves, nothing more nothing less.

Eden

Well said, Hondo.

AskaMarine

Scott, I personally want to commend you and say thank you for your sincerity and honesty. You are so better than those who come to TAH defending/enabling those individuals who lied and dishonored our Military Men and Women. I have compassion for you that you were conned. I was surprised to read that Frank contacted you instead if his wife. Am also assuming his wife was ignorant on his military service or fell for the same story. Sadly, those who are against the Stolen Valor Act feel stolen valor is a “victimless crime.” And as you can see, you became a victim. Can’t tell you what to do and I guess it is too late to reimburse those who donated to your GoFundMe site since your cousin already received a check and paid for his cremation. Are you willing to share on your GoFundMe site the same anguish you shared with us, i.e. tell everyone the truth that you were deceived? What is your cousin’s reaction to all of this? Yes, she is grieving now, but has she been told the truth? THANK YOU so much again for having the courage in posting and apologizing. You are a good man, Scott. You thought you were doing the right thing. Your heart and soul were in the right place. And please believe me (I only speak for myself) that posting this as well as comments is painful. The folks here at TAH, especially Jonn, are wonderful folks with the majority being Veterans (alot of Combat Veterans). It saddens me to see someone who did serve our country embellish their Military career. Frank served. Why he lied, I guess we will never know. I encourage you to read about TAH (who we are) as well as other posts (you can find them all on Google). Again, I speak for only myself: I recommend you and your cousin make a financial contribution to TAH. And I encourage you to read this Blog on a daily basis. TAH shares “feel good” stories as well. Especially stories that announce the remains of MIAs from different… Read more »

AskaMarine

Scott, I know I already stated this, but do you think it may be too embarrassing or humilating to post on your GoFundMe page that Frank did serve honorably, but not how he depicted himself (Vietnam Vet, POW, recipient of medals he did not earn, etc) with a caveant that sometimes donors need to check sources before donating to any GOFUNDME sites? That way, you are apologizing to those who did donate. Perhaps it is best that they read it directly from you on your site instead of finding out later either thru word of mouth or Google? And if this is any comfort to you, others have been conned by folks claiming to be Vietnam POWs or embellishing their career…and also by those who never served…and they get caught and some of them have been identified on TAH. Just a recommendation on my part. I can’t speak for Jonn or others here.

Scott

I have now updated the GoFundMe campaign description and have let those who have contributed that they can receive a full refund.

Scott

Thank you for your words of encouragement.

My cousin has nothing to apologize for. Only I do for sharing Frank’s lie with the world. She is really just beginning to come to terms with the fact that for the past 25 years she has been living with someone who’s entire life was one lie after the other. Let’s just let her mourn his loss and come to terms with it.

In the end the small amount of funds raised were given to her to help pay for expenses. I will post an update on the GoFundMe campaign and have it closed so no one else can donate to it.

AskaMarine

Thank you, Scott.

Again, I know this has been a very painful experience for you and your cousin and I truly feel sadness and compassion for you.

You did the right thing. Frank did not.

Thank you again for your courage. You are setting a wonderful example to your family for being honest and forthright.

Animal

You’be got more guts than the supposed former top enlisted adviser to the CJCS has and that’s a fact. I’m one of the ones that questioned your motives and I’ve never been happier to be wrong. It gives me a glimmer of hope in humanity to be so.

You’ve been given good advice about not making a hasty decision about his burial. Not because of anything he deserves, but because you’re a better person than he was and that’s what good people do. They behave honorably even when other’s haven’t and you’ve proven yourself to be honorable. Thanks for coming here. It certainly spoke volumes for your character.

AskaMarine

? to Animal, because Scott, you ARE a better man that the 1st SEAC of the JCS.

If you ever have the opportunity (and I know your plate is full now), please take the opportunity to read about Michael Duane Killam, Phony Vietnam POW on TAH.There are 611 comments on the blog, but you will then understand why you are a better man than PV9 Gainey.

And please remember: you did the right thing based on what you were told. And there are a lot of compassion folks on TAH as evident by their comments.

Garth Leedle

We’re slowly trying to explain to my mother-in-law that Frank wasn’t any of the things he claimed to be. It’s going to take time for her to accept the truth and I don’t know if she will really ever fully understand what damage he’s left in his wake. But as I stated below, we’re very sorry and the money will go to help my mother-in-law who is pretty much penny-less and living with us.

AskaMarine

Garth, just as Scott, I commend you for your courage and strength to come here and post an apology, which in reality, should have came from Frank, but of course, that won’t happen since he is gone.

I wish you the best in helping your Mother In Law.

Have you and Scott contacted the VA about any benefits since Frank did receive an honorable discharge?

Garth Leedle

Frank didn’t leave anyone with the ability to receive in benefits from his death. He only left Pat, my Mother-in-law, with nothing but debt. There is no executor to his estate and I have no way of getting to anything that he owned under his own name. They were together for over 20 years but didn’t actually get married and he has no will. He only made a will for Pat which gave him everything if she passed. So even if there were benefits from the VA, she can’t take advantage of them because she has no legal way of getting them.

This whole thing is more confusing than this stupid DD214… I have a serious mess on my hands.

Thanks for hearing us out. I wish I would have known about you guys while he was alive.

Marine_7002

Scott: thank you for your candor, and please – don’t think for a minute that anyone in TAH who has an ounce of compassion would think that you did anything wrong. You did what you thought was the right thing at the time, and you continue to do so.

I agree with Hondo, give this some time to settle, and then make a decision that comes from the head as well as the heart. You sound like a decent, up-front kind of person, the best of luck to you and yours.

Garth Leedle

I wanted to come on here to help explain the situation with Frank and defend Scott a bit. My name is Garth and I’m the son-in-law to the woman Frank’s been fleecing for the past 20+ years. Please understand that Scott is not at fault over this confusion. He is one of the most caring and giving people I’ve ever met and is another victim of this asshole. He’s taken advantage of a lot of people and Scott was in a long line of very good and well intentioned people. I met my wife around 1993 and was introduced to her mothers new boy friend, Frank. My wifes father was in a VA hospital with MS and Frank was washing dishes at the VA where they met. Frank told wild stories of battles in Vietnam and how he was a POW. I was a bit of a history buff and Vietnam was very intriguing to me and I apparently asked too many questions one night and called him out on some Inaccuracies, he went into a full blown drunken melt down. Some punches were thrown, by him at me, and my wife and I have never had a very close relationship with her mother and Frank since that day. There are a ton of stories but I’ll fast forward to the past month. Frank had told us at that he had the following cancers, Brain, Stomache, pancreas, Lung, Kidney and colon… all of which were lies. He had Lung cancer from years of smoking 3 packs a day and a stomache tumor cause from excessive drinking. We just found that out because of the great work Scott did earning Franks trust. Scott, my wife and I all flew from Washington state to Yuma, Az to help my 80 year old Mother-in-law drive their Fleetwood RV back up here. She is now living with us in Vancouver, Washington and I’m trying to figure out the financial mess Frank left her in. We found 2 DD214’s, and we now realize the one he had was a forgery and we have the original.… Read more »

AskaMarine

Garth, as with Scott, my heart goes out to you and what you are going through right now.

Thank you for your sincere apology, even though you and Scott did nothing wrong.

Please pass the word to others that Stolen Valor is not a victimless crime and majority of the time, it is the family or love ones that pay the price for embellishment or lies.

Hopefully, your Mother in Law and family will soon find healing and closure because of someone elses deception. And I hope you and Scott can find that healing as well, because you both deserve that.

You have courage and are setting a wonderful example for your family and future generations to come.

Thank you again, Garth.

All the Best to you and your Love Ones.

Garth Leedle

Thank you, that means a lot to hear. It’s been a really tough month and seeing people saying how horrible we were for the GoFundMe was tough to read. I knew once we could explain things people would understand.

Thanks again

ex-OS2

RE-3 to boot….still a cocksucker.

Garth Leedle

What’s an RE-3? We’re trying to learn what all this means.

Garth Leedle

NVM, I Looked it up. It means he wasn’t eligible for re-enlistment.

ex-OS2

He would have been eligible with a waiver.

His actual DD214 indicates:

Unsuitability-Apathy, Defective Attitude or Inability to Expend Effort Constructively

Honorable Discharge nonetheless.

Animal

How in the world did the AL guy not question the “Distinguish” Service Cross, “Meitorious” Service Medal, and 2 “Accommodation” Medals? ? ? No wonder the VSO’s have so many phonies.

Claw

He enlisted one week after his 17th birthday.

Turned legal drinking age of 21 while at Fort Bragg.

Fayette Nam claimed another victim.

Enuff said.

AskaMarine

Claw, Deja Vu as in Killer??

Claw

Yep, same deal.

Outcome all depends on which fork of the road you take.

Hondo

Entirely possible. Though the legal drinking age in NC was lowered to 18 for beer and wine after adoption of the 26th Amendment (18 y/o vote), it remained 21 for liquor. It didn’t go back up to 21 across the board until 1986.

http://www.drinkingmap.com/drinking-age-in-north-carolina.html

Garth Leedle

If you look closely at both documents set side by side you can see that he used the original DD214 to make the forgery. The holes at the top are an exact match and you can see the paper clip hole from the original that a scanner will display as a black line on the left side at the top.

It was a good forgery that would fool anyone not familiar with this document, but I knew it wouldn’t fool people that are familiar with them. The other thing that stood out was it the print was typed by hand, it was clearly a font. The original was clearly typed by hand.

Claw

The thing that caught my eye on that DD214 was him being a 19 year old Master Sergeant.

He had enough time after the DOR of 670417 to have made Sergeant Major easy. Wonder what happened?

Garth Leedle

That is the fake one, he was only an E5 sgt in 1979. The forgery shows that he was an E8 MSGT.

Claw

Garth, I know that.

I was just trying to interject a little humor into the deal.

We made rank fast in the Army, but not that fast, especially when the DD214 shows he spent most of his first few years just going to various schools. It’s kinda hard to zip right up from Private E-1 to Master Sergeant E-8 while still in the schoolhouse.

Hope I didn’t confuse you.

Garth Leedle

Ahh, gotcha. This is all new to me. I couldn’t have told you what a DD214 was a few weeks ago…

Animal

Also the absence of either the or the Viet Nam Campaign Medal should’ve stuck out.

Eden

Wow, he had to be rockin’ the lie for a VERY long time! And looks as though he did his homework, even though his spelling was off.

AnotherPat

So now am really confused.

I thought the Good Conduct Medal (GCM) was for three years.

His first enlistment was only 2 years, 1 month and 21 days.

His second enlistment did cover 3 years, but he was Chaptered out of the Army for reasons stated on his real DD214.

So how did he get a GCM if he was not “good?”

ex-OS2

I may be mistaken, but I believe that the Army Good Conduct Medal can also be awarded with just one year of active service if service is during a declared war.

Hondo

The Army GCM (1st award only) can be awarded under several different conditions for less than 3 years of service. I’d have to look them up in the reg to list them here. However, that’s not the case with this guy.

Claw

Pat, once he put in the other 10 months and 9 days (without a break in service) to make it a full three year stint, he was eligible for a GCM.

Probably awarded to him shortly after he arrived at Fort Bragg in 1977.

Things didn’t start to go downhill for him until later on in 78/79.

Hondo

His active duty was actually continuous from Jun 1974 to Nov 1979. That’s more than enough time for 1 GCM.

From his assignments, I’d guess he came down on assignment orders for Korea in 1976, but didn’t have enough time left on his enlistment to complete the tour. Pretty sure Army policy then was extend for sufficient time to complete the tour (or re-up) or stay stateside – with a bar to reenlistment. Looks to me like he decided to re-up before going to Korea, then got chaptered out after being assigned to Bragg for a couple of years.

Policy at that time was that each reenlistment generated a discharge (and a DD214) for the period of service that immediately preceded it. Thus the reference to 2+ years of “prior active service” on his final DD214.

AnotherPat

Thank you to everyone about the clarification on the GCM. Have to admit I did research AR 670-1, but was still confused about the critera.

And now I know. 🙂

AskaMarine

Scott,

Thank you for updating your GoFundMe page and letting others know the truth.

Know I am repeating myself, but you, Garth and your families should hold your head high and be proud that you did the right thing. You have integrity. Others do not.

You have nothing to be ashamed about. As with everything else, this too shall pass and healing and closure will come.

Embellishers, phonies and those who enable their behavior sometimes come on TAH and read these posts.

My hope is that they read your comments and feel ashamed of themselves…that is, if they have a conscience or remorse. Sadly, most of them are in denial, are self-righteous and go on the defense and attack mode.

I hope you and Garth continue (when time permits) to read TAH and even provide a comment or two.

Some of the Blogs are funny. Not all focus on Stolen Valor. Heck, we have a couple of Veterans here who share yummy recipes as well as nice photos.

I feel that you and Garth will be able to find that peace and can sleep at night knowing you have supporters here and did the right thing. Sorry it all started out wrong, but IMO, something good always comes out of something bad.

Take care, Scott.