Korean War Vet’s Board of Directors; Thomas Martin McHugh
So the larger article about James Ferris from the Syracuse Post-Standard came out this afternoon and the Board decided that they want a pretender representing their organization in this the year of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the ceasefire in Korea;
“We are totally supportive of Jim Ferris,” said Larry Kinard, of Midland, Texas, the group’s first vice president. “We feel that he has been wronged. Jim Ferris has been a very qualified and outstanding president of our organization, and the board supports him totally.
“In this case, we don’t think it meets the definition of stolen valor. He was simply honoring his brother’s wishes,” Kinard said.
Yeah, he was wronged. Why is it that we’re just hearing that those were his brother’s medal now after it’s become national news. And I’ll remind everyone that his initial reaction to the reporters’ questions was that I was wrong.
So, I guess you’re wondering how this could happen. Well, maybe it’s because the leadership of the KWVA is shot through with phonies. Like Thomas McHugh;
I wrote to Mr. McHugh a few weeks ago to ask him about the discrepancies in his record. I almost went deaf from the sound of crickets – well, if I wasn’t deaf already. Look at the size of that rack he’s sporting. It hardly compares to his records;
His highest award in the picture is the Meritorious Service Medal. None in his records. The rest are too blurry to make out, except the Army Acheivement medal and Good Conduct medal on the top row. I see a NCOPD Ribbon, a National Defense Service Medal, an Army Service Ribbon and an Overseas Service Ribbon. All petty stuff, but almost none of it is in his records. But I don’t see any overseas tours in his thirty years of Reservist annual training stints;
Yeah, it’s all minor BS, but I guess there are degrees of Stolen Valor at KWVA. They’re willing to accept Ferris’ hijinx because, I’m guessing that they’re all hiding something. I have another couple that I’ll be rolling out unless the little club fixes this bullshit.
Correction: I mistakenly called the Syracuse Post-Standard the Syracuse Herald in the original. I wasn’t aware that the Herald had been out of publication since I left. The Herald and Post-Standard were interchangeable in those olden days.
Category: Phony soldiers
Wow
As I said in the other thread, if I was a Korean War vet who served with honor, I would quit that KWVA immediately; and all Korean war vets who detest this lying BS should form their own rival organization to proudly and properly represent their interests, and let KWVA and its dis-honorable leadership wither on the vine
Just wow… I’m with you @2
You should just go for the jugular and expose all you have lol
Damn, Jonn…. just drop the big one and show us the “Rice Paddy Daddy’s” that are in the KWVA… all the assclowns need to feel the fury of your pimp hand…
#2 Hopefully other KWVA are far more honorable than this one. I would really embarrass this one,in local papers and probably show up at the ceremony with some real KW VETS (wether they are members or not.
You think they are all in this together?
CIRCLEJERK!!!!!!!
/sheesh
Crazy coincidence, if they aren’t.
My intent here is not to bring down the whole association, it’s to get them to do the right thing. They don’t see how they’re doing anything wrong by keeping Ferris, and they say I’ve “wronged” him. So it’s my fault for exposing and not his fault for wearing his pretty shit. That attitude needs to change.
This whole business with Ferris and now McHugh is so unfortunate on many levels. I was hoping that Ferris would turn out to be legit, same for this guy and potentially others in leadership positions at KWVA. Unlike some of the other frauds exposed for stolen valor, I take no pleasure in learning that some of the top leadership representing Korean War vets have lied about their record. Korean War veterans deserve better.
@Jonn. Good points, as always. This is just sad.
Of course they’re not going to call out one of their own. That would mean they’d have to admit they’re just as guilty.
I’m not a member of this organization, nor do I know anyone who is, but if I were, I’d run, not walk, away from these people.
(Dis)Honor among thieves, in this bunch.
One of my uncles served in the Infantry in the Korean War. I don’t appreciate that smug mug above, I can tell you that.
They need to stop the “he’s a buddy” bullshit and hold him accountable – and their actions show that the won’t do it. Start dropping the napalm on the leadership of the organization that are not honest with their service. Maybe the membership needs to put internal pressure on the KWVA leadership to start “cleaning house” of those that have lied about their service.
Reading about this and other groups that have allowed individuals to join that have lied about their service, or have not served at all, has made me apprehensive about joining any of them that I am eligible to join. This half-assed manner of verifying eligibility for membership just doesn’t sit right with me…
Jonn,
Cut him some slack. You see … as per the FOIA document … he is authorized 5 ribbons. He just got it wrong … he has 5 rows of ribbons.
Anyone can make THAT mistake!
Simple misunderstanding!
He is not just a F**k Up, He is OUR F**k Up. Said the KWVA in a statement released today. So it is not really Stolen Valor when you bend your head like this and then ram it up your ass. See no Stolen Valor from that point of view.
@10 it is amazing Jonn how our society has changed so much that the truth tellers are wronging someone when they tell the reveal the truth about a charade. It’s Orwellian in its’ absurdity.
It would be different if you were pointing out that an 87 year old man had a ribbon he earned upside down and you were being an 4ssclown about something that while technically wrong, is not relevant to the nature of the man.
Wearing what you don’t earn, claiming what you didn’t do are lies. Lies designed to ingratiate individuals with a group to gain position, money, sex, whatever.
These lies are insidious, (these are not the lies of two old men discussing how they had an affair with Marilyn Monroe after the war when the truth was it was Madelyn Munroe)…these are lies whose very inception come from a place of dishonor. Lies that hurt honest men and women.
If these lies were of the inconsequential nature most folks here would tell you to go f#ck yourself, but you can’t wrong a liar with the truth. The truth as the SCOTUS reminds us is the only defense. Thank you for keeping up a good defense, it’s a thankless job and I don’t envy your email inbox or your phone message system. But it keeps the phonies aware their lies are going to be revealed and maybe that will keep some others from joining those lies….
I guess the rank and file of the organization can kiss following the KWVA’s code of conduct off. Why have something for the group to follow if the leadership doesn’t follow or enforce.
http://www.kwva.org/update/i_update_060818_code_of_conduct.asp#CodeOfConduct
Sad thing is that most Korean War vets I know don’t have internet access and won’t be aware of the issue at hand. They will be spoon fed info from their groups leadership.
Open Blog Bite to KWVA:
As a retired US Navy Master Chief who has ACTUALLY been to Korea and the son of a US Army SGT who actually fought on Korean soil during the Korean War, the Board of Directors, President, and all current officers of the KWVA can Kiss My Royal Irish Ass.
If my father was alive today he would say the same plus much more.
Your organization and its position as indicated here today is disgraceful.
One of the many problems enforcing stolen Valor. Some of the guys being busted out have been respected members of organizations for years, many do a decent job at running the organizations. The groups are given the choice of shit-canning a friend and trying to find a good replacement or accepting some sort of apology and sweeping it under the rug.
It boils down to what the organization thinks is most important. Integrity should be of utmost importance. If it isn’t I have no interest in being affiliated with that group.
For what it’s worth: I took some time, “blew up” his photo, and analyzed his ribbons as best I could. Here’s what I came up with regarding the ribbons he’s wearing: 1st Row: MSM, AAM, GCM 2nd Row: ARCAM, NDSM, AFSM(?) 3d Row: AFRM, NCOPDR, ASR 4th Row: OSR, unk, NJ MSM 5th Row: NJ Merit Award, NJ State Service Award, NJ Recruiting Award The unknown one I can’t place might be the NATO Non-Article 5 Medal for Afghanistan, or it could be some state ribbon I just can’t find. (It also looks kinda like the WW1-era “Occupation of Germany” medal’s ribbon, but I don’t see any hint of thin red stripes at the edges so I don’t think that’s what it is.) If it’s a state ribbon, it doesn’t seem to be from NY or NJ – the two places he seems to have served most. At some point, though I can’t find it in his assignments the guy apparently had a tour of Active Duty time in a non-training capacity. His FOIA report shows the NDSM and a GCM, and those could only be earned on active duty during the time he served in the Army/USAR/ARNG. The NCOPDR is also listed in his FOIA, along with the AFRM, so they’re legit too. And although it’s not listed, the ARCAM (USAR/ARNG equivalent of a GCM) and ASR he’s wearing may well be legit too. He was still serving when the ASR was instituted in the early 1980s, and it’s reasonable to assume his unit awarded him one or more ARCAMs somewhere along the way. Depending on where he actually served while he was on active duty, the OSR could be legit too. The MSM and AAM he’s wearing aren’t in his records; they should be if they’re legit. The AFSM (if that’s what the outboard ribbon in the 2nd row really is) is not, as that award didn’t exist before he retired. And if that’s the NATO Non-Article 5 Medal, it’s definitely something he wearing as “unearned bling”. Dunno if the NJ state awards would ever get sent to… Read more »
The KWVA has a Code of Conduct. It includes this provision:
“I will not engage in any unlawful or unethical conduct, nor attempt to deceive in any manner, my Chapter, my Department or the National KWVA.”
I am not a member of the KWVA but it seems to me, in regard to that provision, that the deceit language is meaningless to KWVA leadership. If I am wrong, then there are only two other possible explanations for its stance on the Ferris matter. One, KWVA leadership was not deceived by him because they were aware of the lies and ignored or accepted them willingly. Two, the definition of deceit is unique to them and does not include actual or constructive lies, the latter evidenced by wearing medals/ribbons not one’s own.
By the way, I find no mention whatsoever of the Ferris issue on the KWVA website. Covering up an ugly issue is really not a wise tactic but, hey, if that’s what they want to do in the hopes of keeping their own membership ignorant, that’s their call. Just, best of luck with that.
My step-father is a Korean War Vet and a past VFW State Commander. I’m going to run this by him and get his take but I pretty much know what he is going to say.
It’s pretty simple–they don’t believe their own bullshit, or conveniently choose to ignore the standards to which they hold others.
In either event, this organization deserves to go bye-bye.
I have taken the liberty to spread this to every KWVA chapter with a Facebook page that I could find. So far, a couple have gotten back to me and they had no idea. They said they would contact others they know to try something from the bottom up- rather than trusting the top fellas.
I guess just about anyone can join. I had thought it was an org just for Korean War Vets. I found this on the KWVA homepage:
IF YOU HAVE EVER SERVED IN KOREA 1945 to PRESENT…
(or served outside of Korea June 25, 1950 to Jan. 31, 1955)
Then YOU QUALIFY and WE WANT YOU to join as a Member
of the Korean War Veterans Association, Inc.,
our Federally Chartered Veterans Service Organization!
Yeah. They have been pretty open about that one. If they didn’t allow those who have served to present, they would dwindle away to nothing soon lol
@27. Like other orgs, w/o membership, the orgs die. So, it’s wide-open in order to keep the beer flowing and leadership wined and dined. Before too long, certain orgs will have to open enrollment for non-Veterans who once thought of enlisting or knew someone who was a Veteran.
Got the Stars & Stripes on board now. Should be up on Facebook shortly.
@29 By the very nature of our own mortality, these organizations have a shelf-life from the day they open. You’d think they would realize that.
We have these shit weasels in Canada also. Very fun to expose them and at the same time mind meld them when they approach you in your Dress Uniform (why always infront of your Mrs) and then let them yap then pop their ego/bubble. Scum they are. Be proud of your service and let it be. Attention is what they want then attention they get! again though there is always an excuse. Well done guys again on putting forth the truth. The Truth Set’s You Free.
I have a relative who WAS in the Korean conflict, and who, (up until this afternoon, when I enlightened him), was a rank n file member of this outfit, whose integrity is as clouded as IVAW. This relative is not online, so he too was oblivious to what the upper tier amounted too. He is now contacting all those that he knows who are in, or eligible to be in, KWVA. As news of this spreads, membership will drop like the zipper lock on Bill Clinton’s trousers.
Well let’s see now, Ferris was just honoring his deceased brother’s service in combat by wearing the medals and awards rightfully earned by that brother, right? Well, in that case, could Ferris please tell us where his brother, also a Marine apparently, earned that snazzy pair of silver wings that have no connection to anything awarded by the Corps?
By the way, I haven’t been able to read here regularly and would like to know if anyone has ever identified the provenance of those wings?
What this old Vietnam combat infantryman does know is that if I were a Korean War vet, I do believe I’d want someone with a little more mental heft running my national organization. Ferris is not clever enough to consistently maintain the small but important details so essential to his fraud. And the fools want him to continue to head their organization?
Again- His brother was in WWII, and Ferris is wearing Korea and Vietnam awards…
@26 Thank you for informing them. I’m going to tell my “buddy” who was awarded the SS with the 14th Infantry, 25th Div. in Korea. I hope it doesn’t put him over the edge.
Years back I had to plan a redeployment ball and needed guest speakers.
I got three from our unit in past years: A BAR gunner from Guadalcanal (WWII), a Infantryman from Vietnam and a Infantryman from Korea who spent 33 months in a Chinese POW camp.
WOW!
Fuck this guy.
I already told my brother-in-law’s uncle (who I didn’t even know was a Korean War Vet until this Easter since he doesn’t talk about it) and he is none too pleased.
If you go to their webpage you will notice that this is an organization chartered by Congress. Charters that Congress give they can also take away.
http://www.kwva.org
If you scroll down to the very bottom of the home page you will find a document “About Us” filled with names, addresses and phone numbers of various committees, officers and such from all over the country. Perhaps we each need to find someone close to us and ask them what is going on with this organization?
My father is not here to ask the tough questions, so I must do it on his behalf.
@39. The companion thread to this has comments going to this, w/o explicitly stating as much, as I recall. I’m testing myself now but I think it was EdUSMCleg who listed a bunch of congresscritters. You might want to repost your comment there to pull it all together.
2/17 Air Cav: here’s the comment I think you’re referencing.
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=35377#comment-832637
2 or 3 comments below that is a link to a site that gives the office phone numbers and (for most) other contact info of most US Senators and Representatives.
FWIW: it looks like the Ferris matter has made all of the various “Military Times” family (Army/Navy/USAF/USMC/Military). Links to the stories are elsewhere in the comments on the other thread. I understand it also made Stars & Stripes and at least one major West Coast paper as well, plus several in NY state.
The word’s getting out.
Been doing a slow burn on this one, AC. The longer it goes on, the more irate I become, and that is not a good thing. For any of the parties involved.
Too many of my friends are being fraudulently represented by these clowns for them to continue to enjoy the benefits of their fraud. It is an outrage.
Peace be upon them as I continue to consider my own next move. Bless their hearts.
@41. Thanks. I see that it was Researcher(?) who posted the list. And yes, the word is getting out, in no small part thanks to TAH and a couple of its dickweeds!
@42. Yes, it’s painful but I earnestly believe the membership is going to stage a rebellion.
2/17 Air Cav: that will only happen if the membership hears about the cover-up. I see our role as doing what we can to ensure they hear about it.
Wonder if TSO could be persuaded to feature this in the American Legion’s “Burn Pit”?
@44. If not, TSO’s beard will surely be keen to do it!
To @OWB
I’ve kinda stayed in the back-round saying very little, but taking in everything you fellows are saying. Right now I think it best that I say very little. I’ve been working with Jonn for the pass few weeks, and everything has been going just fine, and I’d rather leave it at that. If any of you fellows wish to know anything regarding the operation of the KWVA I’d be more then happy to clue you in, after all, up till last month I “WAS” a KWVA member for sixteen (16) years, so I think I know a little about whats going on, and its not for the best of the organization, but it’s hurting alot of good member’s, and this is something we must stop.
Sam
At this point, it seems too late to stop unless someone within called for a vote of cofidence or something in the leadership. They have been lying all these years, seems they are set to get away with it.
I think the best course of action is reaching out to the lower chapters. We don’t want the KWVA to burn out- there are still some good members. However, and maybe Sam can attest to this, I don’t believe local chapters have a clue what is going on. There has to be a few out there that would be willing to take the reigns and see to it that KWVA does the right thing in all this to save face.
Maybe this has been asked, but has anyone done a FOIA on the Ferris “brother” ?
Yep, we have done a FOIA on his brother. Waiting for the NPRC