Robert Dennen: Phony sailor in West Chester, PA (UPDATED)

| December 16, 2008

Several weeks ago, someone sent me some pictures of Robert Dennen, a frequent anti-war protester in West Chester, PA. This person told me that Dennen claimed to be a Navy veteran and asked me to identify the medals he was wearing;

The only one I could identify is the American Campaign Medal – it was a World War II medal awarded for service between Dec. 7, 1941 and March 2, 1946. The other two medals I couldn’t find anywhere on the internet. So I ran the guy’s name through Military dot Com and came up completely empty.

You can tell by the black T-shirt, he’s a member of the Delaware Valley Veterans for America, he appears on their website protesting John McCain and Sarah Palin in Philadelphia. That’s him on the viewer’s far right;

The Delaware Valley Veterans For America’s website is unsurprisingly plastered with pictures and events of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and Vets For Peace.

Someone sent me another picture of Dennen wearing the same medals and a Vets For Peace pin on his cap;

And a picture of him claiming to be a gay veteran in West Chester, PA demanding “whats due” gays;

In this picture from Skye, that looks like his hat and his trademark woodland camouflage, but he’s hiding behind a very confusing sign;

I’m told his distinctive hat with the buttons stuck in it have earned him the nickname “Pinhead” from the West Chester Sheepdogs.

So there’s really no doubt that he’s trying to pass himself off as a veteran, but his medals and the lack of a record say otherwise. So I sent his information to our new friends at POW Net. This is what I got back;

Instead of listing him as “discharged” it says he was “released from active duty” and about half-way between his third and fourth year. That indicates some sort of malfeasance. His rank is SR – Seaman Recruit, an E-1. Again, indicative of some bad behavior – no one stays an E-1 for 3 and a half years.

In the awards section, it lists none – not even fire guard ribbons. Now as I previously mentioned, during his participation in protests, he wears an American Campaign Medal which is for service between 1941 and 1946. His actual service is from 1956 to 1960. I still don’t know what the other two are, if anyone has a clue, please let me know.

His sea assignments were on the destroyers  USS Courtney in the North Atlantic and USS Hull in the Western Pacific.

But there’s a common thread running through many of these anti-war veterans – they all seem to be malingerers and common criminals who can’t conform to the good order and discipline of the military – no matter when they served. And apparently, they can’t help but wear medals they didn’t earn.

I can’t wait to get back some of these FOIA requests.

Added: Someone sent me a close up of Pinhead’s hat. Click it;

UPDATED: Someone sent me a closer look at Pinhead’s medals;

It looks like an older version of the Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal;

So, we’ve got this dork wearing one medal that was issued while he was in grade school and a Coast Guard Medal – he was in the Navy.

Category: Antiwar crowd, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Liberals suck, Phony soldiers

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Martino

Another ignorant liberal fascist who projects his liberal fascism upon those with whom he disagrees. Bravery indeed.

rochester_veteran

The moonbats use guys like Dennen as props to justify their loony-ness.

UpNorth

Judging by this jerkoff’s hat, he doesn’t support the troops? Sarc/off now. “Occupation is not liberation”? What a maroon.
“they all seem to be malingerers and common criminals who can’t conform to the good order and discipline of the military – no matter when they served.” Right on, Jonn, this is the common thread connecting all of these dipshits. Beneath contempt.

Nucsnipe

This got me thinking about when I was stationed on the USS Lincoln CVN72. Had an E-3( I think his name was Ahern) go AWOL just before deployment. When he got caught after wrecking his motorcycle, he claimed he deserted to protest the Navy’ environmental policies and that he attempted to take photos of garbage being dumped off the fantail and some chief took his camera (so on and so forth), and became the darling of the eco-nuts. Then later some of his buddies came forward and testified he told them he didn’t want to leave his girlfirend. It really ticked me off, because at the time I was TAD to the Master at Arms, and I had to spend a lot of time on the fantail checking garbage to ensure nothing inappropriate was thrown overboard.

Thus Spake Ortner

What is with this dudes ear hair?
Seriously, can you get your boyfriend to do something about that? There’s an entire ecosystem living in that thing.

DrZibbs

HAHA. Busted!

1stCavRVN11B

All these liars, posers, and phonies seem to be looking for acceptance from somebody or some group. They sure don’t seem to have been accepted by the military. Maybe Chavez and Castro are gay, they all like them. I know I wouldn’t want one of these types next to me in combat.

AW1 Tim

Well,

As a Navy veteran, just reading from what it says, then he got an administrative discharge, coupled with a reduction in rank to E-1, and likely a half-month to month’s pay fine.

My guess would be he decided to claim he was queer rather than head out on deployment. USS Hull left San Diego in late 1959 on her first WestPac deployment. Likely he had a boyfriend (if he really was queer) that he couldn’t bear to leave behind. The problem here is that back then if you declared yourself a queer, it usually meant going to a Navy or Federal Prison for a stint before being discharged, and then often with a dishonorable discharge.

In his case (and I am just speculating) he was probably a fuck up and the Skipper had him admin’d out rather than put up with his crock, or his “outing” was so close to ship’s movement that they didn’t have the time to deal with him so put him out as good riddance.

A squadron I was assigned to had a similar situation with a guy caught stealing. It was the last in a line of crap from that sorry sack of crap, and since we were deploying in a few days, the Skipper convened Captain’s Mast, convicted him and had his crap packed and escorted to the bus stop, and visually seen to depart on the bus by the Command Master Chief, all before the end of the work day.

I also just don’t get these guys. What’s wrong with simply being proud of what you did? Are their own lives so shallow, so meaningless that they have to crave attention through these sorts of actions?

UpNorth

“Are their own lives so shallow, so meaningless that they have to crave attention through these sorts of actions?” AW1 Tim, these guys[?] should owe you about $200 an hour each. You’ve successfully analyzed their major malfunction. Apparently, after they’ve been a failure at everything, they strap on as many medals they aren’t entitled to as they can, and go forth to make asses of themselves.

Ray

I was contacted recently by a guy who was an old shipmate of mine. He told me how proud of his service he was and how he looked back on his service with fond memories. He said the only thing he was sorry for was that he had not been able to serve out his enlistment on subs and had been transferred to the surface fleet after testing positive for cocaine on a routine urinalysis. I remember when it happened. He was crushed when the Navy kicked him off the boats and I lost touch with him. I feared he would just give up and end up getting kicked out. He said it had been a wake up call to him, and he managed to get through the rest of his time as a squared away sailor and left with an Honorable Discharge. He didn’t tell me he had left and joined the SEALS, or become a fighter jock, or any of the other BS stories that these losers spin. He didn’t turn around and bad mouth the Navy for his mistake. I was proud of him and told him so. He started as a F*up and ended as a man who could look back on his time in uniform with pride.

Men like this spaz in PA had many chances to do the right thing and square away. Their immature acts while in the service and their insistence on “expanding” their actual contributions with BS medals and claims of glory to give them a greater voice when they undermine the troops just urinates on the service of every man and woman who ever wore the uniform with pride and served with honor. Horsewhipping’s too good for them.

As an aside… I looked for about 45 minutes this morning to see if I could identify those other two medals with no luck. I think they are like the medal I got in High School for going to District Choir. No military connection.

Army Sergeant

You know, you can always find a certain percentage of the overall military who’s had articles or disciplinary action. However, there are a lot of us who’ve had nothing negative like that. Someday when I have nothing better to do, I’m going to make you a present out of everyone’s Good Conduct Medal writeups.

Jonn wrote: Since when are there “write ups” for a GCM? Please. To get a GCM, a soldier just has to not get any article 15s for three years – and follow up with his leadership.

Raoul

ArmySergeant,

Send Jesse Macbeth’s DD-214 too so we’ll have the complete collector’s edition.

Skye

Good Conduct Medals? With the lowered standards of todays military, AS, anyone can get one – no one is excluded now – even you.

Skye

This guy is just one player in the cast of characters in West Chester, Pa. The Sheepdogs are constantly entertained by these useful idiots. I miss ‘Benny the Bum’, a colorful individual with no discernible message – it is not a requirement on the other side.

See all the fun you are missing, Jonn….

Raoul

Jonn,

“The Delaware Valley Veterans For America’s website is unsurprisingly plastered with pictures and events of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Vietnam Veterans Against the War and Vets For Peace.”

That’s easily explained. The Veterans For Peace can’t keep the peace with other Veterans For Peace in the area. John Grant played bigfoot and quashed Bill Perry’s bid to start a real Philadelphia chapter of VFP (Grant’s Chapter 31 posse is actually suburbanites). Perry’s provisional Chapter 144 went down the tubes.

So what do you do when VFP won’t elect your National President or charter your chapter? You take your marbles and go home, home to form Delaware Valley Veterans For America. Set up a couple of younger vets with meaningless positins of Executive Director or Communications Director.

But before this all came to a head, the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Against the War cockroaches hiding out under the VFP rock started to solict Iraq era vets to form a reincarnation of the 60s/70s VVAW.

John Grant admitted he’s VVAW and that he helped set up IVAW. John C.Beitzel is a well know VVAW Winter Soldier puke. Joe Bangert is the guy Kenny Campbell called a “bullsh*ter” while under oath in a deposition. Jon Bjornson is another Winter Soldier puke Perry credited with nurturing IVAW.

Seems like the VVAW/VFP/DVV4F attracts lost souls.

Go O's!

No one is excluded from a Good Conduct Medal? I am pretty sure in the Marine Corps those who have been court martialed or have had an NJP are excluded from receiving the Good Cookie. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Army Sergeant

Yeah, I’m not sure what Skye’s talking about, I know lots of people in the military who don’t have good conduct medals.

However, she’s talking about the breakdown of the military, but steadfastly refuses to accept that Iraq is responsible. I’m wondering what she does blame it on?

Raoul

ArmySergeant,

Since you’re the little duck that wakes up to a whole new world every morning, let me lay it out for you.

You have repeatedly reinforced the IVAW BS about how the military has to settle for losers because the war is unpopular. Not only for initial recruitment but also these losers get advanced when they should not be.

She’s calling you out as one of those you complain about.

It’s that clear or do you still not understand?

Raoul

Skye,

We figured out why Porter’s pants are so filthy. It’s not dirt, it’s original mud from Woodstock.

AW1 Tim

When I went through Boot Camp, back in the dark ages, my Company Commander was adamant about paying attention to the lectures on the UCMJ. He pointed out that it wasn’t IF you were ever written up, but WHEN you would be written up that it was good to know where to turn for help.

That was my experience. I have a Good Conduct medal. I also have an enlistment without one. Had nothing to do with my being from the “low” end of the civilization, nor of my dissatisfaction with the Navy. It had everything to do with my desire to do in a certain Chief Petty Officer before he got someone killed. Everything worked out for the best, but I did get NJP, and then got on with my career.

You can qualify for numerous GC awards, one for every 4 years. In the Navy, if you go 12 years of continuous good service, you get to replace your red chevrons with gold ones. You also get one red half-chevron for every four years of service. So next time you see some fellow with 3 or more red half-chevrons and he doesn’t have a gold crow, then he got written up at some point. You’d be surprised how rare those gold crows actually are.

To say that not having a Good Conduct medal proves that the military has lowered it’s recruiting standards is a damned lie, however, but a pretty typical comment from assclowns with agendas.

Jonn wrote: I got two Article 15s in my career. One when I was an E3 another when I was an E6. Both were expunged from my records (because they were pretty much BS and I could prove it) but each time I sucked it up, drove on and waited for my moment.

Army Sergeant

Raoul:

The problem with Skye doing that is that I joined years before the Iraq War started.

However, if she wants to admit that the Iraq War has caused the breakdown of the military, I’m more than willing to listen.

AW1 Tim: I don’t think GCMs have lots to do with military competence. The joke used to be that you couldn’t make sergeant major without at least one Article 15. I’m just irritated that people want to believe just because someone is against the war, they must have been a dirtbag.

Jonn wrote: I think you’re missing my whole point (but I’m used to it). YOU’RE the deviation here. The phonies and petty criminals need good troops like you to legitimize their message. For every good soldier you can show me in IVAW, I can show you ten others who are sociopaths and liars who are USING you and the others for their own selfish benefit.

Raoul

18 U.S.C. § 704
Any false written or verbal claim to a decoration or medal or any wear, purchase, attempt to purchase, solicitation for purchase, mailing, shipping, import, export, manufacture, sale, attempt to sell, advertising for sale, trade, or barter of a decoration or medal authorized for wear by authorized military members or veterans is a federal offense punishable by up to six months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine.

Here’s the violation:
Any false written or verbal claim to a decoration or medal or any wear…of a decoration or medal authorized for wear by authorized military members or veterans is a federal offense punishable by up to six months in jail and up to a $5,000 fine.

Raoul

Red with a white stripe is a Coast Guard GCM.

The other, based on the ribbon visible, appears to also be World War II era, Eurpoean/African/Middle East Campaign.

The thing in his ear is a CCPM Mind Control Device. Can’t put a chip in the brain when there’s no brain.

Martino

The military is “broken?” And the war in Iraq “broke” it?

A broken military is one that is either defeated or incapable of any mission. Strained? Maybe. Stressed? OK.

But so are half the successful marriages in this world. What the hell are you talking about?

Skye

Wait till she shares with you her idea that the WOT – specifically the Iraq War – she is IVAW, you know – destroyed our economy as well.

AW1 Tim

What’s amazing to me is that the entire military budget INCLUDING the amount spent to date in Iraq and Afghanistan is the smallest percentage of GDP since the Civil War. The LARGEST chunk of change in the budget is Social Security, followed by Medicare, and if the Congress completely eliminated the military, stopped even a single penny from being spent on anything militarily related, the resulting savings wouldn’t pay off a single year of the debt payment the nation currently owes.

The Congress mortgaged by children and grandchildren’s futures by pulling a trillion dollars outta their collective asses and passing the bills along to the taxpayers and for what? To bail out the mortgage companies whose financial problems were CREATED by the VERY CONGRESS who wants to bail them out.

I am so frikkin’ sick and tired of hearing about the gross spending on the Defense budget when no one gives a rat’s patoot about the looming disaster of the Federal Entitlement programs.

Every single time I hear these @ssclowns complaining about the Defense Budget, I want to smack them upside the head with a ballbat, and when the police come for me, I’m gonna swear it’s street theatre, and I’m an artist.

At least, that seems to work for the IVAW pukes.

Scrapiron

Left wing scum must spend a lot of time shopping on EBay in the military medal catagory. That’s the only way they’ll ever get a medal. Why can’t one of these slime balls live in my neck of the woods so my friends and myself can devote a few hours a week making they’re lives miserable? Some of the VVMC (fearless motorcycle riders) must live near them.

Martino

Skye: I can only imagine. Being economically illiterate is a prerequisite for neo-liberals.

I think AW1 Tim sums up my entire feelings on it.

Raoul

A/S,

“The problem with Skye doing that is that I joined years before the Iraq War started.”

Been promoted since then? Remember how you said people who shouldn’t be promoted were because they needed warm bodies? Why excludes you from your own charges other than Winter Soldier Derangement Syndrome? WSDS where you confess to committing war crimes, but it’s EVERYONE ELSE that’s a baby killing war criminal.

ArmySergeant

Jonn;

I think there just aren’t a lot of other public active duty figures. That doesn’t mean they’re not there, just that they’re not public about things. I wish they would be so they could refute your charges, but I respect their right to privacy and anonymity in their political beliefs and memberships.

Martino:

We have different definitions of military breakdown. To me, I’m not saying the military is completely broken down-I’m saying there’s a process which I term military breakdown which is ongoing and, if allowed to continue, will destroy the military. I’ve already seen the comraderie and leadership go down the tubes, I fear what will come next.

AW1 Tim: I hate the bailout too. I think everyone with more than two brain cells to rub together hates the bailout.

Raoul: I became promotable shortly after the Iraq War started, before the promotions got crazy and automatic promotion to sergeant and in some MOSes staff sergeant got going. I also was recommended for early promotion before the war started, but like an idiot passed it up because I didn’t think I was ready to be as awesome a sergeant as the leaders who had inspired me were. Had I had a crystal ball to see what kind of people would join the NCO corps, i would have taken it, but hey. Hindsight is 20/20.

Raoul

A/S,

Why are you now awesome and they’re just screw ups?

You can’t smart enough to qualify when you’re hanging around with F Troop.

Skye

To me, I’m not saying the military is completely broken down-I’m saying there’s a process which I term military breakdown which is ongoing and, if allowed to continue, will destroy the military

Opinion is not fact. In all your awesomeness, you’ve yet to provide any data that directly points to the Iraq war as the sole reason for economic chaos in the US.

Additionally, can your awesomenss provide specific and detailed data on your solution to fix this alleged “military breakdown”.

Army Sergeant

It’s not all black and white.

Specifically what I would fix?

1. Stop automatic promotions, remove the excessive waivers, and restore authority and power to drill sergeants. Stop censuring people for chaptering people out of the military or for prosecuting domestic violence. Stop the ‘keep people in at all costs’ attitude.

2. Stop the privatization of the military: stop hiring contractors for work that soldiers can do.

3. Restore family benefits, programs, and focus.

4. End the war in Iraq-use the extra military manpower that would be rotating into Iraq endlessly to spread the burden a little thinner so you don’t have people deploying four or five times. Use the funding on soldiers and soldier programs.

5. Stop promoting on potential rather than on proven leadership ability.

6. Have higher leaders pass down a zero tolerance rule for people screwing over soldiers to save their own careers.

7. Stop “personality disorder” discharges and other such nonsense. If someone was sane enough to send to war, you cannot claim afterwards that they were previously insane and need to leave the military with no benefits. When soldiers get the idea that they aren’t cared about once their usefulness is done, their motivation goes down the tubes.

8. Get back to leading from the front.

There’s probably more, this is just what I thought of on the spot.

Raoul

A/S,

Why are the rest of the NCOs promoted screw ups and you’re not?

You’ve won’t face that music, yet that’s the tune you have played over and over.

Your answers are always evasive, which to me strongly indicates that you are NOT being truthful in your replies.

Army Sergeant

Raoul:

I’m not making any broad generalizations. I don’t think every other NCO in the army is a screwup. However, I do think that in recent years, a lot of people who have no business being NCOs have risen to leadership positions in an obscenely swift amount of time. Go ahead and ask any other NCO military buddies who have been in for a while, don’t mention the portion about the war, which is a belief for a cause, and ask, “Has the quality of the NCO corps gone down in recent years?” Then follow it up with, “Has the quality and comraderie of the military overall gone down in recent years?” And see what answer you get.

TSO

AS, you miss I think any context on this one.

The Basic Training that each soldier goes through is individually the hardest one in the history of mankind, just ask them. Each successive soldier sucks ass in a way none before that one did, just ask the NCO’s. The guys at Valley Forge kind of had it bad, but not as bad as OPERATION _____ when our unit had to ______.

At the Citadel, it was always “Old Corps” and “New Corps.” And Old Corps seemed to always shift to the year that whatever person you are talking to went there. Every four years we hear on TV that no Presidential Race has ever featured such harsh words. Really? Might want to read about Jefferson v. Adams and similiar such races. It’s all BS, and always based on something not factual.

AG1

New here…
Found this interesting because 1) I’m a veteran (both USAF and USN, USN (ret) now)and proud of my service and 2) I grew up in West Chester PA.

I’m sure all this unrest has to do with the fact that they closed down the old Warner Theater! LOL

-GEJ

Valerie

So this moonbeam of a moonbat is from my neck of the woods. A sad day for the great state of Pennsylvania.

Raoul

A/S,

That you repeatedly fail to asnwer my request that you justify how you are not one of those unpromotbale promotables you speak of is very telling.

Glenn M.Cassel AMH1(AW) USN RET

Got Gold First Class Crow and 5, count’em 5 Gold Hashmarks and I was pretty mauch an average Organizational and Intermediate level wrench turner, inspector and supervisor.
I had a CO in the RAG(VA128) at Whidbey Island who would tell each new class of trainees headed for Fleet Squadrons this one thing. An Honorable Discharge is easy to get, Be on time, be where you are supposed to be and be mildly interested in what you are doing.
David D. Williams, Captain, USN. Now retired.
Had him as CO in VA145 on the Ranger’s Long Trip in 80-81.
Best CO I ever had, bar none.
You have to be a screw-up to get bad paper. I spent the last couple of years at NAS Whidbey’s Secruity Department as a Restriction Barracks Staff Member. You should have seen the ****-ups we had. It was during the post Desert Storm drawdown. Even had a few Muslim concientious objectors. They didn’t want to be at war with their “brothers”. Needless, Hard time ensued.
Find the liars and bag’ em within the law. It isn’t tiem for vigilante justice, although alot of us wouldn’t mind at all.

RobertDennen

In reference to your website slander on me: Those Medals so well concerned were my Dad’s. I also had three more that were given to me by my Sister. They weren’t all just good conduct Medals but symbols of his bravery both in the Pacific and the Atlantic theatres. As a Coast Guardsman, he took troops in landing crafts safely or as safe as possible into both beaches Normandy and Okinawa. He had a write-up in an early paper how he brought troops in over heavy fire in the South Pacific. I wore his medals in D.C. to honor him; his name was James Henry Dennen.
As for my Honorable Discharge, I do have my DD214 and I also
belonged to the VFP and still have the card to prove it under Veteran’s status becuse one has to mail in his DD214 to recieve the card under that status. Yes, I was released from active duty like all other DD214’s are. However, what was not mentioned in your assesment of me is that I was released into inactive reserves.

Raoul

Robert,

You are not allowed to wear your “father’s medals”. They’re not yours.

Raoul

Pinhead,

You do not have to have supplied a DD-214 to VFP to be a full member.

TSO

I’m sure your dad was honored to have his peacenik E1 gay serviceman son wearing the medals he earned for service in WWII. I mean, how couldn’t he be honored.

Raoul

Pinhead,

So you wear medals that aren’t yours AND tiger stripes.

You must have been a real bad ass to have worn those. You did wear those back in the day, didn’t you?

Or are those hand me downs from your Sister? Would that explain you going into the Ladies Room at THE WORKS restaurant?

TSO

This reminds me of the time when Geoff Millard wore his third cousins CIB to honor his service. Or when Chiroux called himself a A-Stan veteran to honor some dude he met at Green Beans. Or where Washburn told the story of blowing up a lady with a Mk 19 to honor people who bag groceries at Stop ‘n’ Suck stores around the world. Or when Gilligan honored the magnetic poles by placing his compass on the machine gun. Lot of honoring going on.

This guy is a shit sandwich with moldy mustard.

Lucky

TSO, how can these moral retards honor anything or anybody when they themselves are so completely without honor?

Lucky

John Kerry! lol 😉

Anonymous

I am a Navy brat I also collect medals ..
Here is your info
all three medals are from WW2 2 are campaign medals the blue one is the American Campaign,the other brown one is the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal,OK so the one in the middle is like what you said, the Coast Guard Good Conduct medal that was stopped being used after Korea and changed to the one you have on line…So like I said I have been collecting for almost 20+years now .
this is the type of person that should be dealt with thru the Stollen Valor act of congress .and not use collectors who have a great respect for these Medals and the men and woman that earned then …