Stolen Valor Article: New Yorker

| October 19, 2020

The New Yorker just published an excellent article on Stolen Valor.

How to Spot a Military Impostor

On January 13th, Amber filled out a form on Military Phonies, one of a number of Web sites dedicated to exposing people who invent or inflate their military service. “I am concerned that he may not have received [the medals] but is implying that he has,” she wrote. “My father served 30 years in the Air Force and I have regard for servicemen. I just need help in finding out if he does indeed have these medals.”

That night, a representative from Military Phonies e-mailed Amber, saying that it usually took the group several weeks to put together a complete record, and pointing her to a list of Silver Star recipients compiled by a military historian named Doug Sterner. Foley was not on the list.

Three weeks later, Military Phonies published the results of its investigation, concluding that Foley was indeed an Army veteran but that his career was much less élite than he had claimed. There was no evidence that he was an Airborne Ranger or a sniper, that he had received a Purple Heart or a Silver Star, or that he had been wounded in combat.

There is much more there and a worthwhile read.  Several members of this community were interviewed for the article.

Category: Stolen Valor, Stolen Valor Act

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26Limabeans

“Specialist Beans..what is that award you are wearing? Top row center”

WOT sir, FIRST award.

“Who issued that Specialist?”

Supply SGT Claw sir.

“Well..ok I guess. If it came from supply it must be legit”

5th/77th FA

AAAAAHEEEMM! Specialist Beans on your way back from sucking up the S4 shop’s supply of coffee, sucking up to the Supply Daddy, and pilfering thru the C-Rats cases to get the good B Units out, please fetch a 55 gallon drum of Brasso. The King of Battle/THE King of FIRST requires a sufficient amount to polish the 50 some odd Campaign Stars on his ACE (5 in a Row, Multiple and ONLY Award) of the much Coveted and EARNED never awarded TAH Friday Weekend Open Thread FIRST.

You may want to also pick up a 55 gallon drum of butt hurt cream for those that have NEVER EARNED the said Award of the TAH Friday WOT FIRST and another for the multitudes of Stolen Valor Thieves that this article will help expose. bwaaaahahahahahahahahahaha

Tanks for the linky Steve!

Toxic Deplorable Racist SAH B Woodman

I always wonder why people would want to shit on perfectly good service? Not everyone has to be at the front, performing deeds of daring-do.
Someone has to take care of the gear in the rear, and hand out the beans, boolits, and bandaids for the front line troops.

“They also serve, who stand and wait.”

Slow Joe

I think it is a form of mental sickness.

These people have regrets for not doing more when they could, when they were young and strong, and instead of dealing with this regret the way sane people would do, they decide to embellish their record, justifying it in their minds with old argument that “if I had gone to Ranger School when I was 25 years old, I would have passed it”, therefore, let me put this ranger tab on my fake uniform.

That’s for the ones that lie for free, to feel important. The ones that lie for money, to steal from widows and organizations that don’t do their research, well, those are just criminals and stolen valor is just the tip of the iceberg.

Hack Stone

Some people are the tip of the spear, others get the shaft.

Green Thumb

“Finger my Fartbox” Foley and “Let me Jerk your Johnston” Jowers are definitely not the tip of the spear.

More like they take it in the rear.

I wonder, however, if All-Points Logistics has signed them to a tender offer?

They have what it takes to excel in their environment.

ChipNASA

GT,
environment excrement.

FTFY
Chipoo

Claw

In an effort to negate the Foley/Jowers effect, here’s a couple of men who did not practice Stolen Valor:

Floyd Thompson (18 Army Overseas Service Bars and 16 Campaign Stars on the Vietnam Service Medal)

William J. Maddox, Jr. (127 Air Medals)

Obscure thought of the day: Used BA-30 Batteries will recharge if left in direct sunlight for 8-10 hours without somebody stealing them./s

26Limabeans

“18 Army Overseas Service Bars”

At 3/4 inch per pair that is nine inches up the right sleeve.
Picture that guy rendering a smart salute to a superior.

26Limabeans

Never was good at math.

Skyjumper

In case anyone wants to know what 18 Overseas Service Bars look like on dress greens, here’s a picture of Army Colonel Floyd “Jim” Thompson in uniform.

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Toxic Deplorable Racist SAH B Woodman

Holy shit! Bars from cuff to elbow!

Mason

Good thing he wasn’t an EM, he’d have been yellow thread from cuff to collar.

Combat Historian

Malingering Marty didn’t receive the Purple Heart; what really happened was that the clap he caught in a whorehouse in Ciudad Juarez turned his little dick purple…

Combat Historian

I thought the article was going to feature Malingering Marty, but it instead focused on Foley and Jowers. My bad…

MarineDad61

Combat Historian,
I thought so, too.
Not only Martin, but Janet.
Both deserve some additional attention.
If only because….
…. they are still together.
Ugh.

penguinman000

A surprisingly well written article focusing on the facts and the truth.

Mustang Major

Agree

Anonymous

Concur. Not the usual left/libtard bullcrap.

Steve

100% – especially the comment about Don Shipley’s hair XD

Skippy

Word ^^^^

CWORet

Yea, I was pretty impressed with it as well. It’s like they actually employed a proof-reader AND an editor.

Sandman

After reading the article, and having been in the SV community for a decade now I find it interesting that the author did not include the quote from Justice A. Scalia. (paraphrased)
“As it is your 1st Amendment right to lie, so it is a right to remedy that lie with the truth”.

Daisy Cutter

This was a good article. After they covered Foley, I thought they were done with the Callahan County Sheriff’s fiasco.

However, they returned to it toward the end to create “But Wait, There’s More” effect.

Ret_25X

Stolen Valor…a thing with “no victims” say some.

Well, the people of Callahan Cty were deprived of an honest candidate for Sheriff…

The taxpayers are stolen from at the VA and at the DMV

Companies are robbed through fraudulent “discounts”.

And children are deprived of actual heroes to aspire to be and inspire the next generation to duty, honor, loyalty, and country.

One need only to look to Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, and DC to see what a generation with no heroes grounded in truth and honor can become.

Green Thumb

Good read.

Jowers and Foley. What a couple of losers.

Green Thumb

But the real losers in all of this? They are the citizens of Callahan County.

These two fartboxical “Phildoesque” felchers really screwed them by through there asshatery. Overturned convictions, embarrassment, etc.

I hope the good citizens of Callahan County ran them out of tow. But wait, it was Foley I believe, that did not even live in the county.

Ex-PH2

Well, I can verify with backup photos that I was occasionally a Certified Desk Jockey and Expert Phone Answerer. I have pictures.

I am also a Certified Space Shuttle Doorgunner school graduate. I have my diploma and everything, and now working toward the Gravymaker Institute’s degree.

And my cat has a mouse-kill record of 4 to date. I have pictures.

Still working on my certification in Arachnid Semaphore Interpretation.

akpual

Hmmmm, our cats just lay around like sofaslugs.

Skyjumper

My favorite line in the article was:

…….”Shipley, a broad, deep-voiced man with “LUSH” hair…..” (grin)

Steve

Ha! Mine too.

Berliner

I graduated from the 2nd Air Assault Class at Ft Campbell. The badge was authorized by the Army for wear on 1 April 1974. When I arrived to Berlin in April 1974 as a SP4, my company commander was thinking the Air Assault badge was the Explosive Ordnance Disposal badge. He wanted me to set up some booby traps for training.

All was good after I explained. I got to teach rappelling instead.

Claw

Aah, brings back memories of the “Family” Drive-In and eating my Thanksgiving dinner of greasy cheeseburgers at the RAMPS/Rod&Gun Club while I was a 90 days Special Duty Game Warden/90 days Project Transition soldier. They were beginning to set up the Airmobile/Air Assault School towers and stuff just across the road from our Battalion HQs/Barracks (1/3 ADA) area leading out to Gate 3 when I left Campbell for the last time on 01 Feb 74. Good Times./s

Brown

Don’t forget about ADM Boorda, USN CNO who committed suicide over two unearned “V” devices.

Green Thumb

I remember that story.

Sad.

Charles

Too bad they didn’t add a section on our favorite Elko fraud: Les Brown, complete with photographs, leather vest, and the infamous “we all wear something we didn’t earn.”

Charles

And too bad that a publication like “The New Yorker” couldn’t emphasize their own nearby resident (and Viet Nam poser) Richard Blumenthal (D. Conn). still serving in the U.S. Senate.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dick-blumenthal-vietnam-video_n_580630

rgr769

Yes. Plus, they could have mentioned their own New Yawk POSer, ol’ Pap Papotia, fake Special Forces CSM/E-2 truck driver. He was worth at least a mention, since he built a whole organization around his Stolen Valor fakery.

Skippy

Well done article
And on point
People out here need to know just how serious
This issue is and that SV is a rancid cherry
On a Shit Sunday.,,,