Florida Combat Wounded Motor Vehicle Operator – Not So Fast
Example Florida Purple Heart License Plate (Not actual license plate involved in this story)
Florida’s Highland News-Sun is reporting that a man is being charged with obtaining a Purple Heart license plate in Florida under false pretenses.
Stolen valor leads to arrest
By KIM MOODY Staff Writer | Mar 24, 2023
SEBRING — Zacharias Christian Reeves, 47, of Sebring is facing multiple counts of fraud charges, both felony and misdemeanors. Reeves’ arrest stems from an investigation beginning on Feb. 14 because of complaints regarding stolen valor. The complaint came from the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Florida via a retired veteran.
According to the HCSO arrest report, the witness stated Reeves, a veteran, possessed Purple Heart license plates he was not entitled to. The witness provided a DD-214, or military discharge papers. The witness also provided copies he felt were forgeries. In addition, the witness included pictures of the defendant with medals that he alleged were not earned, as well as those he did.
Sounds like a concerned citizen gathered all the necessary paperwork and turned authorities on to Reeves.
Why would he do this you may ask? Well, it seems Mr. Reeves once worked as a VA claims representative so this may have given him some insight into going down this road.
Category: "Teh Stoopid", Combat Wounded, DD-214, Purple Heart
Thank you for your service, Mr. Reeves.
Mr. Reeves was just passing through on the way to All-Points Logistics.
I wonder if Phil Monkress has authorized him a new employee parking spot yet?
Zach, 1. Butthurt doesn’t count, and 2. Injury has to be caused by the enemy and not wall-to- wall counseling.
Hack Stone was literally a fresh boot, just shy of 60 hours since earning the title from Parris Island. Went to a local drinking establishment with the Stone Brothers, and some guy decides that he will tell Hack about his Old Corps Bonafides, claiming that he was awarded seven, count them, seven Purple Hearts. Hack asked him how many tours did he do in Viet of The Nam. “Oh, I didn’t serve in Vietnam. I was a Drill Instructor, and every time a Recruit would drop a hand grenade, I would pick it up, toss it, and get wounded. That’s how I got my Purple Hearts.” Hack’s oldest brother, Sly, was looking at the guy incredulously, and all Hack could say is “That’s not how it works.” This was South Jersey in the early 1980’s, he must have been a friend and mentor of Ronald Mailahn, AKA Gunny Driveway.
Or Angelo Otchy…
Or Anthony Magsam…
Lotsa classic phonies in the South Jersey/Greater Philadelphia region. 😂
The Otchies…..
What a disease.
Maybe he was self-identifying as US Army Sergeant Randy McConnell:
https://cherrieswriter.com/2023/03/25/who-was-randy-rooster-mcconnell/
Love the BDUs w/ the medals.
Guess he forgot 670-1.
Turd.
You may want to go reread that article and check out the provided in-content links.
Wait, wut?
What?
Dude could’ve worn his ribbons on anything he damn well pleased.
How did he earn a glider badge in 1967?
magic
Would have to be since the last one was issued in 1953.
It’s hard being you, int’it?
Nope.
Reread the fucking story and please do try to stay the fuck on topic.
I did re=read it, and the Don Moore version. Randy McConnell does on appear on the Silver Star achives, nor the Purple Heart archives.
For the benefit of both you and Roh-Dog, the glider patch was worn on the C-cap right after completing basic jump school. All my fellow infantry officers that had been to jump school before completing Ranger School wore them on their C-caps.
That being said, this dude is an embellishing phony. He is not on the data base for the SS. Moreover, he has made a number of false statements about where he served in the 101st. There were no 101st units in Chu Lai in 1968. By then, the 1st Brigade had been sent back to its division, which was not base camped in Chu Lai. It nor any other 101st unit ever returned to Chu Lai, which became the division base camp for the 23rd Infantry.
The links do not provide any further information.
Good job, ace. Way to crap all over honorable service by going down this road.
Standing by for the rest of the sh*t sundae.
Just like Shane Ladner, except his Reeves lies didn’t cost his wife her leg.
The State of Florida doesn’t screw around with gamers like him, I bet he’ll soon be squealing for Bubba & Thor!
Well, in honor of where they SHOULD send this turd:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfpe8NFpYCs&feature=share
A Skynyrd song with a strong Delta blues influence.
Tolerance of misbehavior don’t seem to be a thing there.
VA rep gaming the system?
Say it ain’t so.
Waiting for the same in Pendleton, Indiana.
But there won’t be any help from the town police chief.
Has anyone contacted the Madison County DA?
Just show him this new Florida story,
and then the VG story below on his backyard neighbor,
Two Phony Purple Hearts Thomas Cole.
Photo December 2022.
Cole still trots his PH license plate around Boy Scouts.
Thomas Cole – Phony Urgent Fury Commando
IAS | October 29, 2021
Holy Crap.
February 4, 2023.
Thomas Cole, at a White River District function.
Boy Scout Troop 232 uniform….
Black veteran ballcap….
BRONZE STAR — HEROISM
https://www.facebook.com/WhiteRiverCAC/photos/pcb.5901015736652476/5901015533319163/
November 11, 2022 – Veterans Day.
Thomas Cole holding the SAME cap (now identified),
at a Veterans Day event (with Boy Scouts) at
American Legion Post 117, Pendleton, IN.
Just so you, you, you, and I are perfectly clear, (per the conversation above) in my humble, yet subjectively ubercorrect opinion, Randy (Rooster) McConnell had a free pass to kick AR 670-1 the fuck in the teeth and wear his 7 Purple Hearts, 2 Silver Stars, BSM w/ V, ARCOM w/V however, and wherever he had pleased.
As a member of the 101st his uniform included the ‘Glider PATCH‘ on the c**t cap.
(see image below)
This here is SSG Donald Lee Wall (KIA, 1968), a contemporary of Randy McConnell, also in the 101st. If you notice the Glider patch on his cover.
I know we all want to find valor vultures but knee-jerking to find evidence and possibly besmirching the character of our Brothers and Sisters is an ugly thing.
The name “Randy” or “Randall” McConnell does not appear on the Silver Star archives, nor the Purple Heart archives. Until now, nobody ever heard of Randy and his “7 Purple Hearts”…which would be lauded within the Army and Airborne community.
I can’t make out the patch below the “airborne” tab on this left sleeve, but it is likely for a light infantry brigade. SSG Wall is correctly wearing all his uniform kit in this pic. I wore the same, but officer version, of this uniform for my service with the 509th Infantry regiment in the 8th ID, from Jan 68 to May 70. This pic was undoubtedly taken before SSG Wall made his fateful trip to the Viet of the Nam. The fact he is in an airborne unit is borne out by the flash (oval) behind his wings, the glider patch, and the airborne tab.
Just so you and I are perfectly clear, McConnell does not have two Silver Stars, or even one. His claim of seven purple hearts, IMHO, is also bunk. I don’t believe his tales of daring do. I suggest you FOIA him if you want to find out what he really did and was awarded for his Vietnam service.
I have made out the patch on Wall’s left sleeve in the photo. It is the 171st Light Infantry Brigade, which was garrisoned at Ft. Wainright, Alaska from 1963 to 1972. It apparently had one battalion which was airborne. Thus, the reason for the airborne tab above the brigade’s patch.
This video has copies of some of his “awards” posted. As noted above, he isn’t buried in a VA cemetery that I could find. It looks a lot like a Silver Star on one uniform.
It may be that the family put stuff together later and decided to do something else with the remains when his fruit salad wasn’t going to end up on a grave marker.
https://www.fox13news.com/video/906677?fbclid=IwAR1cARHv97gPauCuEDCNAngn5SAmAPXoOzlxU2OAGBk4koFazr0nbg0qSEo
Yeah, I checked the Data base first too but we were too busy running around Shiloh and Corinth today to respond, but he ain’t in there, which I thought was a little odd, but not definitive. But if the 101st alum haven’t heard of him, I’m leaning towards soup sandwich. Which since he is dead, BFD.
That oral history stuff has been riddled with frauds since day 1. I’m waiting for them to do John Kerry again. 7 PH’s in six months including being shot in the Chest and the neck seemed a bit over the top. His story seems a compilation of several stories strung together (Becton – Football injury; Patterson – but all I got was this lousy silver star; Melvin Morrison – wounded while recovering bodies; ETC)
Thanks RGR for the Glider thing, I thought it strange.
So playing the Fox video with lots of pictures was kind of interesting. He said he was shot in the chin but, damn no sign of scar three months later. He took a white phosphorous grenade to the chest but it looks perfectly normal and not scarred in other photos.
He may very well have gotten a Silver Star and Purple Heart, IDK. If he is a phony he is a really good one. If he is an embellisher, well that is on him.
I do know the family said he was going to be buried in the Sarasota National Cemetery in March 2021 and no one by the name McConnell who was 74 years old at time of death is buried there, or any other military cemetery for that matter, for the first four months of 2021, which is kind of interesting. No one named Randy or Randall that fits the bill at all buried anywhere at any military cemetery at any time either. At least according to the VA grave locator, again odd, but not definitive.
https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/ngl/