End of Elko’s Stolen Valor and Chili Cookoff Assn.
Members of the Elko and Pocatello’s POW/MIA Awareness Associations hold a banner as the chapter cleaned out its storage unit to conclude 18 years of activity in the area.
Elko’s POW/MIA chapter closes
Toni Milano
ELKO — A storage facility was the final official gathering spot of the POW/MIA Elko Awareness Association on Saturday, concluding its nearly 18 years of involvement in the community.
Members tearfully sorted through items used for parades, ceremonies and chili feeds.
According to founding member Gracie Brown, 70, the chapter closed due to a “lack of participation and membership and health issues.”
“The rest of us are old,” she added.
Brown, who started the organization with her husband Les, said the club had seven active members upon its closing.
Despite inviting the public to meetings through social media and other outlets, the organization was unable to recruit new, younger members. “No one seems to be interested,” Brown said.
She said it seemed that participation in civic organizations had diminished due to the pandemic.
Les Brown – Fake Special Forces Ranger
Les Brown and the Elko POW/MIA Awareness Assn. have been gracing our pages since 2019. Les sported rank, quals and awards he had no claim to and even bragged at his Association “We all wear something on our vests that we didn’t earn.” His antics at Elko NV earned him a flood of comments and scorn from the TAH audience in numerous posts over the years.
Sad to say when Les passed away the Association never really rebounded and has been dwindling as interest fades. Now it has evaporated leaving only a grease stain and the faint odor of rancid chili. Thanks to MarineDad61 for the legwork. The link is behind a paywall, but the entire article can easily be posted if there is any interest.
AMF, Elko.
Category: Guest Post, Stolen Valor
Les tells no lies I heard
And I thought this was a worthy organization. Didn’t realize it was not a legit operation. Legit in honest members as the back bone of an organization.
am I 1st?
1st as in commentor or 1st to realize it was not a legit organization? Yes (not that it means much, the only true Glory comes from being FIRST on the Vaunted EARNED NEVER AWARDED TAH Friday Weekend Open Thread. That will get one an entry into the Leather Bound, Gold Letter Embossed Book of FIRST, maintained by our very own Claw Daddy. MOTs, HOTs, and ROTs (Mid-Week Open Thread, Holiday Open Thread, and Random Open Thread) may and or may not get you a jotted notation on an out of date desk calendar somewhere) and No you are not the 1st to think that this was a worthy organization. Many people did over the years that this scam was in operation. Click on the link that our Beloved AW1Ed provided and for “…the rest of the story…” go to the Search the Site block and type in Les Brown. Real nice rabbit hole that will fill in some blanks for any of the FNGs here. This Ass(ociation) was a full hive of embellishers that used their proceeds to take trips, buy moto sickle bling, and other nefarious activities. Make you a pitcher of refreshing beverages and take your BP Meds before you make the dive. You have been warned.
“…participation in civic organizations had diminished due to the making awareness of our scam.” There…I fixed it for them. I have always been leery of groups or individuals going around preaching that whole “Raise Awareness” thing. Only thing they were raising was $s to enrich themselves and continue the scam. Damn shame that this hive of scam artists didn’t use their fund raising skills to actually do something of POW/MIA Families or make a contribution to the work being done at Offutt to identify said MIAs. Hell, everybody is aware that we have a number of MIAs. Our boy, Les, The Brown stain, had perfectly honorable service that he could have been proud of, but decided to fornicate Fido to enrich and call attention to himself. Good riddance to them all.
Im finding out that more than likely many of the stories I be been entertained with through the years are probably bs. I’ve always given the benefit of doubt to veterans. And I still will do that, just with a grain of salt now. I didn’t know that stolen valor was so prolific. If someone is asking for money…it’s time to verify is the bottom line. Now that I’m aware of the stolen valor issue. When I see panhandlers sitting in wheelchairs proclaiming their veterans and asking for money, it’s probably bs. I know the VA takes care of wheel chair bound veterans and has programs for the homeless vets. No reason to be panhandling if you’re legit. My eyes have been opened and not quite so gullible. I’m the FNG here, and a fast learner. At that. I owned a construction company for 40+ years and dealt with a variety of people. non like the valor thieves I read about here.
valor thieves are a special kind of despicable parasites. The ones that embellish their service are even worse. They should know better. If you really want to get disgusted and see how bad it is, take a real deep dive in the “Valor Vultures” Link.
Ive been doing some reading and searching the topic. I will check it out.
Jimbojszz,
The National League of POW*MIA Families,
as a whole, national and chapters,
IS a worthy organization.
However,
1 chapter run by a Phony Gulf War Veteran,
phony combat, phony Special Forces Ranger,
phony E-8 Master Sgt, and phony “retired military”,
who created the Elko POW*MIA Awareness Ass.,
infiltrated VFW Post 2350,
and held state committee posts with VFW Dept. of Nevada,
with happy accomplices, phony enablers, and phony defenders
at the POW*MIA chapter, the VFW post,
and Elko American Legion Post 7
IS NOT.
I just finished doing some speed reading on the Elko group. definitely sounds like a cluster of phonies. It would be good if this is the end of such a group. It almost seems to be like racketeering. Maybe they can be prosecuted under RICO.
We’ll always have Alaska Bob. Damn shame that avalanche on the Yukon Trail prevented the dogsled carrying his DD-214 from getting here.
Did the avalanche take out Bob? We haven’t heard a wisper of him in several years. Or, did the Big C get him?
GEE WHIZ, is his bike still even running?
Bless his heart.
The big KC got him. Kelley’s Canyon. And I don’t mean the Idaho ski area.
Many a brave men fearlessly went into Kelly’s Canyon, some on solo ops, others as a team. Not all of them made it out of there. We need to raise awareness of their plight.
Sushi feed!
Some ignored the sign “Don’t Go Beyond This Point. Experienced Spelunkers Only.”
At least he didn’t die alone. There’s a crowd in there.
Aww… /sarc
C’mon, man. There must be enough POSers in Elko to keep this outfit running. They shouldn’t be retiring the vests of bogus bling this soon.
Do they burn the vest when a wearer wears out?
Like in a ceremonial way.
This is the way.
If it wasn’t for I-80, and the posers, doubtful many would know Elko even existed.
Odie,
Don’t forget Elko’s casinos…
and whores…
and interstate exit truck stop lot lizards.
I’m thinking if I-80 wasn’t there, Elko’s casinos would be smaller, fewer whores, and no interstate exit truckstops.
Last time I was in Vegas, or across 80 many years ago, they had penny, nickel, dime and quarter slots in the gas stations and grocery stores to get the last little bit of your money.
Prostitution is legal all over Nevada except Vegas. Vegas is more family friendly, but you’d never know it if you opened one of those newspaper dispensers that s a y “FREE.Take one.
353 comments back then, so far.
26Limabeans,
6 previous articles about Les Brown
and the Elko POW*MIA Awareness Ass
Today is the 7th.
The “Final Chapter”.
Count ’em up, everyone.
Yes, the thousands of comments.
https://valorguardians.com/blog/?page_id=90114&q=Les+brown
Checking the comment counts
of the 6 previous VG articles above,
in chronological order of publish date….
353 + 186 + 357 + 774 + 66 + 62
= 1,798
The “Final Chapter” is never the final chapter. Much like the Police Academy franchise, the Les Brown Stain saga will go on in perpetuity.
Hack Stone,
Hard to predict.
Elko is remote, but along a cross country interstate,
and other than casinos and whores,
and nearby mining,
not known for much else.
But now nationally known for Les Brown
and the now defunct Elko POW*MIA Awareness Ass.
<— $30 donation to MP (/VG)
(see DONATE button at top right of this page)
for putting up this article.
Did they even cook the Chili themselves, or did they dump canned stuff into a pot and warm it up?
They probably duped someone into donating the chili for their going away bash.
I bet they’re a fun group to be around after the festivities are over.
Link to source. Published April 15, 2024.
BONUS –
The Elko Daily Free Press is NOT FREE. Online PAYWALL.
DOUBLE BONUS –
The Elko Daily Free Press
was the very same source that tipped local Elko city and county veterans to contact MP and VG,
about Les Brown and his myriad of lies and phonying,
then got involved in the online kerfuffle,
then worse,
TOOK THE SIDE of Les Brown
AND the Elko POW*MIA Awareness Ass.
(Largely due to a chapter officer / vest
having a family member on staff at the Elko Daily Free Press.)
TRIPLE BONUS –
In the April article, Widow Brown blames everything and everyone else BUT her deceased husband, herself, and their organization for a decade plus of phonying, phony enabling, and phony defending.
QUADRUPLE BONUS –
By 2020, a shit rep in town and county,
unable to recruit anyone for a few years,
they were down to 7 members when they decided to fold.
https://elkodaily.com/news/local/elko-nevada-pow-mia-awareness-association-nevada-pocatello-idaho/article_500b99c8-fb6f-11ee-9c6b-279b1361b87a.html
I think it was called the POW*MIA Elko Awareness Association “Chili Feed” since “Chili Cookoff” was trademarked. Les Brown can rest easy because his colleagues now have the watch… er, well, maybe not. Anyway, he went to the grave thinking they had the watch. That should count for sumpthin.
Les is no more.
My favorite headstone at Boot Hill cemetery, Tombstone, AZ
“Here lies Lestor Moore
Four shots from a 44
No Les
No Moore”
I miss the good ole days of phonies like Soupsandwich and Gen. Ballduster McSoulpatch.
They went big. They wanted ALL the valour
I remember the sock puppet that wanted everybody to go easy on Soup Sandwich because he OD’d. Hopefully his stepson was able to get away from his reputation.
Hack believes that you are a bit confused on the Soupsandwich Family Tree. He wore all of that bling to the Basic Training Graduation Ceremony of his mother’s husband (at the time), who was probably around the same age as him. His mother liked them young.
That’s what it was, the shoe polish huffing/Loadmaster Tech school washout’s (then) stepfather. It was a while back when I read that thread 😄
Soupsandwich was the “stepson”, Mom’s latest boy toy was the “stepfather”. The family could fill an entire week of The Jerry Springer Show.
And no doubt taking their fuckery to the grave.