Dave Airhart; Oldie but goodie phony
This guy has been on the loose for at least five years, but the NPRC finally answered a POW Net FOIA request over three years old on Dave Airhart. His main claim to fame while a student at Kent State was quoted in this reprint of a Stan Goff (CounterPunch) article;
I spent 4 months in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and 6 months in Iraq and 7 months in Afghanistan, so I have a pretty well rounded perspective of everything that’s going on in this war on terror.
In another interview with Counterpunch, Airhart said;
I was in the Marine Corps Infantry. I learned absolutely nothing of value in the rest of the world. I learned how to shoot guns and how to get yelled at a lot.
Well, not according to the NPRC;
He’s never been in the Marines or Reserves. Of course, no one at CounterPunch bothered to find that out before they published this defense of him against Kent State. And none of people who sent him letters of support for the first article bothered either. Such luminaries as Cindy Sheehan, Camilo Mejia (ED of IVAW at the time) and Ward Reilly. Who cares if he’s really a veteran as long as he says what they want him to say.
Other than the Mejia’s letter of support, I found no Airhart connection to IVAW.
I was forwarded an email that described an encounter with Airhart in the past few years;
During a question period, he challenged the story of one of our Iraq vets about interacting with the locals. Our vet on stage asked him if he had been to Iraq to which he answered “Yes”. Our vet then asked him if he was junior enlisted, to which he answered “What”? Asked again if he was junior enlisted, he basically answered that he didn’t understand the question. Our vet then challenged him by asking very clearly, “What was your rank, Marine”? At that point he said he didn’t have to answer the question.
So his coaching has been very superficial.
And, oh, yeah, a CA DA let him slide on a misdemeanor charge because he said was deploying to Iraq.
Category: Antiwar crowd, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Phony soldiers, Usual Suspects
More “victimless” poseurs. Funny how we’re not hearing that meme bounced around here much anymore.
Jesus Mary amd Joseph!!!! Do these fucking morons think that no one will check them out when they start spouting off??? I’m talking about both sides, not just those that speak out from the anti-war side. I seem to remember the boys here at TAH working over a phony from the right, as well, but this is starting to go beyond merely annoying and getting into an area where they can’t remotely be defended as “free speech”. This grates on me because I have relatives and friends that EARNED their bona fides through shit that these little bastards ran away from, or never showed up for.
This asshole used his “free speech” to get out of legal trouble, so yeah, he benefitted from his lies. I say lock his ass up and make him serve 10 times what the original sentence would be and make him clean the latrine floor in a Vets hospital with his tongue for his work release.
They don’t care if anyone checks them out. In their little bizarro world, whatever they spout out their pie holes becomes the truth to the world. And if you challenge them on it, you will get the “blank computer screen” look of incomprehension.
That is just the way they do things. Why deal with reality when one’s alternate version of it is so much more appealing.
I actually served with Airhaert, he never got past E-3(busted to E-2 in Iraq) he was in Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan he did not deploy to forward combat outposts. He was blacklisted in his company for failure to adapt and was considered a ” unruly shitbag “.
He always had problems with authority hance his problem with the Marine Corps.
He got yelled at a lot this is true. Only reason for this was his constant challenge of his superiors.
He is a black sheep amongst us Veterans and I’m glad that the Departement of the Navy did not aknwledge his service.