The “Rent Is Too Damn High Party” candidate’s Stolen Valor
You probably remember the NY gubernatorial candidate for the “Rent Is Too Damn High Party” Jimmy McMillan who made a splash during the debates for that office last month. He claimed he was a Vietnam veteran, stationed there two years, and that he’d been awarded three bronze stars. Many of you emailed and asked me to get his his records, so I asked our friends at POW Network to help us out and this is what they came up with;
Yeah, I know it says James McMiller in the name line, but, believe me, the POW Net folks search for these guys by their SSN and their current addresses. This is the guy. Here’s a quote from the debate last month;
“I’m a war vet,” McMillan said. “Don’t forget I was in Vietnam for two and half years and I have three Bronze Stars, but the chemicals of Agent Orange — dioxin and a lot of other chemicals mixed up — I would get sick. When I get home tonight, I know I’m not going to be able to breathe if I take them off. It could be psychological, I don’t know, but I just put em on and wear them anyway.”
As far as his claim of three Bronze Star Medals is concerned, he’s lying. The only three bronze stars I see are devices on his Vietnam Service Medal which mark three campaigns he was involved in – they’re not the bronze stars he meant. You probably remember Joseph DuPar, the mayor near Chicago, who claimed the same during his campaign.
If he had said that he’d been in Vietnam for two years, I’d have given him a pass, but he said “two and a half years” and his service was a year and a half; November ’66 until June ’68; 19 months which is almost a year short of “two and a half years”.
According to everything I can find, during the term of his service in Vietnam, 15 awards of the Air Medal wasn’t irregular. The Army has devices that denote many more awards of the medal because of the danger of flying on missions in Vietnam.
His record looks pretty distinguished, I don’t why he felt the had to embellish. It looks like he reenlisted when his draft years were finished. But then he was discharged as an E-2 – so there must have been something towards the end of his service that affected the character of his service.
Category: Phony soldiers
Jonn, my FIL had the same misconception as this guy. My FIL is a Korean War Vet and he told me he had been awarded 3 bronze stars. When I looked at his ribbon rack, there were 3 bronze service stars on his campaign medal. I told him that they were campaign stars, not the same as bronze star medals, he told me that his DD214 says “bronze stars” (When I looked at his 214, he showed me, but I explained that it meant he was awarded that campaign ribbon 4 times). I pulled up the explanations on the internet and showed him what the difference is. Then he said “oh”. Now he doesn’t say he was awarded 3 bronze stars, anymore.
I’m not saying the this guy is confused about that like my FIL, but it could explain why he said it the way he said it.
If this is the same joker, and I’m willing to take your word for it Jonn, it looks to me like he was possibly assigned as a door gunner during his tour(s) which was no job for a slacker. Looks like he was an Engineer by MOS but was assigned to an aviation unit. 15 Air medals, while no Bronze Stars, is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Rank at discharge aside, this looks like a service record that needs no embellishing.
Considering Army Policy was every Soldier in Vietnam was supposed to at least be a PFC, he was discharged after 2 years still an E-2 Private? he had to have done something wrong. 15 Airmedals is nothgin to sneeze at for Non flight crew
again, just opinion here, but my experience with Military men with exemplary records who mess it up some way at the end, with a burst of stupidity, do tend to embellish to make up for the OTH or general or the loss in rank– IN THEIR OWN MINDS.
I’m not absolving anyone–that’s not my place– but some of these guys know they gave their branch the best of themselves… and the DD214 doesn’t reflect the work they did. It reflects how they blew it in the last inning. Their shame leads them.
Ok, this may not apply to this guy– or any other guy you guys follow– but it does apply to the ones I know.
A
“I’m not saying the this guy is confused about that like my FIL, but it could explain why he said it the way he said it.”
It occurred to me also that he might have meant service stars when he said Bronze Stars, which I think is a forgivable error, but his website says Bronze Stars and has an icon of three Bronze Star medals underneath it. Kinda hard to explain that away.
http://www.rentistoodamnhigh.org/ (Scroll down to the bottom)
Scott; that’s very true. I haven’t been to his website, so I didn’t know he had the actual BSM on there.
The 3 Bronze Stars are a damned shame. He’s funny as hell and has an otherwise (aside from the E2 thing) great service record.
Of Course, 3 campaign stars would indicate 3 tours, which is longer than 19 months. It’s also interesting that he was transferred from Active Army to Reserve on Active Duty while IN Viet Nam. It certainly looks like he volunteered to stay in Viet Nam, but that some changed that plan.
I do know of an ETS’d SPC from Desert Storm who was quite proud of his DD215 that gave him “with Bronze Service Star” on his SWASM (later 3) until I corrected his misconception.
Air Medals were awarded like candy. Depending on what you read, they were given for 25 hrs in combat, 25 missions, etc. The Directorate deputy I work for is a retired CW5 with 28 AM, including 2 AMVs. Did one tour in Vietnam, 800+ combat hrs. Things have dramatically changed. My last tour with 4-227th, 1CD racked me 2 AMs, both downgraded from AMVs. The awards reg for Army guys states that AMs will NOT be awarded for a time period or number of missions/hours flown. So you are not going to see guys with dozens of AMs anymore.
Regardless, this guy just had to go that extra step and beclown himself even further. Shame.
Guess What? That Joseph DuPar is still showing his profile with that Medal of Honor and 4 Bronze Stars that he don’t have. Because he has not been punished, he still gets away with stealing VALOR. This dirt bag needs some real Law Enforcements. Where is the real Police?
WOTN: The campaign stars denote campaigns not tours. I got 4 but didn’t make a year due to wounds. Just a correction.
When I worked for the VA I ran into many guys that when they looked on their 214’s saw “2 bronze stars”, 4 bronze stars, and actually thought they were the real bronze stars. Many wanted to send to St. Louis to get them. I had to explain they were from campaigns. Many of us in those days really didn’t have a clue about this stuff. We went in, got out, went home. Heck, until I started working for the Corps I didn’t now anything about dress blues, (for the Army), and birthday balls. A LRRP buddy of mine spent time with the 327th PIR then LRRPS and never got a CIB. Not until we met 30 years later did he then have to go to his congressman to get it. That still doesn’t excuse this guy from putting the actual Bronze Stars on his web site, and yes, if he got out an E-2 from Nam there was a problem. It was auto to E-3 when you got there. From there it was up to you. They passed out Article 15’s over there and looks like he would have had at least one or more, but some of my best friends got one or more also.
The consensus clearly is to give this guy a pass on whatever he may have misstated or even overstated regarding his record. I’ m with that. He may not be an Eagle scout candidate or choir boy but he did his duty.