Charles Chavous and the phony POW problem

Last month we wrote about Charles Chavous who was sentenced to five years probation for a murder in which he participated nearly four decades ago. His lawyer argued that Chavous’ time as a highly decorated Vietnam veteran and as a POW mitigated his participation in the murder, well until the NPRC made available Chavous’ real records to the Augusta Chronicle;

[Chavous’ defense attorney Scott] Connell said he also had a stack of VA medical records dating back to the ’70s that detailed Chavous’ story of being repeatedly wounded, taken captive and escaping from a prison camp.

After the newspaper obtained verification of Cha­vous’ military history, Con­nell said he couldn’t comment because of ethical guidelines.

[…]

“We call it the POW sob story,” said retired Lt. Cmdr. John Michael McGrath, who was a POW and has worked with others to expose people who make false claims of military service.

In Vietnam, 966 Ameri­cans were POWs; only 662 got out alive, and 160 have died since the war, he said. The number of Americans who escaped from POW camps and survived was 30 in Viet­nam and two in Laos, McGrath said. But according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, about 1,000 people claimed to have escaped from prison camps, McGrath said.

We’ve been discussing the phony POW issue for years as well as talking about the costs of phony POWs to the veterans’ care system. And, it’s not surprising that Eric Shinseki, the former Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs, lied to the Senate committee responsible for oversight of veterans in regards to phony POWs when he sent letters to that committee which claimed that the VA found only two phony POWs after scrubbing their lists.

Now that we’re free of the serial liar, Shinseki, we need a new inquiry into the issue. Hell, if the VA sends me the list of the vets who are being paid as POWs by the VA, I’ll balance the lists for them. But, I don’t really expect the VA to take the issue seriously anytime soon.

McGrath, who was a POW from June 30, 1967, to March 4, 1973, said he doesn’t take great offense at those who lie. But one aspect does annoy him: all the people with POW license tags. POWs get a break on the fees. Most states, including his home state of Colorado, only ask the VA for a letter of verification and the VA allows service members to self-report.

McGrath sees the POW plates a lot, he said. But he knows there are only seven Vietnam POWs in the entire state.

Category: Phony soldiers