Richard Currey, phoney Vietnam vet revisited
Currey was looking forward to the reissue of his books, but that’s been postponed for the time being. His publisher, Andrew Griffin writes to a friend of ours;
Richard’s books are works of fiction. By your argument, we should condemn George R.R. Martin for never setting foot in Westeros, or J.R.R. Tolkien for never having visited Middle Earth.
And, no, don’t say that’s not the same…because it is.
Well, no, it’s not the same. Vietnam really did happen, The Lord of the Rings didn’t. What Mister Currey writes about the Vietnam War reflects on real people. Stank-ass hippies like Currey have perpetuated myths about Vietnam veterans for decades. For example, there was Bill Chengelis who claimed that during his fake Vietnam service, he had cut the ears off of dead Viet Cong as one of his company clerk duties. That was fiction, too, but it reflects poorly on all Vietnam veterans.
Mr. Griffin complains that initial posting about Currey on this blog has injured him financially, well, then he should be more careful about the writers with whom he does business. It’s not our fault that Currey lied about his service. We’re in the business of truth-telling, Mr Currey has built a reputation on his lies.
75 days in Vietnam would be documented in his records and the Navy has no credible reason to delete a record of his service in Vietnam, and he has no service medals for Vietnam.
Griffin claims that he’s going to conduct his own investigation, because the NPRC’s records aren’t enough to convince him. I don’t know how he’ll do that since Currey claims that he has no documentation, nor does he have any witnesses to vouch for him. So, good luck with that.
Category: Phony soldiers
What a shitbag.
If he was hurt financially then he could always contact Aesop. Word has it that he could use a few more fables.
Double Shitbags. One for lying and one for believing this lies and supporting them.
Green Thumb…You stole my favorite descriptive name, Shitbag. 😀 So I’ll have to go with one of your favorites I guess…TURD!
Shitbirds of a feather flock together!
On a particular patio located in Merritt Island, FL.
That 1yr 11 mo of “Foreign or Sea Service” on the DD214 above matches up exactly with his time as Corpsman with the FMF at Lejune. He was assigned there Jun 70, departed Jun 72, and spent May-Jun 72 spent assigned to the Naval Hospital Lejune.
Question for our readers who were Navy types from that era: did time during an FMF assignment count as “sea service” in the Navy during that time frame? If so, I think we have an explanation for the 1 yr 11 mo “Foreign or Sea Service” on that DD214 – one that doesn’t involve any combat zone service.
It could. In the Navy you are either assigned, shore, sea and or overseas (which accounts for sea time as well in some cases) duty.
The billet drives whether it is sea duty. Sea service counter starts at a certain point once deployed in that billet.
I can explain my situation when I was assigned to the FMF during my career – I was assigned to two units (2/7 and 3rd Med BN) – both were sea duty for me. But, when the units deployed, we did it via aircraft, never embarked on a gator freighter, so my sea duty counter remained at 00-00-00 – if I had embarked on a ship, then I would have gotten credit on my counter. I got credit for the Sea Service Ribbon for being deployed, but not on the counter.
HMCS(FMF) ret. Sir help me understand this. If a sailor on a carrier for instance, arrives onboard via an aircraft ride for their tour, if that’s what it’s called at sea, then they don’t get a Sea Service Ribbon. But if they steam to sea on the carrier, they do. Is that correct? Thank you for your answer.
Sparks, here’s the link to the Navy’s awards website and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon:
https://awards.navy.mil/awards/webapp01.nsf/%28vwAwardsDisp%29/AW-10052085N4N9?OpenDocument
I got the ribbon for being on a 6 month deployment with 2/7 to Camp Schwab, Okinawa (unit was homeported in 29 Palms. The second award was when I was assigned to 3rd Med BN – 12 months PCS assignment with the FMF.
Reading the link, I’d have to be assigned to the ship for a year, with one 90 consecutive days deployment, or two 80 day deployments within a year period, if homeported in CONUS. If overseas, all I would have to do is be assigned to a forward deployed or FMF unit for 12 months.
In Dick Currey’s case, he may have been given sea duty service credit for being assigned to an FMF unit at Camp Lejeune, based on the regs in effect at that time.
Any of my fellow Sea Service brothers or sisters can chime in…
HMCS(FMF) ret. Thanks very much. Your explanation and the link brought me to a clear understanding.
Navy folks help me out here. Over a year on a ship, would that not warrant a “sea service ribbon” or whatever it’s called? I mean there’s no “V” or Dolphin on his NDSM. They don’t give those NDSM’s out to anyone ya know. I got mine for fire watch and being a “latrine queen”.
I bet he was on the same ship with Visconi… you know, that ship… if they could only remember the name of it… “Flying Dutchman” maybe?
How abut the “Lying Felcher”
Unfortunately, no.
Everyone on the “Flying Dutchman” disappeared and was never heard from again, if I am not mistaken. There are sightings, but nothing concrete.
Sadly, not the case with these losers.
If only we were so lucky.
I believe the ship you are thinking of was the “Dutch Rudder”
With that crew it should be named the Chocolate Starfish
3E9…”Chocolate Starfish” LMAO! Owe me a keyboard now. Can I steal that one?
Keyboard is on the way, and yes by all means you can use it whenever you think appropriate. I was going to go with Devil’s Onion Ring but that seemed a little wordy for a boat name.
Does it sail on Hot Dog Flavored Water? (smile)
We must have similar radio tastes.
As a former Navy-type, it certainly does. However, the lack of any award other than the NDSM is pretty clear he didn’t do much of anything. I’m curious about the RE-3 and what brought that about. Maybe I missed it, but I didn’t see the discharge code.
Big thumbs up to Idaho NPR for their diligence in following up on the questionable service.
I don’t have a bunch of photos, but I can tell you exactly where I was, when it was, and a lot of other guys who were there with me.
Hey! Do not knock the gedunk medal, Old Sarge!
I worked hard for that award. I put up with PN Fenstermacher, for Pete’s sake! I deserved to get that, and so did everyone else with me. You’re just being a big ol’ meanie when you say mean things about it.
*To the tune of “Fish Heads”*
Shitbirds, Shitbirds, skanky lying Shitbirds,
Shitbirds, Shitbirds, fuck ’em all back
Shitheads, shitheads, stinky lying shitheads…
He may have shit for brains, but as long as his fiction is clearly labeled as such – the publisher’s right. If he claims it to be fact-based fiction….well, the war happened and it’s still fiction. If he claims it to be all historical fact – burn it.
That is true. However, he’s also apparently out there telling baldfaced lies about his background to promote his “fiction” and implying he served in that war. That false background could conceivably convince some to buy the book who otherwise would not.
IMO the people considering buying his books have a right to know that he’s BSing them about his background. If they still want to buy them, fine. But they’ll be doing it while knowing the score, not after being hoodwinked.
Matterhorn is a great book. Completely fictional, but a great read written by a real VN Veteran who was really there. Mr. Marlantes went to VN, served honorably, came home, struggled, suffered, and ultimately triumphed with an almost universal acceptance and acclaim for his novel. I’d put Leon Uris right in the same category with regards to Battle Cry.
None of the above in regards to Currey. He’s a counterfeiter.
Ah yes! Glad to see this. The books are labelled “fiction” — on the back cover, on the copyright page, in all the reviews, and all the listings. Even the lead quote on the cover says “One of the very best works of fiction…” From what I’ve read of it, the main character is not Currey. Different name, different background from his long (and now absent) bio that was on his webpage, and wounded in combat. Anyone here ever seen an author contract? Griffin’s responsibility is the book, not what the author spouts off to the public. I think the publisher is right in this.
And as I said above, Alex – the people buying this guy’s fiction have the right to know he has apparently been publicly misrepresenting his past military experiences – before they plunk down their cash. In particular, they have a right to know he’s claimed to have “served in Vietnam” – the war about which he writes – while at the same time his official records show no such service.
I hear you. Looks like the publisher has removed Currey from their site too. Though I have to say that I don’t know much about the authors of the books I buy unless they’re big names and in the news or something. Especially if we’re talking about a 30 year old book and an author who hasn’t had anything new in print for 16 years. Seems to me Currey’s been low on air until RMTV gave him a head of steam. I think we should demand that they post an acknowledgement of all this.
Spot on. He can certainly claim “Vietnam-Era Veteran”, but no way a “Vietnam Veteran”.
Here’s the info on the RE3C code.
RE-3C – Reenlistment authorized by CMC only. Ineligible for enlistment, unless waiver
is granted. Conscientious Objector.
Lord of the Rings didn’t happen? Do you mean those movies weren’t documentaries? But they were so historically accurate! How can you say it didn’t happen?
Yeah! What ^^^SHE^^^ said.
‘Splain dat!
Read the damage control he’s now spewing forth at his website:
http://richardcurrey.com/
Here’s his excuse – “I saved very few service documents, files, photographs or letters from my Navy years, and do not have a copy of my complete service record. But even though these are events of nearly 50 years ago, I certainly recall the nature of my training and duties, and where I was and was not in the course of my enlistment.”
Farking liar, Dick….
I’m sure you recall all of that quite well, Currey. Whether you are telling the truth about where you claim you were and where you were not during the course of your enlistment is another question.
Presently, regarding that second question . . . my guess would be, “No”. And your OMPF on file at NPRC backs that guess.
Note to Curry: DaNang was not in III Corps.
Ineligible for VCM? Perhaps. But no VSM? You only need one days service (somewhere in a very large area or even just an overflight or sail by) to be eligible for that medal.
Bottom line: You’re a liar.
I caught that one too, Claw, and it’s the kind of detail that’s hard to screw up unless somebody wasn’t there.
III Corps was also Saigon with the so-called “joint Army-Navy-Marine Corps civic action team” which throws the whole front-line combat medic thing out the window.
WAIT! You mean that in 1968 — when I flew in a TWA flight over Vietnam enroute to Bangkok — I now can qualify for the Vietnam Service Medal???
Hot da-yum; E-bay, here I come!
And I know we did cuz my father was elated … had to do with taxes or something for flying over a war zone.
Curry’s quote of “I guess I should have been more careful about nailing all this down.” tells me everything I need to know about his fantasy 75 day tour in Vietnam.
AS TO the figure of 75 days, I guess that’s because of the Cool Hand Luke 50 eggs syndrome. It just sounded like a nice round number.
Guys like Currey really piss me off. He was against the war and was ashamed he was a part of the baby killing imperialist military. But now that it’s in vogue to be a veteran or in the military it’s all, “look at me, look at me. I was a secret trail assassin killer guy.” Kinda like John Kerry after all the shit he pulled back in the day, but tried to throw down his veteran card when he attempted to win the presidency. Fucking shitbags.
The book’s 30 years old, though… The current edition is a reprint from a podunk press and, besides RMTV, I don’t see where it’s gotten any support. Internet Archive seems to think Currey’s old webpage hadn’t been touched since 2009. I bet the folks at RMTV are the only sales this book has seen in a decade.
Alex – please contact me. I have a stack of $100 bills. I used to be a master engraver at the US Mint and these are bills they let me keep. I’ll let you buy them for only $50 each. How many do you want?
Are you saying you don’t believe that the book is 30 years old or that you think sales are strong outside of RMTV?
What I am saying, inelegantly, is that I went full retard on you. No excuses. Sometimes I am just an idiot. My sincere apologies.
Kinda like that guy I heard call in to the Mark Levin show a year ago or so. First (inarticulate) words out of his mouth were that he was a conscientious objector who served as a combat medic and received the Silver Star. Um, yeah. No.
The claim is not entirely absurd, GDContractor. A fair number of COs served as medics in Vietnam (it wasn’t necessarily a “Get out of the Army free” card.) At least 2 of them were awarded the MoH – Thomas W. Bennett and Joseph G. LaPointe, Jr.
It was absurd because it was so easily researched and came up lacking. I am aware that COs served honorably and with distinction. 50 years later, the many desire to be like the few.
I went thru Boot Camp with a C.O. . He was a Ladder Day Saint.He was not harnassed by the Drill Instructors by his C. O. status. He was headed for supply MOS. Joe
Lying pile of dog shit.
I prefer a steaming pile of Phil Monkress.
Yes, CLNC is Camp Lejeune North Carolina. He never left the continental United States. Duty with a Fleet Marine unit as a Corpsman was considered Sea Service to Navy Personnel.
He never deployed anywhere.
It get better. He has TIME LOSS. He was AWOL for several days. Probably was gone for more than that but was charged 3 days to time loss.
There is more in box 11c, but at a quick glance he separated early. He has a RE3-c in box 15. He was put out of the service.
Seems the Fleet Marines were tired of his ass.
I got curious, and I checked the dates. They’re Friday thru Monday of Labor Day Weekend in 1971.
Looks to me like someone came out on the weekend duty roster, had plans to go somewhere, and said “screw it” and went anyway. Or maybe simply neglected to check to see if he had duty. Either way: that’s “not a good thing”.
But I could easily be wrong.
I don’t know who you are or why you are using HONDO’s name but you better knock it off.
HONDO IS NEVER WRONG !
To quote the Van Halen classic:
“C’mon Dave . . . gimme a break.”
(smile)
NSFW…
HONDO!!! SANTA MARIA!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwNJla8WvoY
Never mind that shit, HERE COMES HONDO!!!
I identify as Hondo!!!!!!!!
He was separated 5 months early… I wonder if there was an early sep program in place at that time or if he was a pain in some Chief’s ass and they “expedited” his release, and gave him a RE-3C code instead of office hours or worse?
Question for the Navy or Marine Corps Nam vets – how long was a tour over in Vietnam?
Master Chief, Army=12, AF = 12, Navy, I think, was 12. I don’t know if you were a field Corpsman with the Marines. Marines were 13 months.
My brother was a CT on numerous ships in the Gulf of Tonkin and off the South Vietnamese coast. He received the Vietnam Service Medal, but balks at calling himself a Vietnam Vet. I have to keep reminding him he IS! This guy’s a liar. I worked for years in the VA and never saw someone’s Vietnam Service redacted.
The 12 months for the army included one month R&R and sometimes one month early return for Christmas.
If memory serves, that’s not the way it worked. The normal Army drill was to give you 10 days of R&R which was split into 5 days in country, and 5 days out-of-country, The out-of-country destinations were a limited list and you could get an extra two days if you went to Sydney, Australia or Hawaii because of the transit time. CONUS itself was not an option.
The in-country R&R sites were places such as Vung Tau, Saigon, and China Beach.
Contrary to the whole “napalm in the morning” thing, the beaches in Viet Nam had some nice white sand and clear water, but the surf wasn’t all that gnarly. It was about like the Gulf of Mexico.
This trivia interlude has been brought to you by the Charlie Don’t Surf Foundation; we now return to our regularly scheduled programming…
Perry,
Thanks for the correction. My father was went to Bangkok from An Loc/Hon Quan back in 1965-66. I guess it was 10 days.
Perry…….in 1971 Vietnam, there was a R&R program called a “7&7” meaning seven days Hong Kong ect. Then seven days stateside. That’s what I did. Hawaii, then seven days at home.
Chief, he went in and through HMC school during the height of the Vietnam war, when field medics were badly needed. Either he was a major F/U, or he did something to get an RE-3 re-up code, besides being a CO.
As far as I know, there was no early separation program, especially for draftees. Men were obligated to 6 years of service. My brother got his draft notice in 1972 and spent one year on AD at Ft. Dix, then the remaining 5 years in the Army reserves, but that was when the war was winding down.
EX……….as I recall the early out program came about in 1971. As you know, I was drafted. I spent 11 months and 12 days in Vietnam. Applied for the early out program, was accepted. That’s how I only spent 1 year 5 months and 12 days in the Army. I had to give up one year of my college GI Bill. No biggy, since I only needed one year to get my degree after I was discharged. Spent zero time as active reserve.
I went in in ’71 also, but went to S. Korea instead of ‘Nam. I got a 6 month early out for being in Korea. If memory serves no early out if you went to Germany.
OC
That’s kind of the way I remember it also. When I returned to CONUS from RVN in Feb 72, the briefing went something like this:
Less than six months left on enlistment – Immediate separation if you wanted to.
Six to 12 months left – Immediate separation if you gave up some VA bennies (could have been education related.)
12-18 months left – Would be separated if you were willing to go Active Reserves for a year.
Over 18 months left, you go home on leave and we will mail you your next assignment based on the leave address on the DA31. I was home for for about two and a half weeks when the orders to report to Fort Bliss by 16 March came in the mail.
in 1971 there was programming effect for early outs. 4 months out early for a us(draftee), and, 2 months early out for an ra (enlisted) at least at fort bragg
Thanks to both of you… I’m one of them there younguns and didn’t enlist until ’82…
Let’s see. 1982. Where was I? Oh, yeah, halfway through my second tour in Germany waving my hand at Jonn who was up at “Top of the Rock” in our sister “Can Do” Battalion.
I had completed 11 years service by then, was a SSG E-6 who had been selected for ANCOC out of the E-7 secondary zone, was my Battalion’s S-4 (Supply) NCO, and was in tall cotton.
The thing is, if this is no big deal, that the book is fiction, so it shouldn’t matter – then my posts about Currey should garner no attention from Griffin, Currey, Public Radio, or even Alex. If it doesn’t matter, it just doesn’t matter. Why did the publisher stop the reissue of the book if it’s so clearly fiction? Nothing we write should matter to any of them.
I work for a medium-sized press and if one of our authors came under scrutiny like this, we’d take a moment and pause even if their next book was a collection of children’s poems. Publishing’s a word of mouth business. Currey’s Vietnam record is called into question, people are contacting you with damning evidence against the author, and the next book in the pipeline is a reprint of a Vietnam book? What would you do? (Though, yes, we would have completely ignored you and quietly nuked the book months down the line.)
Jonn your slipping. You didn’t include the citation to accompany award of the coveted National Defense Service Medal. Three years of enlisted service but no Good Conduct Medal. He received an Honorable discharge but with less than four years of service. Also looks like he was reduced in rank from HM3 to HM2 which also verifies his exemplary career.
Club Manager: I believe HM2 is a higher grade than HM3.
Hey, it’s the Navy. It doesn’t have to make sense. (smile)
CM – he was promoted (HM3 = E-4, HM2 = E-5). Plus GCM’s at the time were for four years – he was separated with less than 4 years.
In regards to the other book… Not cancelled after all? http://mountain-press.com/item_detail.php?item_key=588
Is that the same press?
“Crossing Over, one of the most beautiful and terrifying works to be written about Vietnam, launched Richard Currey’s literary career. This collection of prose poems, vignettes of life during wartime, was begun shortly after Currey finished a four-year stint as a Navy corpsman. Crossing Over was hailed as being “both beautiful and terrifying… it is a work of art, the commonplace book from a terrible era.” It was selected as best title of the year by Library Journal.”
There’s a recurring anti-war documentary produced out of France of all places that features veterans going to grade schools and talking to the young, mush minded kids there. I think I’ve seen this asshat gracing the screen several times. Another “vet” featured in it, tells a tall, tall tail (ala Bill Perry) about cutting ears off of dead enemy soldiers. I’ve got the documentary located and trying to get the entire episode.
Gonna be roasting somebodies ass…
I am an Old Marine Grunt, served in Vietnam with a rifle company in 3rd Bn 7th Marines and I guaranfuckingtee you that I could furnish many, many names of Marines and Corpsmen that I served with.