Donald Lemmond; sentenced in Canadian courts
Mike and AverageNCO send us a link from our Canadian cousins in regards to Donald Lemmond who we talked about early this year. Lemmond spoke at a Remembrance Day activity at a Local college, telling the audience that he had served in the US Army during the Vietnam War. He wore a vast spectrum of medals including a Silver Star, a POW Medal and a Purple Heart.
67-year-old Lemmond also told the audience how he had served in Afghanistan and Iraq and he had retired from the military in 2007 as a captain in the medical corps. As it turns out, he spent some time in the reserves in Canada. Initially, Lemmond said that his cousin had awarded him the medals, but now he admits that he bought them and just pinned them on because “I thought it would give me a little more authority in the job that I was performing for the legion that I was in….”
Lemmond also told [his lawyer, Dean] Paquette he was abandoned as a child, adopted at age five, sexually abused, a student in a Brantford residential school and patient in a psychiatric hospital when he was a teenager.
“So one could well understand that the role he was playing gave him a level of self-respect, perhaps a false one, but self-respect he probably never had experienced in his life.”
Lemmond also underwent a quadruple bypass three years ago and was scheduled for surgery to treat blood clots in his legs, Paquette said.
When the allegations became public, the old age pensioner received death threats, he added.
Justice Timothy Culver expressed sympathy for Lemmond’s rough upbringing, but said the needs and sacrifices of war veterans “really are diminished” by such false claims.
“You really didn’t gain anything other than some, I suppose, minor ego boost.”
They all imagine death threats. The judge sentenced him to 12 months probation.
Category: Phony soldiers, Valor Vultures
Well thank god he didn’t claim the NDSM! That really would have been stretching the bounds of propriety! Still a POS though.
Isn’t it funny how most of these gutless wonders didn’t have the balls to actually join the military when they were young enough!!
Here’s the kicker of the story, and what started things rolling:
“The senior citizen’s story came under scrutiny when Mohawk student Daniel Levinter, a former cadet, noticed “red flags” during the apparently decorated veteran’s Nov. 11 speech at the McIntyre theatre.”
A kid saw he was a phony!
Also, look at what he’s claiming made him do it:
1. Sexual abuse
2. Abandonment
3. Stay in a psychiatric hospital
4. No self respect
How’s your self respect now, Donny?
I’m betting the kid saw him light up a smoke with an ersatz Zippo that was engraved with:
“Spent my time in Hell”
“Vung Tau 74-75”
For the slightly younger set that may be saying:
Vung Tau? WTF is Claw ranting about now?
Vung Tau was one of the in-country R&R sites.
True. But a fair number of US and allied units (mostly logistical and support) also had HQ there, so it was possible to get stationed there. Also had naval and air facilities.
From the sounds of it, Vung Tau was truly a “hardcore” place to serve in Vietnam. (smile)
Yea, I’m betting it was truly hardcore.
Never got to visit there myself, but from some of the stories circulated by our pilots, (and we all know pilots never exaggerate) Vung Tau was the RVN version of the Bunny Ranch and Disneyland all rolled into one.
That might not bee too much of an exaggeration. One account I’ve read indicated Vung Tau had over 100 bars during its heyday as an in-country R&R location.
Sounds like the stories I heard about Manas.
Sounds like Al Udeid with alcohol.
Or like Qatar, the R&R place for those in Iraq or A-stan.
The Deid had alcohol when I went through there. The Fox Sports BAR over near The Bra… they’s scan your CAC and you were good to go for 3 drinks or 3 beers in a 24 hour period. I think there was an Irish Bar too around the corner from it. Hot AF gals laying out by the pool next to the Dairy Queen in bikinis. Hot AF gals all over the place in PT shorts. Pizza custom made to order in the DFAC. Al Udeid was a slice of heaven.
Claw….visited Vung Tau many times. Once a month we would fly troopies there for in country R&R. Beautiful white beaches. Cobalt blue water. Many bars ect. During my time there was no war in Vung Tau.
Once we sat down with bogus engine trouble, just so we could go into town for a steak dinner, washed down with French beer!
Gotta luv those fly boys! Right Claw?
CLAW131. Good info
Although I might be a kid do to my volunteering background working with US Veterans in Canada, He wasn’t hard to spot at all. When a guy claiming to be a Canadian Captain walks up claiming to have a medal of honour… 78 living recipients and I knew for a fact he was not one of them. We had CO’s there who didn’t know any better. I was really the only one who suspected anything so when we got to the bar I started investigating and couldn’t find any records from him and he wouldn’t supply me with a dd214 I knew he was bullshit. Pulled some strings and launched a full investigation and now here we are.
I don’t think calling this guy out accomplished anything. I don’t know who is sadder, the victim or the stalker…he could have been approached in a different way, no media, no cops and told to quietly go away. He had disastrous life and background it seems, not an excuse but not to be humiliated, crucified in court and in the media. That’s just plain sick. So who is sicker? Vets should be ashamed of themselves and reporters too…the Judge was insensitive…cruel. Mike
His story is so believable: Retired in 2007 from the military at 59 as a captain, was a POW in the Vietnam conflict which ended on 30 April 1975. Sure he had a little broken service, and sure they allow captains to serve in the Army for up to 30 years. Maybe he went into the reserves after his harrowing exploits in Vietnam. They must have called him up for service in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don’t see why people were able to out him.
Though not applicable to this tool, that scenario is theoretically possible. It requires that the individual in question (1) served in Vietnam, (2) went to OCS, (3) served long enough as an officer to make O3 and serve successfully as same, (4) was discharged or reverted to enlisted status after being RIFed (happened to a rather large number of OCS officers post-Vietnam). If he then later reentered the USAR as an enlisted soldier after a break in service, he could serve until age 60 or 62 in the USAR. The “up or out” pressure is much less on the enlisted side in the reserve components, largely due to the need for a vacant billet for many if not most promotions to occur.
At 30 years total service, he’d be eligible to retire at the highest grade held. If he had 30 years total service by 2007 (entirely possible if the individual served in Vietnam in the mid-1960s and the break in service was less than a decade), the individual would retire as an O3, since that was the highest grade he’d held successfully. (If he retired with less than 30 years total service, my understanding is he’d have to apply for advancement at the 30-year anniversary point instead.)
http://arba.army.pentagon.mil/agdrb-overview.cfm
It’s also theoretically possible on the active side, but would likely require a MUCH more convoluted set of circumstances, including waivers to RCP/HYT and/or multiple SELCONs as a serving O3 (or some other equally improbable circumstances).
A douche nozzle repairman.
Negative.
A Douche Nozzle Tester.
A douche nozzle coinesseur!
It’s obvious people like this have a mental disorder.
Anytime someone dose something wrong they have a Mental disorder. But they did it now it’s time to make them famous….
“I thought it would give me a little more authority in the job that I was performing for the legion that I was in.”
See, it wasn’t self serving. He was doing it to help the legion. And if helping the legion required him to lie, to deceive, to steal valor, well, that was a price he was willing to pay. Hero.
Yeah and remember, wearing fake medals has the known effect of erraticating suicidal and homicidal thoughts. While he was wearing his fake bling the world was a safer place.
After reading his lawyer’s excuses for his behavior, I propose this nickname for the guy: “Whynah Mangina”.
Lawyers who repeat what their clients tell them are under no obligation to verify the information. Instead, they make declarations of fact (e.g., sexual abuse) by attribution to the clients, thereby sidestepping responsibility if it’s bullshit, in whole or part. The difference between such statements and “I heard that so and so did such and such with you know who” is–there is no difference.
So, in other words . . . they’re allowed to lie, provided they do so carefully, by presenting unverified hearsay as known fact without clearly indicating that’s what they’re doing.
IMO, this is among the reasons why much if not most of the public has such a low opinion of the legal profession.
Well, it’s not that they know it’s a lie and are repeating it. It’s that they won’t check it out in the event it is false.
Precisely. An honorable man/woman does his/her due diligence before publicly presenting items as fact. From what you’ve said above, lawyers routinely don’t do so when speaking on a client’s behalf.
Most people consider intentionally presenting information of unknown veracity as fact (a) without identifying the information to be unverified and thus questionable, and (b) after making absolutely no effort to verify the information, to be very near or equivalent to lying. It’s at best gross indifference to the truth, and is ethically questionable as hell.
Should have remained in the hospital. His cousin awarded him the medals???? WTF?????????
Let me guess. His cousin was Smokey The Bear.
FYI, working on another Canadian down this way. Will have it complete shortly. This one claims the MOH! Can’t wait to show him the door!
Motivated to add a post script to the above. First contact (by referral) with this guy, his rap immediately was, “Yeh, I saw a LOT of combat, a LOT of combat in RVN” Just as in a song by Bocephus, “I’m gonna make you a star” Only in this case, I don’t smoke cigars and I don’t intend to stick my hand out and give him 50 K. Trouble for him is, he’s going to be another star on TAH!!!!
They are coming for you next Wave, you fat fucking douche.
What happened to the SS, BSM and PHs that Rayner was rockin’, has he forfeited them to the US consulate in Calgary?
All those ribbon, medal wearing posers should have the awards pinned to their chests and hold a sign that says”I just stepped on thousands who died fighting for the Military and I’m a piece of shit. I’ll make the signs, someone list his crap. Shameless