Garry Kaspar; phony Ranger, phony hero
Someone sent us their work on this fellow, Garry Kaspar, who had claimed to folks that he was an Army Ranger on his résumé and to prove his military service, he had one of Bob Neener‘s Silver Star certificates;
Well, after we filed for Garry’s records, he turned up dead;
We’re not sure what the cause of his death was, and as far as I know, Kaspar wasn’t aware of our investigation. It doesn’t appear that he tried to take his valor to the grave with him, going by the various obituaries posted on the internet. That’s good, though, because the NPRC responded “Who?”
Category: Phony soldiers, Valor Vultures
Well shit. He probably “self murdered” himself to avoid having me offer him some love on some facebook page. Another case of the garbage taking itself to the curb?
“…NPRC responded ‘Who?’…”
An appropriate epitaph for this individual’s grave marker…
Wow, one year at 1LT then CPT.
Then Notre Dame which happens to be in South Bend, IN, any football fan knows that. Not just IN
People are dying to get on this website
…and off.
^^This^^
Does the deceased still qualify for GB’s yearly tally?
Sure. He made the claim during this calendar year, and Jonn made his post about him this calendar year. It would be the conclusion of the investigation into the stolen valorness, right?
But, not my decision to make, a blessing for which many are grateful. 😉
Works for me, if that means anything.
A unanimous decision among those voting! Maybe we should offer to help count votes during the next election??
FWIW, I’m counting him. He fits the criteria, even if he is dead now.
Also, it may be indicative of his mental state leading to his claiming to be a Ranger if he committed suicide. Which is sad, regardless of his false claims.
Hopefully he does not turn into “Kasper : The Stolen Valor Ghost”.
Methinks he would haunt a Bathhouse or Truck Stop Mens Room.
I’m pretty sure this guy never served , but sometimes I wonder about some of the NPRCs who? Letters. My father in law served for 4 years in the 50s we contacted NPRC they sent is a Who ? Letter despite our own proof to the contrary. They also had my Grandfather who served as a medic with the 9th medical BN and 7th Army in WW2 as a member of the Army Air Corps. Not sure why that is.
I needed a copy of my DD214 last year. I had one but was trying to get a clearer one. Anyway in the process NPRC said, “Who?”
They forwarded the request to the Navy And they had no problem fulfilling the request tho the copy is not much better than what I already have.
Crisis averted, but I served for 24 years and found it strange NPRC had no love for me. Lol
Not all records are held at NPRC.
Ya…but mine were supposed to have been forwarded there.
The Navy has started to store their records separately from the National Archives for whatever reason.
Ah, thanks for the info.
Fire safety.
That’s an interesting point. I researched and finally got (my deceased) Dad’s DD 214 as a US Merchant Marine Veteran from WW2. His DD 214 was much clearer than mine ( which was typed. Using apparently an old manual typewriter which was common when I served: 1977-1989)
We have ways of double checking. In this case, we checked the SCRA website for the dates on his silver star certificate and he came back negative.
Oh no doubt. There are any number of resource to cross reference records/awards/qualifications…even moreso when you’ve been around the block and/or still work in the system. 😁
I know your methods of outing these phonies are sound and time tested. The only thing I have a prob with is the sometimes shoddy record keeping at various agencies. Just like yesterday with me, DMDC says I deployed for one month in 03 but the combat zone tax and hostile fire/ imminent danger pay was paid for much longer than that on the same sheet . NPRC and HRC had the accurate dates. Found out the innaccurate start date was a typo. I’m pretty sure the 1973 fire at NPRC prob had something to do with my grandfathers in accurate service record
Part of the reason. The major reason is that among all branches of the military there are 64 different software systems used for Human Resources management.
Some of these systems fees off other systems and share informations with other systems outside of the DOD
But you still have 64 disparate systems
All of which were supposed to be subsumed by DIMHRS back in 2008
Key word supposed. 10 years later and we’re still using 64 different systems.
If all the right identifiers are not provided, they will find nothing. Millions of WWII records burned. Again, they will find nothing if they burned.
I heard that there was an initiative underway at NPRC to try and piece together records from that era. I’m sure many records are gone forever and Many will be very piecemeal and innaccurate . But on the bright side it may provide info that’s important to family history and military legacy
That’d be nice. Tried to find my grandfather’s records and they reported they were in the section that burned. He was WWII and there were like 20 million in service then, so I can’t imagine trying to piece all that together.
From years ago info, so I cannot address what they have today. My father’s records were among those damaged during the fire. They contacted him to fill in the gaps and told him that almost no records were completely destroyed. Many were damaged, of course, and parts of those were replicated from company records and other sources. There was enough left in almost all the records to confirm that what the member supplied was correct.
All to say that there is likely no one whose records were so completely obliterated that they were not/could not be replicated from other sources.
I know that had put something out in how to submit personal records for addition to the records in St Louis. So that would be helpful in filling the gaps in many records. I read that there is a staff of 25 dedicated to piecing the records together. So with the millions of records needing work that sure seems like a Herculean task . I’ve also heard that unit histories have been a big help in filling in gaps as well.
An interesting read about that fire:
https://www.archives.gov/files/publications/prologue/2013/spring/stl-fire.pdf
Nothing has changed. I retired in 2016 and found out this week that nothing was added to my file or PERMd since 2014. All retirement docs, my LOM, and promotion were never added. My command has two sh2tbird SGMs in the G1 shop. We has a GO retire with no retirement award because the SGM said”it aint my job” of course this always would be followed up with a EO complaint, JAG complaint, everybody is racist BS. Sad part is no one did anything to these losers except move them on or let them retire. I was told by a much higher CSM that its easier to allow them to screw you than it is to deal with all of the EO, JAG, Chaplin, …etc complaints. I know most everyone here knows of such oxygen thieves that are retired on active duty.
I need to send them the copies of my father’s records that I have, just to help round them out. They are not complete, of course, and do not show when he left unit A to go to unit B, or when he was busted back to PFC (because of his practical jokes and short temper, as I recall) – but it will show something.
Maybe your father in law didn’t serve. It wouldn’t be the first time. Old people lie too.
We were just missing his 214. We’ve got other records and I don’t know why he would fly to Germany , dress up in uniform to have pictures taken at an Army post. So yes Yef, he served.
Richard.
YEF, stop huffing the floor wax after you eat the daisies!
*Huffing the floor wax*
*Huffing the floor wax*
*Squawk*
*Whistle*
To quote Homer Simpson:
“Don’t you ever get tired of being wrong?”
Seriously, engage brain, THEN open mouth.
Quiet, Yef. Grown folks are talking.
I got drafted while stationed in Alaska in 1964. Only problem with that was I had been on active duty since 1957. Duh…
Yeah, I got a threatening letter from Selective Service. Had to register when I was 18, but I was a little busy, being in the Army long before the letter arrived.
I got the letter from my “friends and neighbors” and went to Detroit for my pre-induction physical. When I passed, I decided to enlist, rather than wait.
After I finished basic and AIT, and shipped to Germany, I got a letter from the draft board demanding that I show up in Detroit, once again, for induction, upon pain of imprisonment if I failed to appear.
It took several letters, and a phone call to get that straightened out.
That happened to a few people in that era.
I’m jumping on the bandwagon. The fuckers sent me the post card and letter TO MY PSC ADDRESS AT LACKLAND, while I was in basic training.
Teh governments. SMDH
He managed to complete an MS at Notre Dame in two years while a member of the Ranger Regiment. It must be nice to be assigned to a unit deploying all over the Middle East during the start of OEF with with a commander who will cut you lose for a few years to work on a graduate degree.
He probably took the Accelerated Anal Insertion method learning program offered by Brucie’s Bath House (Entrance in the Rear) to their Junior Apprentice Towel Boys… or possibly the Special High Intensity Training (SHIT) offered by a certain woman-owned company that is near and dear to our hearts.
Is that why he is blue, or is he a Smurf?
That is just a weird military resume
No kidding. I was in a completely different branch and could see it was nonsense.
1.5 tours in Afghanistan? What is a half a tour? Even if you leave early you’ve still done a tour.
He didn’t leave early. He got there late.
Dang! That was mighty funny!
I concur. I did a year boots on ground in A-stan and 10 months in Kuwait, does that make me a Veteran of 1.8 ME Tours?
That fake history of his non-existent service is so fracked up. It clearly demonstrates he never did even two weeks on active duty. First, there is no 3rd Company in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Second, no one is commissioned on graduation from college unless one successfully completed ROTC. Can’t understand why he wasn’t a special forces sniper in addition to being “company linguist” for his Ranger unit. That Silver Star to go with his two Purple Hearts and BSM w/ “V” device is a nice touch. Maybe he died in action while playing in a marathon “Call of Doody” tournament. Probably from a burst bladder or ruptured colon.
I’m still waiting for a copy of my records that I sent in November? How long does it usually take to get your records back? My dear wife burned mine thinking that I wouldn’t need them anymore?? I also requested a copy of my Honorable Discharge, will they send that as well??
Willy, you can always call NPRC and speak to an agent regarding your status. Or if you have a DS login for ebenefits or the HRC portal if you were Army and view your OMPF on those sites. It just takes minutes that way. That includes your. DD214. As well
That’s why they tell you to file a copy with your local County Veterans’ Office.
Truth ^^^^^
Did that, and they gave me as many certified copies that I asked for. At Hays County , they stacked all the binders in a room at a temporary location while they were preparing to move to a new facility, and I just happened to need a copy. They asked me if I wanted to rummage through the pile to see if I could find mine.It turned into a monumental task, but I found the one I needed. I hope they got their system squared away. There were military discharge records in there from when Jesus was a corporal.
OR register a copy of it at your local courthouse which was my FIRST stop after my AD ETS FInal Out.
Be careful doing that as it has all your PII in it. Once it is filed with the county clerk, it is a public record and anyone can see it.
They get millions of requests a yr. Very easy to lose some. If you do not have answers or a receipt in 8-10 weeks, file again, and again in 8-10 weeks, until you get it. always keep a copy of the request to make that refiling easier.
Willy, download the SF-180 from the NRPC site, fill it out and send it in BUT KEEP A DATED COPY!! Put a note on it: SECOND REQUEST. Send it by certified mail, return receipt requested.
Or else go online, fill in the online form, print that out and sign it, and submit the online form, and then copy the signed copy and send in the signed copy, again return receipt requested.
Or give them a call. Maybe yours got lost in the shuffle.
I’m not familiar with the ‘Oak Leif Cluster’. Was this some kind of Scandinavian award for his Purple Heart?
You earn it by listening to Leif Garrett albums nonstop for a week. It is not a highly coveted award.
This guy looks like he was gearing for a political career…probably a gun grabbing sort.