Kenneth Franks aka Kenneth Ellis; Stolen Valor down under
Aussiepusser sends us a link to the story of Kenneth Franks whose house was raided by Australian authorities after he came to their attention on Anzac Day parading about in unearned military accoutrements;
He pleaded guilty to falsely representing to be a returned soldier, sailor or airman and improper use of service decorations.
Franks had a conviction recorded.When contacted, he said he did not want to comment, other than to say he had recently lost a family member, his head was “not in the right spot” and he had “hit the drugs pretty hard”.
Locals said the 49-year-old moved to the area about two years ago and showed up to this year’s Anzac Day dawn service wearing about 10 medals on his chest, claiming he was an ex-SAS soldier.
Goondiwindi Returned and Services League vice-president Bill Brasington said Franks originally came to the attention of the branch when he visited Anzac badge-sellers on the street, wearing a Special Air Service Regiment badge on his hat.
“He said he was an SAS fella and had been deployed everywhere, everywhere overseas — you name it, but he said it was all a secret,” he said.
The organization could find no record of Franks ever serving in the military. He was fined $1000.
Category: Phony soldiers, Valor Vultures
Looks like Franks ate too many franks with mustard hence his head was not in the right spot.
That guy is 49 years old?
He looks 69.
BACK ON POLICE CALL, SOLDIER! Don’t want the 1st Sgt catching you surfing the web on your flip phone.
Word.
Dude looks like a piece of beef jerky.
I’m 48, either that guy is lying about being 49/50, or he “had it rough”.
Well, he did say he “hit the drugs pretty hard”. His face indicates he was telling the truth about that.
I’m guessing he found out the hard way that those drugs hit back pretty hard, too.
The drugs weren’t easy on him, hammered him real hard.
Kenneth Franks aka Kenneth Ellis, phony deployed veteran, should’ve asked questions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOnENVylxPI
He wouldn’t have had it rough if he did.
He probably hit the “cock” pretty hard as well.
Or maybe it was the other way around?
Same deal. I am still really handsome.
My dad passed away in his early 60s, didn’t look as old as Kenneth Franks, Kenneth Ellis, phony deployed veteran.
Like dude said: Drugs and lots of them. They tend to age the body quickly with some drugs aging the body really fast.
Love the pizza baker beret
That is the FNG “I never wore a beret before” style.
It looks like something you’d see on the head of a pissed-off subpar novice French Pastry Cook!
There are three things the Aussies take quite seriously: beer, Anzac Day, and tits. For those reasons, I love those guys.
They’re fightin’ fuckers, too. 3/5 gave ’em a hand in RVN-III Corps RVN, ’66 (I think).
I have two distant relatives who were Australian soldiers during WW I. They were brothers, one a captain and the other an EM. After several years of service and much combat, the two were killed within 24 hrs of one another while serving in different units. They nearly made it. The war ended two months after they Fell. Several years ago, I accessed Australian records online and read reports of their service and after-action reports. I was hugely impressed with the ease of access and wealth of info of Australian military history. Those folks remember. They really do.
My Grandfather served with the Australians in France in WWI. He was a machine gunner in a machine gun company.
He was injured during a mustard gas attack, but survived and went back to his unit until the end of the war.
He passed away in the 60’s ( I can’t remember which year) as a result of emphysema brought on by his injuries.
His son Brian served in WWII and his daughter (my mom)was a teletype operator in MacArthur’s HQ. My dad was on temp duty at the Naval Hospital in Brisbane where he met my mom. Both were using the same bus to commute.
Dad and she wrote back and forth during the war, and afterward he asked her to marry him. She came to the states, and they raised our family.
That’s a great story. Thanks.
At age 27, with my mother 30 days old, my maternal grandfather died from mustard gas. It ruined his heart and respiratory system. He was with the Rainbow Division, the 165th Infantry, Company B, the NY’s old Fighting 69th. I very much like your story much better. There is a connection to our stories, aside from mustard gas. General Pipe, then a major, conceived the 42nd, comprised of Federalized Guard units, named it, and he served with it as chief of staff.
LOVE the story, Tim.
Great stuff!
I once caught a ride on an Australian King Air (C-12 Huron) going from Ton Son Nhut to LZ English. The Aussies were a hoot.
“Headed North are ye? We’ll fix ye right up, mate.”
Why thank you! Except, I’m a lady so I like…extra beer
His face looks like the bottom of soldiers feet after a hardcore road March!
That’s a little over the top. My feet never looked that bad.
I like his face. Looks like a guy who worked hard under the sun for years. We can’t all be beautiful but we can all refrain from lying about our service.
That face may have been exposed to the harsh elements for years, but that beret wasn’t. I have that SAS flash, it was given to me by the XO of the 22nd SAS Regt. along with my certificate for completing their CQB course. But I would never remotely consider putting it on a beret and parading around claiming to be an SAS veteran. These POSer A-holes are missing a gene or something that should operate in their brain housing group. Maybe it is the shame gene, because they never seem ashamed when caught. They always have some lame, bullshit excuse for their conduct.
He’s lucky he never ran into a member of the SAS, especially after claiming he trained a Victoria Cross recipient. Fuckstick
BLOODY WANKER!!!
Knob jockey. There are few things stupider than trying to tell people you’re an SASR soldier when you aren’t.
Douche nugget
I wonder if ANZMI have picked up on this fuck knuckle yet.
How come he looks like the general who was always after the A-Team and was killed off later on getting onto a Helocopter.
Looks kind of like a “Favorite Martian” except uglier.
Ok, so I’m against stolen Valor, however the police raiding his house? That seems like a bit much.
Nah, not really, the Police would have looked at the allegations made against him and who was making them and convinced a judge that a search warrant was necessary.
The Police would have been looking for his bogus medals & any other items to build a case against him, who knows what other items this person may have that He shouldn’t to go with his fake S.A.S.R beret.
You can’t have an active service military uniform with badges or civilian emergency services & wear it in public if your not entitled to wear it or try to pass yourself off as something your not.
In Australia when shoplifters are nabbed the coppers regularly search their house and more often than not find a veritable treasure trove of stolen goods all still in their packaging.
One thing often leads to another with these types of fools.
Play by the rules, don’t do meth or be a crim & you won’t come to the attention of the law and end up a drowner & looking like old mate.
“One thing often leads to another with these types of fools”
As evidenced here on a daily basis.
There are trends and the data accumulated here is a gold mine just begging for analysis. And a book.
Then legislation with teeth.
Holy moly. I can’t imagine the police in the US having time to get a search warrant to go to a shoplifter’s house and find the rest of their stolen goodies the thief keeps around to barter for drugs with. Even less so for a stolen valor case. It is a startling difference in perspective.
In some places in the US, shoplifters get the equivalent of a traffic ticket and are sent on their way. Some states make theft a minor misdemeanor if the stolen property is worth less than $900. Under common law in the olden days, theft (larceny) of property over $200 was a felony.
Looking at this site: http://anzmi.net/index.php/cheats-thieves/medal-cheats/687-franks-aka-ellis he even claimed a Bronze Star.
There’s also a pic of him with his ridiculous rack. (I would post the pic directly, if I could figure that out).
Turns out, he was just “honouring the service of a friend”. See, all better now.
Sheesh.
In that photo, this tool is even wearing one of our BSM’s with a “V” device.