Desautels’ Military Honors Questioned
The Telegram.com wrote a followup article titled “Leicester vet questioned on military honors.”
As you may recall, This Ain’t Hell initially reported about Kenneth Desautels here.
This is one of the few cases where a journalist both did the right thing as well as being highly accurate in the reporting.
Dave Hardin, a retired Marine who helps run the website militaryphony.com, said it is important to call out false claims to awards out of respect for those who earned them.
“If anybody can claim honorable military service, then there is no honor left in military service,” he said, adding that the situation is particularly offensive to SEALs who died in combat.
There sounds like there will be an investigation by the Veterans’ organization.
We call on Mr. Desautels to stop the charade and come clean with both his family and the others that were taken in by his false stories. I don’t know who Mr. Desautels thinks he is fooling anymore.
To just come clean would save a lot of people a lot of time and effort. This would be the honorable thing to do.
Category: Fake SEAL, Feel Good Stories, Media, Phony SEAL, Stolen Valor, Stolen Valor Act
“…many of the original teams were de-commissioned and records sealed.”
The go-to line of any phony.
“It’s classified… ” too.
The Navy retired the flat hat on April 1 1963
Gone before he went to ‘Nam even…
As a transplanted (via marriage) denizen of the PDRMA, I’m always pleased to see a MASSHOLE exposed as a liar, cheat, and thief. Kudos to Brad Petrishen of The Worcester Telegram & Gazette for writing a comprehensive follow-up article exposing Desautel’s medallic fuckery and Stolen Valor violations. Here’s hoping the Rochdale, MA VFW Post 7556 strips Desautel of his leadership position.
Not all that far from Devens. Surprised he even tried to pull it off.
As an early escapee of the Commonwealth I agree on the pleasure of seeing a Masshole get broached.
In my five and a half years in the U A Navy I never saw anybody wearing that blue flathat
And so it begins, I wonder if Desautels will
A. Scream that he’s going to lawer up
B. Try to crawl under some rock or rug
C. Maybe actually Man Up and admit that he was full of shit
API,
or D. Claim he’s wearing said awards to HONOR REAL SEAL’s who died/didn’t return home. That’s always a good one, followed by saying he never said HE was a SEAL, OTHER people ASSUMED he was.
Or E. Lay low until he thinks that the heat has died down and go right back to his bullshit games.
From the attached article:
“Mr. Desautels, who made his comments after being called by the T&G, told a reporter he wasn’t looking for anything “elaborate” in the way of a write-up, saying the honor on Memorial Day was properly due to those who died serving the country.”
YOU WIN, Jay!
Need to have a good sockpuppet show up and “defend his honor”… haven’t had one in quite some time.
Time to cue up some Glenn Frey:
I miss sock puppets..
Been so long, the foogas solidified.
We need a new chew toy.
2/17 Air Cav used to bring them in with his charm.
It’s very very rare to see 2/17 Air Cav and “charm” being used in the same sentence.
The Post Quartermaster? Gazing into the crystal ball, is that a complete post finances and property assets audit seen looming on the horizon?
Anybody? Buehler? Buehler?
Kudos to the reporter.
Now, let’s talk about that ribbon for the Cold War Victory Medal and given the sins of the father, whether or not one of his sons is/was really an Army Captain who has served in the GWOT.
How many time have we seen that? Too many…
I read that article and it has none of Dave Hardin’s alleged profane responses in it. I am SO disappointed about that.
When trying to quote Dave, the journalists asked around but nobody knew if ‘cocksucker’ was one word or two, so they played it safe and left it out.
Records destroyed in the Great St Louis fire???
That would be a “negative”. The fire only affected those portions of the archive housing US Army and USAF records. NPRC’s official position is that no Navy or USMC records were destroyed in that fire.
Further, only Army records for those discharged prior to 1960 and USAF records for those discharged prior to 1964 were affected by the NPRC fire (and many of those records affected were later at least partially reconstructed). So virtually no records of Vietnam service were affected by the fire.
https://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=39667
Hack thinks that he was being facetious. You can update your Sarcasm Recognition Software by visiting the website of a proud but humble woman owned business that sells software and entering the code “Spandex” for a 20% discount.
Could be sarcasm. Regardless, I just wanted to get that bit of cold, hard reality out there in order to preempt any potentially truly lame idiocy along those lines should Desautels or any would-be defenders be reading this.
It was sarcasm. I rarely spout otherwise…:)
“THE FIRE”
Never fails. In almost every one of my VA appointments, there is always a sorry sack of shit who complains about how the service (Army, Navy, Air Force, USMC, USCG, pick any of the above…) screwed them over. Same stories “should have got promoted…my C.O. didn’t like me…it wasn’t my fault I was drunk driving…”
Then I wait for the inevitable…
“My ‘orders’, ‘records’, ‘awards’, ‘commedations’ got burned up in the fire.”
Oh, didn’t you hear about it? It was a big deal.
Nope. Didn’t hear about it, because it didn’t happen.
I just get up and leave. Don’t argue with idiots.
How about “they put me in for a Purple Heart but I told them to shove it up their A$$” based on the noble notion that others were killed or in worse shape than them.
That one always gets me. My grandfather on my dad’s side and my great grandfather on my mom’s side were WWII vets. Both of their records were part of the 80% lost in the fire. I’ve always wanted to do a FOIA on their records to find out what they did, where they went, and what awards they rated as they were in the European theatre from 40-45ish. Unfortunately i’ll never know.
You might want to try anyway if you’ve still got their old Service Numbers. Some of the affected records were at least partially reconstructed from secondary sources, and others were only damaged (I’ve seen photocopies of documents out of one set of records from the Korean War era that appeared to have burned edges).
I wouldn’t even know where to FIND his service number. I’ve got his SSN. Hell, he died 30 years ago. All i’ve got now are a FEW memories of him and even fewer pics. Just thought it would be cool: ya know, 3 generation shadow box or something.
I got my dad’s DD-214 without a service number and he landed at Utah beach on day two or three (said if you lived through it you lost track of what day or time it was). Anyway, go to https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records
Appreciate it. Will check it out tomorrow!
You can often find his service number in ancestry.com
That VSM with three service stars is jacked up.
He gets one star according to his records.
Embellishing the VSM is just stupid.
Here is a good reference for counting stars:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Service_Medal
It pains me greatly to point this out – but Dave Hardin is not a retired Marine.
He is a Marine that served on active duty but I don’t think he retired – career service or medically.
I’m sure Dave didn’t say this, it was the journalists interpretation.
They may have to do a retraction on the retraction.
We reached out to Dave but he lawyered up. (just kidding)
I also doubt that Dave said that deceased SEAL’s are offended. That’s not the Dave that I know.
I saw that, as well. I doubt anyone who is deceased, SEAL or not, has the ability to be offended. Though, it will be difficult to ask them and get answer. On the other hand, maybe Dave is a psychic medium and can communicate with deceased SEALs.
I am not retired … yet. I just refuse to get a real job.
It’s a common misunderstanding.
This reporter tried his best to get it right. Those who insist I show up for formation in the morning … live to regret it.
EYE BLEACH!!!!! STAT!!!! You could of at least put on a robe!!! Belay that and never mind my asking! I’ll punish myself with cheap seegars and rot gut whiskey.
You can muster in three day old skivvies, but the important thing is – you mustered.
The attire and body language just screamed.
DAVE!
My eyes!! My eyes!! You can’t do that to people! Pink jammies, for Pete’s sake????
You have to have a picture somewhere that’s not embarrassing, right?
Remember the picture of him in spandex with a bicycle and no shoes?’
There is no level too low for him….
He does sport the NDSM, so he’s got that going for him.
that’s about the only thing he’s got going for him…
He has that cool cover.
Probably wears it while singing showtunes.
Didn’t early versions of Porky Pig wear that sailor’s cap?
Or was it some other Looney Tuney?
It was worn by some badass sailors in the 40’s too. I have a picture of my Old Man standing in front of my grandparents house posing with his little brother and toddler nephew, and they were all in their “Crackerjacks”. One of my favorite pics. Wish I knew how to post it.
Merchant Marine had similar cover:
Different cover
“Anchors Aweigh” or “In the Navy”?
Ribbon rack looks as though it’s full of ‘tinnies’.
https://www.anzmi.net/index.php/faq#WhatisaTinMedal
Surprised uniform supply places haven’t made Battle of Hoth ribbon or Battle Endor medal “commemorative” decorations yet.
“Battle of Hoth” Commemorative Medal.
Request permission to steal, over;
Go right ahead.
Here you go.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Star-Wars-Epic-Battle-Medal-Toys-R-Us-Exclusive-YAVIN-Darth-Vader-Endor-Hoth-/283463668593
$11 w/ free shipping for the set of all three.
Mason, that was/is damn funny. Thank you, Sir.
…battle of Hoth…
The subdued one on the right is cool.
Want.
Dat is da shit!
Probably has the infamous “Legion de Penis, with nutsack cluster” hidden with his “sekrit” service record…
Re-tired? Dave can’t afford to re-tire. Them Firestones are rather spendy now-a-days. Good scotch ain’t cheap and a man has to have his priorities. Besides that, the Soviet is gotta go shopping.
Oh boy this clown lives one town over from me and I have a whole bunch of LEO friends in Leicester !!!
Would someone please slap that Navy practice pecker out of his suck and those Hollywood shades off his mug. PLEASE!
I’d recommend a “tip of the hat” to Brad Petrishen reporter for the Telegram & Gazette Staff (brad.petrishen@telegram.com) for following up on this story, contacting Dave & promptly reporting the facts.
Also, send out an “atta boy” to Executive Editor
Dave Nordman (david.nordman@telegram.com) for putting one of his reporters (Brad Petrishen) on this story to follow up on the facts and set this story right. Not often that the media will take the time to do real reporting as these two gentleman have and to also publish the results.
Thank you Dave & Brad. Great job!!
Now if we could only get them to send out a reporter & photographer to the house of former Marine (not retired…just tired), Beirut Veteran, all around grouchy good guy to interview him, now THAT would be awesome….(as long as they don’t catch him in his pink bathrobe, fuzzy slippers, seegar smoking moment). (grin)
After Op Steel Pike 1964 off of Seville Spain, We pulled into La Pallice France and the Portsmouth England Naval base. In Portsmouth, we berthed behind the HMS Ark Royal and had an English Navy Liaison PO in our berthing compartment and I asked him for a hat swap, my white hat for his flat hat but it was no soap. I guess he was afraid of getting into trouble with the swap.
BHWHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!