Charged with Stolen Valor (Military Award Fraud)

Originally posted by aorAki
Sure, I can appreciate that. Sort of like honour plagiarism so to speak.

I disagree, it is stolen honor. Hence the name of the act.

In some cases these people have created fictional circumstances to explain their awards.

There are imposters everywhere.

At least in this case there are people out there who are willing to not stand for that.

Originally posted by whatwasthat
That was more answer than you need but buried in the reply is the info about getting medals sent to you at no cost.

Thank you for your service.

Thank you for pointing this out to me.

I am lucky enough to have not lost any of my medals yet. But it is nice to know that I can get them replaced that easily as long as I can prove who I am and what I did.

reply to post by COOL HAND

Someone who willingly wears awards they are not entitiled to will probably never understand what he did was wrong. No amount of apology that he can make will ever make things right.

BINGO!!!!

People who would do this, along with those that misrepresent their service, will never understand the problem those of us that have served have with this. They are not capable.

It is also something of a two edged sword as those that have served did not do so for the little, shiny things they may or may not pin on us.

The fact is, those that may be most deserving, Special Ops, routinely never get any recognition for their actions at all as they are.. Shall we say.. Less than publishable..

Semper

Originally posted by COOL HAND
Can't you Bush bashers leave any postings here alone? This post is not about him, yet you people constantly drag him into anything he is even remotely attached to.

...gwb signed the Stolen Valor Act into law in 2006 (as noted in the last paragraph of the news article you posted in your opening post and which i reposted in the first paragraph of my previous post) - so, involving gwb in this thread is most certainly appropriate...

Originally posted by COOL HAND
Bush served, and was discharged with an honorable discharge which has not been overturned. Move on, nothing more to see here.

...his honorable discharge was BOUGHT by his scummy daddy's handlers... now we can move on...

Originally posted by COOL HAND
Your correct in that there is no system to ensure that people are buying medals and awards they are entitled to. There needs to be, but that is harder to implement as it would make things available that should not be.

...that wasnt my point at all...

...my point was about the words "in connection with" found in the last paragraph of the news article (that you posted) where it suggests the Stolen Valor Act could implicate those who SELL medals to buyers who intend to misrepresent themselves... of course, the seller would have to posess prior awareness of the purchaser's intent to be in violation of the law - but - common sense and reasonable doubt has never stopped the federal government from indicting someone... seems like a slippery slope for all kinds of vendors, making them legally responsible for what purchasers do with their purchases...

...also worth noting is: (1) violation of this law is just a misdemeanor - (2) many believe it infringes on the first ammendment - (3) many believe it is a badly written law...

...heres some links for your thread...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Valor_Act_of_2005

www.docuticker.com/?p=31889

www.vawatchdog.org/10/nf10/nfjan10/nf012310-6.htm

www.omsa.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4763

www.pownetwork.org/phonies/stolen_valor_media_information_sheet.htm

reviews.ebay.com/Stolen-Valor-Act-Signed-into-law-12-6-2006_W0QQugidZ10000000002757474

www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v10n08a08.html

Those who claim to have earned an award fighting for this Nation should be punished severly.
Michael Patrick McManus should be punished and humiliated in public by the military he acts as if he served so well.
John Breiden, the past National Commander for American Legion, said the pictures (of McManus) made him angry. "This, in my opinion," said Breiden," is someone who wants to be a hero, wants to be thought of as a hero, and they don't deserve it. There's a lot of people that have earned that right and this is not one of them"
100 % Sir, 100%!
Michael Patrick McManus traded on his dreams of grandeur for the lies and deceit of false recognition. It is disgusting what he, and so many others have done, in this regard.

Originally posted by stoner713
Those who claim to have earned an award fighting for this Nation should be punished severly.
Michael Patrick McManus should be punished and humiliated in public by the military he acts as if he served so well.
John Breiden, the past National Commander for American Legion, said the pictures (of McManus) made him angry. "This, in my opinion," said Breiden," is someone who wants to be a hero, wants to be thought of as a hero, and they don't deserve it. There's a lot of people that have earned that right and this is not one of them"
100 % Sir, 100%!
Michael Patrick McManus traded on his dreams of grandeur for the lies and deceit of false recognition. It is disgusting what he, and so many others have done, in this regard.

Easy now may be he was having flash backs from call of duty or AA
ANd with that aside they ort to hag him by his left testicle and play piñata with his right one but I still like the idea of having him read on Saturdays at the VA
in a high pitch voice of course this is not the first guy to do this I had one do it to me to my face said this and said that then I ask what was him M.O.S. then it all changed no prison is good for people like this if he wonts to be a hero strap him to a rifle and set his tail in Afgan. or Yemen or may be in the Mog. and see how much of a hero he is
sorry bout the ramblin rage but it ticks me of

Can someone explain to me how anyone can think that wearing medals that you did not earn is allowed under the first amendment.

It's one thing to wear them as part of a costume (if you are that lame), but to wear them and take credit for doing things you didn't?

reply to post by COOL HAND


Hello COOL HAND,

Are you still out there? Last year you asked a question about military medals, specifically medals that may have been misplaced or destroyed.

There is a National Personnel Records Center in St Louis. They will check your records and send replacement for decorations you have misplaced. No cost to you but not all items are is stock. If you are in a hurry most items are available for sale in military uniform stores.

I sent a request about the time of my posting to you last year. I received a partial shippment this week.

Thank you for your service,