Dear Editor,
By definition of the Department of Veterans Affairs … a Veteran is any person who served in the Active Military…and was released or discharged under conditions other than dishonorable. This does not say you had to serve in combat or be stationed in a combat zone. It says served in the active military. Just serving in the US military makes you a veteran. Being a veteran is something you should be proud of. Hell, we could not all deploy. Someone had to help with the gear in the rear. The idea is you served and you were ready to deploy when ordered.
I am a Vietnam Veteran and a Marine. I served one tour in Vietnam. When I was discharged, I held the rank of E-5, Sgt. I was awarded several ribbons during my service. In my case the one ribbon you could say I earned was my Good Conduct Ribbon. We used to joke that the only way a Marine would earn a CGR was because they were not caught. My other ribbons were because I served in a unit or in a location that was presented with that award because of the overall actions of that unit during a particular conflict. An example would be the “Presidential Unit Citation (PUC). This was presented to a unit not to a person. If you were assigned to that unit when the award was given, you earned the right to wear that ribbon.
If you are a Veteran, you should be proud of your service time, be it months or years.
This brings me to my next point about being a Veteran…STOLEN VALOR. Many people think stolen valor refers to a person who claims to be a member of the military but who never served. This is only one class of Stolen Valor. If you claim to be a Veteran and were not, and use this claim to get money or donations or other benefits this can be a crime under Arizona Law. The other class is the person who served in the military and earned the right to use the term Veteran but who claims awards, medals and titles that they never earned. Why would a veteran claim to be what they are not? The answer to this question depends on the person who is making the claim.
The phenomenon of Stolen Valor can easily be researched today using various programs such as Google. This will show that almost all walks of life have been affected by this type of claim. Political candidates, celebrities, veterans’ group officials, antiwar activists, judges, politicians, and average citizens have been exposed for enhancing their military record. Suddenly the Private becomes a Major. The person who served as an Infantryman becomes an Army Ranger. The cook becomes a Navy Seal, the Marine trained in equipment repair becomes a member of an elite Recon Team, who served in Vietnam. When they are asked specifics about where they served and what they did, the three most common answers given are (1) their records were destroyed in the great fire. This only works if you served prior to 1973, as this is when the National Archive Fire took place. A Google search noted that Marines lost only few dozen records, as Marine records were stored in a separate location. (2) the mission or assignment was TOP SECRET and they can’t talk about it. Depending on the war this statement may be true. Today many of the battles and mission from the Vietnam era can by found on the History Channel; in some cases, this even applies to the more recent conflict such as Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom (3) They are telling the story of a friend or a mission they saw on the History Channel. A member of that service may see the “lie” where a civilian with no military background would be impressed.
When I worked for the Mohave County Prosecutor’s Office as Chief Investigator, I helped prosecute several subjects charged with fraud, embezzlement or worse. Several of them testified or provided information that they served in the military trying to impress the jury or get a better plea deal or sentencing. These lies only made it worse.
Many in our community want to honor our veterans and say thank you. Many feel that they can trust a veteran. It is this mindset that a con artist will use to set the stage for a fraudulent scheme. You may not invest your hard-earned money with a Pvt, but it is another thing if the person asking was a retired Marine or Navy officer with a chest full of medals and some top-secret stories. Stolen in Valor under Arizona law is also a crime.
Speaking of stories, I was told that a person in our community was questioned about their claim of being a highly decorated military officer. Their reply was that it was not a real uniform but a “costume”, worn to honor veterans. Real veterans do not wear a costume, we wear uniforms, and we wear them proudly. Actors wear “costumes”, even bad actors.
Terry Flanagan
Sr. Vice Commandant
Dean. W. Reiter Detachment # 887
Unit Commander
Kingman Young Marines
