Stolen Valor

So i met what i thought was a new friend who said he was in the coast guard and all this other stuff but what he was saying didnt make any sense.

i held it to myself and just avoided the topic until i knew this person a bit better. When I was invited to a party at and Marine vets house i asked him what he knew about my new friend and if he knew he told me he was in the coast guard.

he look at me confused and i just dropped it.

fast forward its after dinner and the after a few drinks i threw my VA card across the table to the Marine saying look how young i look(i have a face full of hair now)

i looked at the person and said lets see yours? with 10 people looking at him waiting he fake looked for his wallet, and said he must have left it at home. well as everyone was leaving i hand this guy his jacket as i was staying longer and his wallet falls out and i pick it up and jokinly started to open it up and this person RIPPED it from my hands.

now this person is mad at ME because all his old friends hate him and want nothing to do with him.

was it wrong to do such a thing? to basically deep six a mans life over a lie?

i meet all these people at the same time so it really means nothing to me, i feel bad kinda but mostly dont give a f

a reply to: penroc3

Don't feel bad. People like that need to be called out. It's mental. My dad told us for YEARS about how he was in the Navy and fought in Desert Storm, had bootcamp stories and everything, even used to stand up at church on Memorial Day. Later on, family members told me he was never in the military and I eventually got him to admit it to me. He said it started as a joke at some bar and people believed him so he just kept telling it.

So, yea, don't feel bad. It's just weird for someone to lie about that. And offensive to a lot of folks who actually served and have lost so much because of it.

a reply to: penroc3

Sounds like he needed something to make himself acceptable. Maybe not serving makes him feel deficient.

But IMO, your should not feel bad. Truth is truth. He would probably be accepted without the falsification.

a reply to: penroc3

A lie will be learned in time. For the deceived, knowledge sooner rather than later is better.
For the deceiver, they would prefer never to be caught out.

You did what you thought correct, I will say that is how one should react.
If you find out the individual in question is who they say they are, you might owe them an apology.

My father was in Desert Storm/Desert Shield.
My grandfather was in Korea.

I haven't served. I will never claim to, but that's enough for me.

My mother and father didn't want me to go in, but I wanted to be a marine.
So, with my parents wishes, I abstained from the military.

If a draft came up, I'd go in, before being called, but I can't wear the badge, of a man I am not.

reply to: penroc3

was it wrong to do such a thing? to basically deep six a mans life over a lie?

Dude, if a lie can deep six his supposed life, he didn't have a life to begin with; just a lie.

If speaking truth can destroy something, that something should never have existed anyway.

a reply to: penroc3

Truth will set him free... eventually.

I spent 10 years in the Navy, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Battle of Mogadishu (Blackhawk Down for those that don't know), and a handful of clandestine missions. These guys that lie and make up all kinds of fantastical sea stories just want attention which they probably never got as a child. I just laugh at them.

It's the losers that fall under the Stolen Valor Act of 2013 that I have zero remorse or sympathy for and call them out every single time.

The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 (Pub.L. 113–12; H.R. 258) is a United States federal law that was passed by the 113th United States Congress. The law amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a person to fraudulently claim having received a valor award specified in the Act, with the intention of obtaining money, property, or other tangible benefit by convincing another that he or she received the award.

Which also includes gaining employment by fradulent claim.
If you want to see some of these jokers who fall under the Stolen Valor Act watch some of the videos by Don Shipley on youtube.

So, don't feel bad. Karma is a bitch.

a reply to: EndtheMadnessNow

I spent 10 years in the Navy, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Battle of Mogadishu (Blackhawk Down for those that don't know), and a handful of clandestine missions.

I actually know one of the Special Forces guys who some of the main characters in that movie were based on! He's with the 160th SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment) "The Night Stalkers". He was one of the helicopter gunship pilots sent in to Mogadishu that night to defend the first Black Hawk crash site after the second Black Hawk had been shot down.

The bravery of some of the soldiers involved in that incident is just off the scale of measurement. The (5) SF SOAR members who were killed that night were (I believe) his direct reports. To listen to him tell the "real" story of Black Hawk Down is terrifying beyond description. The book and the movie were scary enough, but they're nothing compared to what really happened in Mogadishu the night of Oct 3, 1993! Normally, movies and books take editorial license to create more drama than reality. In this case they actually had to take things out of the movie and the books because there was too much drama (to the point it didn't even seem real and was just too disturbing for moviegoers and readers). Fortunately, against overwhelming odds, he lived to tell about it.

So powerful were the events that night in Mogadishu that the US Secretary of Defense had to step down as a result. That pretty much says it all.

That someone could ever "pretend" to be a warrior like some of these men is shameful beyond words. Now granted, the OP's 'poser' wasn't pretending to be one of these guys in particular, but this story just illustrates how truly shameful it is to "pretend" to be a warrior at all.

Just thought you might be interested.

a reply to: penroc3

As a Navy operator and two time MoH recipient I can say you did the right thing.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: penroc3

As a Navy operator and two time MoH recipient ...

Posthumously, right?

ETA - or was it 'post-imbibe-ously'

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Nope, what good are having those things and trying to get some action with the wimmins if you're dead?

I don't understand.. why lie about being in the coast guard.. You could of had a desk job and never did anything dangerous..

Guess some people just feel they need a service background to create friends..

a reply to: penroc3


I was in the Army and don't have a VA card. Don't really care to get one.

How to apply for a Veteran ID Card
A Veteran ID Card (VIC) is a form of photo ID you can use to get discounts offered to Veterans at many restaurants, hotels, stores, and other businesses. Find out if you’re eligible for a Veteran ID Card—and how to apply.

Your not just given one.

a reply to: penroc3

I just have it on my drivers license. Had to show a 214 to get it, not a big deal.

a reply to: penroc3

No. you were not wrong!! I'd have deep sixed him, too.

I can not tell you how much I despise fake veterans.

My father and several of my Uncles, at least one sister, and my younger brother all saw some form of combat while in the various services--Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines have all featured in their service records...

There are thousands of them out there.

a reply to: penroc3

He deserves to be called out. That # makes no sense to me. It is not as if serving is super cool. Yes some people respect you for it but really I don't understand the need people have to make # up.
I served in the Army and did nothing useful, just the roll of the die.

I was at a gas station the other month and the guy behind the counter had on an Army Ranger cap. I said oh cool you were a Ranger? They're badass. He said yes, sure was! I am like cool where were you stationed?

I forget which post he said but it was one that confused me on the spot. Something stupid like Rucker. I am like that doesn't sound right.... I am like don't you mean Benning? Somewhere else? He's like nope!

When I got home I checked and the Rangers are never stationed there, ever.
I was so angry. Why the F# lie to a stranger about # like that?
I am never shopping at that gas station again.

a reply to: DBCowboy

That's what I did too. It was easy.
Why anyone would want the VA med services is beyond me. School stuff maybe.

a reply to: penroc3

Yes, it was wrong to deep six his life for it. You don't even know for sure if he lied to you about being a marine. It looks like he lied, yes, but do you know conclusively?

And do you not feel sorry for him? That he feels like he needs to make something up, in order to be accepted or liked?

What harm is done to you, really, if he's lying about the marine thing? What difference does it make in your life?

You've certainly made a difference in his now.

a reply to: KansasGirl

he said he was in the coast guard.

how do i know he wasnt in ANY branch is he has had epilepsy from a very young age, and it would have been super super easy to prove it. He could have sent me a pic of him in uniform or his DD214 etc.

Why do i care that he lied about being in the services? my brother is currently deployed as a Marine in the M.E and my whole family has or still works for the government.

when someone lies about something like this it cheapens the real sacrifices service members and their families make every day.


i dont feel bad that he felt like he needed to lie to everyone he knows, thats on him.

if anything i did him a favor. the truth hurts and i just happened to be the one that ripped that band aid off.

originally posted by: TheGreatWork
a reply to: penroc3


I was in the Army and don't have a VA card. Don't really care to get one.

How to apply for a Veteran ID Card
A Veteran ID Card (VIC) is a form of photo ID you can use to get discounts offered to Veterans at many restaurants, hotels, stores, and other businesses. Find out if you’re eligible for a Veteran ID Card—and how to apply.

Your not just given one.

yeah i know and you know


but the point is, he didnt even know what i was talking about. how many pics can you dig up with you in a uniform...my guess is at least one.