Vietnam veteran full of life despite nine months of torture (See update in #90)

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal ^ | Saturday, November 11, 2006 | Ray Westbrook

[PGalt]

Interesting thread. Thanks to all contributors.

[mware]

Just call the news network that ran the story. Told them to check on the internet site

pownetwork.org

Told them he was not a pow and a fraud.

[Marine_Uncle]

"Once a Marine, always a Marine; you will die a Marine. Once you put that uniform on, you have put on the most honorable, the most decorated, the most everything with that uniform. You are proud to wear that uniform."
Well what happen to the one from the 12^th district of PA.

[jordan8]

Yes, I know. If he'd done this stuff he would have gotten a medal

[WestTexasWend]

Still waiting for a response to an e-mail sent to the reporters yesterday...will post what I receive.

[Toidylop]

Yes... afraid so :(

[Lancey Howard]

Thanks for the ping.

This guy claims that he and another guy, a "son of a KKK grand wizard" graduated boot camp and both became helicoptor pilots?

Oh nevermind. This story is so obviously a fantasy on the face of it that only a small-town newspaper reporter looking to meet a Veterans Day deadline could ever believe it.

[Criminal Number 18F]

I'll be dipped; I don't remember that character. I will have to reread the books, I guess. It will be sheer torture... call the UN! Call Amnesty!

(Embarrassed at having poorer retention than a Marine here - BSEG).

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[sleddogs]

Was looking at the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial site And thought I would look up my cousin while I was there.

JAMES ROBERT PANTALL


SGT - E5 - Army - Selective Service
MACV Advisors

His tour began on Nov 3, 1970
Casualty was on Nov 4, 1971
In THUA THIEN, SOUTH VIETNAM
Non-Hostile, died missing, GROUND CASUALTY
DROWNED, SUFFOCATED
Body was not recovered

Panel 02W - Line 61

Odd that he died on day after his DEROS date unless he was on extended tour. I got back to the states 31 days before his death on Oct 3rd.

[freema]

Check this thread, again...

Good job all.

[mware]

Here is what pownetwork.org has to say about the guy.

Lee, Kenneth

Huachua, AZ 02/2002

06/2002

11/2002

Claims POW ... when the North Vietnamese did an officer exchange he just followed the officer out; said that he didn't care if they shot him in the back, he couldn't take anymore.... escaped. Used to rice and fishheads in captivity.

Claims 5 tours in Vietnam - how long he was in the military?? He says 5 Yrs.

When called, Lee declared, I don't like to talk about that {his captivity}. Sadly, he allows his wife Judy to repeat his fairy tales in public, unaware she is perpetuating the fraud and deception he maintains.

[freema]

Come on back and read the thread.

[jazusamo]

Thanks for the ping, freema, I came back and read it last night. It's a shame that some people take pleasure from living a lie, and it looks like that's what this is.

[Jed Eckert]

Here is what pownetwork.org has to say about the guy. Lee, Kenneth Huachua, AZ 02/2002 06/2002 11/2002 Claims POW ...

Wrong guy. The guy in the story is Clarence Lee.

[Criminal Number 18F]

Because your cousin was DNH/BNR he too is on the DPMO list. Vehicle involved is listed as an LCU (Landing Craft, Utility... a small landing craft left over from WWII.

http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/pmsea/pmsea_html_p.htm

http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/pmsea/pmsea_info_p354.htm

There may be more information on Pantall available online if you search. The POW Network has someone listed here, who was looking to get in touch with his family, because her friend had worn an MIA bracelet with his name.

http://www.pownetwork.org/tletter9.htm

Because there does not really seem to be any doubt about your cousin's death, he's not listed by the POW "activist" sites (which are at best a double-edged sword, and at worst, a scam).

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Safetgiver]

And John McLame hugged his captor at a Senatorial Hearing. Wonder why?

[Interesting Times]

Wrong guy. The guy in the story is Clarence Lee.

MilitaryUSA.com has a good database of Vietnam veterans. They caution that their information isn't definitive, but my experience is that it's generally pretty accurate. They only show 3 Marine veterans of Vietnam named "Clarence Lee." Of those, just one has the middle initial "J."

Name: Lee, Clarence J.
Service: Marine Corps
Rating: E02
Rank: Private 1st class
MOS: 0311 Rifleman
Entered: 690529
Discharged: 710310
State: Unknown
Race: African-American

I rather suspect this is the same guy.

[Jed Eckert]

I sent the link with the story to www.pownetwork.org earlier today.

Got a three word reply from them a few minutes ago: "PHONY...on it"

Looks like this guy is just another wannabe. I wonder if the reporters tried to confirm anything, the Purple Hearts .....anything at all.

[Interesting Times]

I just sent the following email to the author:

---

Mr. Westbrook, I suspect you've probably heard from a few other people about your story on Clarence J. Lee of Shallowater, Texas.

If not, here's what I've been able to ascertain.

Lee was not a Vietnam POW. The list maintained at POWNetwork.org [http://www.pownetwork.org/bios.htm] is definitive, and hasn't been modified in years. He's not on it.

Numerous other aspects of Lee's story were disputed by veterans with relevant expertise, including his description of helicopter warfare in Vietnam.

Mr. Lee is not "in his 60s," he is 58 years old. That would make him an 18-year-old helicopter pilot at Danang in 1966, which is not believable.

I checked Mr. Lee's name against a military database I've used many times with good results, and found just three Marine Vietnam veterans named "Clarence Lee." Of those, one has the middle initial "J."

Name: Lee, Clarence J.
Service: Marine Corps
Rating: E02
Rank: Private 1st class
MOS: 0311 Rifleman
Entered: 690529
Discharged: 710310
State: Unknown
Race: African-American

It seems probable that this is the same man. Had you checked into Mr. Lee's military records before publishing the article, it might have prevented you from being taken in by the fantasies of a pretender. For more information on the widespread problem of phony Vietnam veterans, I recommend B.G. Burkett's excellent book "Stolen Valor."

Regards, [Interesting Times]

[TomasUSMC]

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