Posted on 03/26/2008 10:55:17 AM PDT by Islander7
A disabled Biloxi Air Force veteran was one of two men arrested Tuesday on charges of lying about receiving military medals, including the Purple Heart.
The Department of Veterans Affairs filed criminal complaints against Christopher Billeaud, 52, of Biloxi and John Wayne Lebo, 57, of Tylertown. Both men were released on unsecured bonds of $25,000 and $5,000, respectively.
Both face a year in prison and $100,000 fines for each violation.
Billeaud is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm and the Gulf Coast chapter president of the National Defense Transportation Association. He is accused of altering his discharge papers to indicate he received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star and using the papers to get a Purple Heart license plate, which is free of charge for life and does not expire. He is also accused of falsifying his rank, claiming to be a retired chief master sergeant rather than a master sergeant.
(Excerpt) Read more at sunherald.com ...
"This has been a nightmare," she said. "We have the paperwork to prove the VA awarded him the Purple Heart. The VA notified him, not the other way around...."
The VA doesn't give metals honey.
What? There goes her next claim: that the VA actually promoted him to a higher rank than his exit rank.
If I was in Bosnia and I was dodging sniper fire and tripped over an 8 year old girl holding a bunch of flowers and skinned my knee could I get a Purple Heart?
Only if you were a Democrat running for office!
In the article, she says she was on the phone with him at the time of the attack, described as a SCUD attack. He apparently ran from the phone center (none of the areas I was in during Desert Storm had commercial phones, just temporary phone centers) and dived into a “foxhole” (maybe their air-raid bunker?), whereupon some sandbags fell on him. I was out in the desert by the time the SCUDS started heading in the general direction of Saudi Arabia. We had *one* alert, when some over-excited major on night duty in the radar van complex for our encampment sounded the alert before determining the direction of the missile that had launched. We had to sit in our bunkers for some 6 hours or more, and take whatever those pills were, before they sounded the “all clear”. It turned out that the missile supposedly launched in our direction had actually “impacted” somewhere in the gulf waters. For an AF site, I’m quite sure the lead time on an alert would be at least similar. I know that there was at least one attack with casualties, so his attack might have been that one, but I’d call it unlikely.
Darn, thought this was about John F’n Kerry, who served in Viet Nam.
John Kerry served in Vietnam? Never heard that!
One of our cooks, was drunk and stoned on ganja ran out of his bunker and fell into a drainage ditch, got a few scrapes, got a heart.
Just my 2 cents:
Any veteran who has been wounded/injured in combat and has health problems as a result should get all that they need in terms of medical care and disability pay.
Moreover, any vet, who, while in, was permanently injured as the result of a noncombat accident, etc sustained in the line of duty, should be given appropriate treatment and/or disability pay.
But, along with all of the legit claims, there are many, many people gaming the system-raking in disability pay for nonexistent problems or exaggerated ones.
If they could go case-by-case and were able to establish the truth (easier said than done, I suppose), they’d cut Va spending by 40% easy. One day, hopefully, they’ll do something.
He was in Cambodia during Christmas, too (as ordered by Nixon).[/s]
Only if your SS detachment wrenched your arm while trying to break your fall.
When I saw the headline I thought this article was about Shrillary - you mean she didn’t manage to receive a purple heart with all those sniper bullets hitting around her in Bosnia? I was sure she must have found a tiny sliver of some debris to claim a Purple Heart ala Jon Cary.
It doesn't give medals either ;-)
Even if I had just made a terrifying, corkscrew landing?
That would get you a bronze star. You’d still have to go through the other for the purple heart.
I appreciate your sentiments, but if all the veterans who really deserve or are entitled to benefits for real service-connected injuries were being taken care of properly... the VA spending would go up more than 40% in one day.
“When I was at Cu Chi we used to get whacked with Mortar and Rockets, they used our radio antennas as aiming points.
One of our cooks, was drunk and stoned on ganja ran out of his bunker and fell into a drainage ditch, got a few scrapes, got a heart.”
Welcome home bro.
I went through Cu Chi a few times. The first time I was headed to Fire Base Mahone 2 and second, we moved south a to Fire Support Base Chamberlain. The third time I got to go to the 12th evac.
I can tell you right now that as much as I hated the bush, I hated to be in Cu Chi for any amount of time because of the rockets.
Again I say - WELCOME HOME BRO and thank you for your service to our country.
Probably—but it would be for a good cause.
I think that’s what gets me—each fake claim takes money away from a legit one.
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