Posted on 04/03/2008 9:35:22 AM PDT by DCBryan1
I have an co-worker who is older, and completely full of crap. His birthday is May 02, 1937, making him 14-17 at the time of the Korean War.
He has told stories that are unbelievable to clients who, if they find out, could hurt our business. My boss approached me since I am military and asked me to find out how I can get documentation that we can print up in the coffee room to "out him" as a "stolen valor" type of guy.
The latest news is that he won the Navy Cross in 1952 (when he was 15-16) when flying missions over Korea.
My questions are:
Isn't there a "stolen valor" law? And does it only pertain to wearing the uniform, or does it encompass verbal attestations?
Is there an unclassified way to look up someones war records or a datatbase with Navy Cross recipients as there is with the CMOH?
How would you handle the situation? (My first reaction, as a veteran, is an ass stomping of an old man, but I think humility and shunning would be much more appropriate IMHO).
My boss, myself, and co-workers are simply sick of his BS and would like to enlist your sources on the subject.
Thanks!
Out!
You might want to ping the banglist guys, as that would probably be a good source.
I would love this information, as well.
What did he fly, and what carrier was he on?
I recognize that wikipedia is not always reliable, but there is a list of recipients here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Navy_Cross_recipients
Bump for justice.
My first response would probably be to tell him to bring it and his citation in, as a sort of show and tell. Then press on when he hems and haws about doing that.
Did he know William Holden and Mickey Rooney? :)
Toko-Ri was a creation of James Michener.
The Navy Cross is a pretty public award. Ask him to bring in the medal and certificate. Otherwise, unit and station info is probably the way to go.
cant do much better than that.....print it up and post it and or e-mail it to him....If hes on it you owe him
post #11 has two reportedly complete rosters...should satisfy one way or the other
Sound interested and engage him. Get as much detail as you can, written down if possible. What service was he in? What squadron was he with? What type of airplane did he fly? From what airbase or aircraft carrier? What rank was he? What did he do before he flew at Toko-Ri? Where did he take his various pilot training courses? If he gets curious, tell him you told your kids about him and they thought it was cool, and you’re getting the info for them. Once you have simple information like that, you can research using an Internet search engine.
I’m a civilian, but I’ll say this much—it’s always been my impression that in that time period, he’d have to have been a Navy or Marine pilot to win a Navy Cross. Pilots were commissioned officers, which generally (but not always) means he’d have to have had a college degree. Realistically, when you factor that in, plus the time it’d take to train a fighter pilot, I don’t think he could be any younger than 22 and be a Navy/Marine officer pilot of a single-seat or two-seat fighter/attack aircraft. But I’d defer on that to some of our military experts.
}:-)4
You might start by seeing if his name is in THIS LIST.
Where do we get such men...
These cases were all investigated by the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General VA-OIG. The VA Office of the Inspector General operates a HOTLINE for the public to confidentially and safely report crimes like “Stolen Valor” involving VA or its programs. Call 800-488-8244, or fax to 202-565-7936, or e-mail to vaoighotline@va.gov, or write to VA OIG HOTLINE, PO Box 50410, Washington, DC 20091-0410.
The cases filed in the Western District of Washington are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ronald J. Friedman. For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110.
There have been a lot of these stories lately. Stolen Valor Act definitely applies here.
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