Rangers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and a multi-purpose canine pause during a nighttime combat mission in Afghanistan. Courtesy U.S. Army.
Posted on 12/02/2014 9:26:58 AM PST by jazusamo
A man accused of donning an Army uniform and posing as a decorated Ranger during a Black Friday shopping trip to a Philadelphia mall — and whose confrontation with a military official was recorded on a video that’s since gone viral — could possibly face criminal charges.
Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, a lawmaker for the Middletown district in Pennsylvania, has sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger to see if the faker — who introduces himself as Shawn in the video and whose last name is ostensibly displayed on the patch on his uniform — could be charged with violations of the Stolen Valor Act of 2013, if it’s proven that he was faking his service, the Bucks County Courier-Times reported.
The law, co-sponsored by Mr. Fitzpatrick, criminalizes the act of portraying one self as the recipient of military medals if the intent of doing so is to obtain money, property or another “tangible benefit,” the text states. Stores sometimes give members of the military discounts for their service.
It’s not yet clear if the man in the mall was faking his military service.
But a video that’s been seen more than 1.5 million times since Black Friday shows him fielding several questions from Northampton resident Ryan Berk, 26. Mr. Berk recorded the encounter and said he’s actually served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2011.
Mr. Berk, who’s studying criminal justice at Temple University — and who earned a Purple Heart after he was injured by shrapnel during a fire-fight in Afghanistan — said he came across the man in Army fatigues while shopping in a shoe store, the Bucks County Courier-Times said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The real Veteran really nailed the poser.
Prosecution is not the solution. Public ridicule, shunning, and maybe a punch in the mouth would suffice.
There was a time when ordinary citizens would deal with guys like this without the help of law enforcement or prosecutors.
Good for the vet. calling that a$$wipe out. USN ret. sends.
There’s much to be said for that. Hopefully local press and TV will run the story and video in the posers area.
God that video is painful to watch. I’m not a soldier, and I would never in my right mind claim to be under any circumstances. I’ve taken uniform patches given to me by veteran relatives and sewn them to hiking packs and been asked questions, but I never claimed to be military or know anything about the role my relatives played in conflicts.
This reminds of an experience I had with a job interview candidate a few years ago. Kid claimed to be an “expert” on Microsoft and networking technologies. He made it through his HR interview, and they threw him to me to vet his knowledge background. Within 90 seconds of him sitting down, I knew he was a fraud. He couldn’t answer basic technology questions about which he purported to be an expert. It was the most uncomfortable I’d ever felt for a person in my life. He was cocksure through the whole process, and gave quick, concise answers like the guy in this video, but ultimately, your words betray your deeds if you are a fraud.
Fell apart like a soup sandwich
Please just put the patches away. They shouldn’t be misused by sewing them onto non regulation locations or on personal gear.
Also, did they actually make it criminal to just wear a uniform? I thought the Stolen Valor Act made it illegal to make money off of fraudulent military service?
This guy claims to have 3 CIBs, which I believe is covered under the SVA, but he wasn’t trying to make money off of that. He’s just a phony.
Should it be illegal to wear the uniform if you didn’t? ABSOLUTELY! Is what this guy did a Federal crime? No. He should’ve had his ass beaten by the soldier filming this, though. Put me on that jury, and we’d be hung all day long.
I guess I don’t understand how it’s disrespectful or misuse. Not being confrontational, just curious. I’ve had plenty of former soldiers ask me about the patches, but I could only ever say they were given to me when I was a child by my late uncles who served in Vietnam. That’s all I really know.
Didn't SCOTUS throw it out a few years back?
I hate these “uniforms” in public.
To me, they look like work clothes, and should be used for “work”.
I remember when members of the armed services wore a uniform in public.
To me, this just lowers the standards. Why do you need camouflage in public?
/rant off.
This was local and that guy looks so familiar.
If he got a military discount for anything, he absolutely should be prosecuted. I didn’t gather that from the article, and I’ve been with military relatives who’ve used their status for discounts and they had to show their military ID, not just be wearing a uniform.
It’s so sad. I mean, you would think he would have studied up on the campaign decorations before he put them on. I myself have been in 3 campaigns: Grenada, Desert Storm and Bosnia. Only one that I actually saw action in, and that was Desert Storm. Bosnia was UN support, although I supported those in action, and Grenada on the carrier as support. The only time I don my uniform is for city parades and the warbird museum on Memorial day and Veterans days. And it’s my dress greens. Campaign ribbons are not to be degraded or abused. They are a display of honor and duty, of suffering and death. Those of us who kept watch over the years did so so others could lay on the beach, study in school, play with their children and vacation in our state parks. As my grandfather and father before me, and as my 3 nephews after me, we all are part of the watch so others can be free.
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