Famous Embellishers of Military Service

Fabricated valor: 8 people who famously embellished their military service records
VA Sec. Robert McDonald latest to slip-up
WXYZ ABC Detroit
Clint Davis
Feb 24, 2015

There are few things as widely respected across America as a military veteran’s service record.

There are even fewer things as widely detested as lying about it.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald, a United States Army veteran, is being scrutinized after allegedly embellishing his service record during a CBS News report last month.

According to the Associated Press, McDonald claimed in the report that he had served in special forces during his time with the Army — a statement that is drawing ire. The Huffington Post reported this week that while McDonald did serve as part of the 82nd Airborne Division, that division is not considered to be special forces.

“I incorrectly stated that I had been in special forces,” McDonald said in a statement on Tuesday. “That was inaccurate and I apologize to anyone that was offended by my misstatement.”

McDonald is hardly the first public figure to publically acknowledge embellishing their service record. Here were eight other infamous examples of fabricated valor:

Ronald Reagan
Tom Harkin
Timothy Poe
Mark Kirk
Brian Dennehy
Tom Mix
Matt Farmer
Walter Williams
read their stories here

And if you're in the mood for a list of famous veterans here they are from Biography.com

America wouldn't be what it is today without Hollywood, and it certainly wouldn't be the same without its armed forces. Military veterans make the ultimate contribution to society—they put their lives on the line for their country. Since the nation's founding, the dedication and bravery of soldiers has been the a key pillar on which the United States stands. From Revolutionary War heroes to Vietnam veterans, here's a look at famous military veterans.

Marine Robert Richards Life Remembered

Marine sniper saluted as more than the controversial video that defined him 
The Washington Post
By Greg Jaffe
Published: February 24, 2015

He was still recovering at Walter Reed when he learned that one of his Marines, Josh Desforges, had been killed.

"That was the only time I heard him crack," his mother said. "He was begging to go back to Afghanistan, even though he had a hole in his throat."

Edward Deptola, center, was Robert Richards's platoon sergeant. Deptola and others gathered to remember Richards on the night before his interment.
MATT MCCLAIN/THE WASHINGTON POST

WASHINGTON — His three combat tours in Afghanistan had been boiled down to a 38-second video clip, played and replayed on YouTube more than a million times. In it, Rob Richards and three other Marine Corps snipers are seen urinating on the bodies of Taliban fighters they had just killed.

"Total dismay" were the words then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton used to describe the video when it surfaced on the Internet in January 2012. "Utterly deplorable," agreed then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Richards's career in the military was finished.

More than two years later — long after the rest of the country had moved on to other scandals — Richards, 28, died at home and alone from an accidental painkiller overdose.

Now an ammunition can carrying his cremated remains sat on the table of a hotel bar in Arlington, Va., as his family, friends and fellow Marines swirled around it.

Almost everything about war is complicated, messy or morally fraught; in this case even more so. A Marine vilified by his country's leaders and court-martialed for "bringing discredit to the armed forces" would soon be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, the country's most hallowed ground. On this mid-February night before the funeral, dozens who knew Richards beyond those 38 seconds gathered to celebrate his life.
read more here

Fort Hood Soldier Kills 3, Self in Killeen Rampage

Shooter kills 3, self in Killeen rampage 
Killeen Daily Herald
Chris McGuinness Herald staff writer
February 24, 2015

Killeen police named a 30-year-old Fort Hood soldier as the person responsible for a deadly shooting rampage in a north Killeen neighborhood that left four dead and one seriously injured Sunday night.

Police said the suspect, Atase Giffa, opened fire on three people, killing two and injuring one before forcing his wife, 28-year-old Dawn Giffa, into another home, where he killed her and then himself.

Fort Hood did not immediately release Atase Giffa’s rank and unit.
read more here

Colorado Army National Guard Sued By Ranchers After Fire

Ranchers Sue National Guard, Federal and State Governments For $6.8 Million Over Damages From Fires
K2 Radio
By Tom Morton
February 23, 2015

Colorado Army National Guard troops training at Camp Guernsey in 2012 used ammunition and explosives that caused the 22-square-mile Sawmill Canyon Fire that also scorched thousands of acres of a nearby ranch.

Kevin and Susan Rothschild, who have owned the 5,000-acre Bulls Bend Ranch, LLLP, for 20 years, are demanding nearly $6.8 million in damages from the National Guard and other defendants, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday.

“The Defendants were further negligent, irresponsible, reckless, and acted without regard to plaintiff’s property by not having any fire extinguishing equipment or other controls in place to control and minimize the risk of fire from their activities,” according to the complaint filed by the Cheyenne law firm the Kuker Group, which represents the Rothschilds.
read more here

Fake Wounded Veteran Tried to Pay Bar Bill With Rock

Landscaper pretending to be a wounded veteran 'threatened to blow up a Florida bar after employees would not let him pay his tab with a ROCK'
Jared Simpson, 23, from Maine, charged with making false bomb threats, petty theft and disorderly conduct Told people he arrived in Tallahassee, Florida, to party with Rainbow People in national forest
He walked into 4th Quarter Bar and Grill on crutches, which he later ditched and was seen doing handstands on the sidewalk
Witnesses say Simpson placed a briefcase on a table and said, 'Anyone touch this, they will die'
Arrest affidavit states Simpson told police the briefcase contained 'maybe a bomb or a baby' before breaking into a song
By SNEJANA FARBEROV FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
23 February 2015

But when his new acquaintance, who turned out to be a veteran, inquired which military branch he had served in, the 23-year-old replied, 'if I tell you, I have to kill you,' the court documents stated.

Bizarre behavior: The 23-year-old landscaper was overheard 'speaking in tongues' and singing a song to a police officer about how he was a 'rainbow man'

Jared Simpson has learned first-hand what it means to be between a rock and a hard place when he landed behind bars for allegedly trying to pay his bar tab with a pebble – and then threatening to blow up the bar.

Simpson, 23, of North Waterford, Maine, was taken into custody in Tallahassee February 18 on charges of making false bomb threats, petty theft and disorderly conduct.

According to investigators, the bizarre incident unfolded at around 4pm last Wednesday when Simpson tottered into the bar on crutches, ordered a Bud Light beer and then offered the bartender a rock to cover his $10 tab.
read more here