Stolen Valor

All of us who have served honorably deserve the distinction of our service. We show our military pride in our actions in society, and of course in the war stories that seem to be embellished over time. Sort of like telling a fish story that portrays the fish quite a bit bigger than it really was. We wear military caps to show our branch of service, and in a more formal setting we wear our service uniforms adorned with our ribbons of achievement. Wearing ribbons and medals, by the way, is voluntary for service members, and allowed to be worn on our service organizations uniforms at military events.

We are proud of our awards, and check the ribbons of others to see if they are displayed in the prescribed manner. Under General Military Authority, each service member has the right to address proper wear of uniforms, and that, by tradition, follows in our service organizations. Seeing improper awards or misplacement of them can be addressed and questioned, which leads to the question of Stolen Valor.

Stolen Valor is to fraudulently represent military awards or type of service. The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 was a U.S. law that “broadened the provisions of a previous U.S. law addressing the unauthorized wear, manufacture, or sale of any military decorations and medals,” and made it a federal misdemeanor to falsely represent oneself as having received any U.S. military award if convicted. In United States v. Alvarez, the 2005 law made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court after the California man challenged his conviction and $5,000 fine for unlawfully claiming to be a Medal of Honor recipient. The court declared the law unconstitutional unless the fabricator intended to get something of value by making the claims, and that the Stolen Valor Act was an unconstitutional abridgment of the freedom of speech under the First Amendment, striking down the law in a 6 to 3 decision.

A subsequent law is the Stolen Valor Act of 2013. It is written to “help protect real military heroes from phonies.” The original iteration of the bill, the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, had been in effect for six years before the Supreme Court held that it was unconstitutional because it “violated a person’s First Amendment right to free speech.” The main change in the law was the provision that “makes it a Federal crime for an individual to fraudulently hold oneself out to be a recipient of any of several specified military decorations or medals with the intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit.”

William “Bill” Hillar of Maryland spent years claiming to have been a Special Forces soldier with expertise in human trafficking and counter-terrorism. Colleges and universities paid him to teach classes, and law enforcement organizations paid to hear his presentations. The charge that got Hillar sentenced to 21 months in federal prison was wire fraud, not the 2005 Stolen Valor Act. He was arrested finally in January 2011 after his scam was exposed by veterans through the website professionalsoldiers.com.

A recent Associated Press (AP) article here in the Press is about Washington state Rep. Graham Hunt. The Seattle Times reported Hunt’s records did not verify his claims of being a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. He also claimed three medals the military has no record of him receiving. Hunt said he was a Marine, was shot in Iraq, and stabbed in Afghanistan. Well, he produced records that he was in the Air National Guard in Arizona, and was deployed to Saudi Arabia and “another location that was classified.” Washington state Libertarian Party Chairman Steven Nielson called for Hunt to resign, and in a news release said “We ought to hold our elected representatives to the highest ethical standards, and I believe that misrepresenting your military record not only violates the honor of the service, but it dishonors the integrity of the very office he holds.”

Brian Williams, the NBC News anchor who claimed he was aboard a Chinook helicopter in Iraq that was hit with two rockets and small arms fire in 2003. In his apology 12 years later, he said he was in a following aircraft, and thanked “our brave men and women who served while I did not.”

Kris “Tanto” Paronto, a former Army Ranger from 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and a survivor in the 2012 Benghazi Consulate attack, was outraged. “This is one of, if not the most despicable acts of lying to those who have served and the United States Citizens. He is stealing valor from those that have actually seen combat … this lie and continual lying to cover up the first lie says a lot about Mr. Williams’ character, or lack thereof. This is a serious offense.”

So, kudos to all that served and let’s be vigilant in exposing the phonies that usurp benefits from our valorous acts and honorable service.

Jack Evensizer is a resident of Dalton Gardens.