When the persecuted become popular, frauds come out of the woodwork to capitalize on the compassion towards the victims. As fakes note the adulation heaped on heroes, they often weave tales spawned of Hollywood hype without the benefit of half-interested research or any experience more than some cursory information.
After a brief history, I'll point you to how to check out your War Storyteller. How to find out if he's really a Force Recon, Special Forces Seal Sniper or just a wannabe clerk kicked out for missing formations and mental illness.
Respect for America's Warriors has rightfully seen some return in the last couple of years. That has taken a lot of work by many individuals and organizations, most of which have a personal connection to Our Troops. In 2005 & 2006, it looked as though America might return to the Viet Nam era abuse of her returning Troops. And that awakened first my Viet Nam era Brothers, who had long since been silent, but knew the injuries inflicted all too well to allow Our Generation to go undefended.
The first to organize were reminiscent of anti-war groups of the 60's and 70's, SDS (of which came the Weather Underground terrorist organization) came back and the VVAW (of John Kerrey fame) formed the IVAW. And with them came a littany of frauds, even as a few of their subversive elements typed lies from Iraq. It had been an unspoken rule for as long as I could remember that Troops kept quiet, that the few that broke that rule were generally the whackos with a subversive message.
But the majority, the disciplined Troops, could take no more. Their Honor besmirched by the likes of Adam Kokesh and Jesse MacBeth, first Veterans and then active duty Troops went to the blogosphere. Officers at the highest levels were appalled and afraid that plans and mistakes would slip out to an enemy well versed in web warfare. Initially, DoD attempted to ban such Soldier-Journalism.
But DoD attempts to "correct the record" were ineffective, stiff, and discounted as "propaganda." Despite a lack of trust in the Troops to not endanger themselves, a comprehensive review of OPSEC violations demonstrated that official sites were much more prone to it than the Troops with their Butts on the Line. Funny how that self-preservation thing works.
More importantly, the American People were found to trust the Soldier more than any other segment of society. They found the Troops wrote in interesting ways about things the Citizens desired to understand. Whether it came to the ramifications of partisan political bickering or outting a phony soldier like Jesse MacBeth, citizens trusted Jonn Lillyea, of "This Ain't Hell" even while being intolerant of Rush Limbaugh saying the same thing.
While DoD seemed impotent to defend the Honor of Our Troops, Veterans and Troops were frustrated with MSM spinning a misportrayal.
But Jonn was not the first to be outraged by stories of bravado unearned. He was not the first to begin a catalog of fakes and frauds. He concentrates on the most audacious and most critical, the IVAW and Vote Vets, while researching all cases that come to his attention. He works closely with the premier site with a huge catalog of liars: The POW-MIA net.
Don't let the name fool you. While they maintain a list of all real and fake POW's, they investigate and catalog every case of fraud they find. And business is getting hectic for them as Warriors return to their Respected place in Society.
War On Terror News often checks their list when a story doesn't sound quite right. We've added a couple of names to their roles. We've even found links back to us when we re-published a story that fooled even the DoD. The Editor here used to have a hobby of outting such frauds, shaming the liars in the very forums where their BS had been told. The results were rewarding and usually complete with an end to their participation and perpetuation of false stories.
But the Stolen Valor Act allowed for legal action. War On Terror News doesn't have a focus of outting frauds, though we're more than happy to assist should Jonn or the POW-MIA net need. The goal is no longer public embarrassment, but maximum punishment under the law. We're happy to delay any report until prosecution can be brought.
If you ever doubt the veracity of the stories of your local Special Forces SeAL Marine, asking him a few simple questions will probably clarify the need to check further. Ask for a class number. If he's real, he'll know why you're asking and answer confidently with a smile. If he's not, he may answer the same way, but if he answers in any other way, it's 99% assured he's a fraud. The biggest red flag is that his identity or MOS is classified. If he claims any such stories of secret squirrel bs, it's almost certain that he's a fraud. (Just being a she, means she's not a SeAL, Ranger, or Special Forces.)
Missions, not MOS's are classified. If he tells you his records of training are classified, while telling you tall tales of brave and classified missions, your next stop should be the POW-MIA net to first check his name on their list and then to inquire with all of the details he spouts.
If his stories were told in November of 2006 but not since December of 2006, it's possible that public embarrassment is the extent of his punishments, but if he continues to tell his tales, or if he's worn medals he never earned, jail time and fines could be in his future.
Excerpts lifted from "This Ain't Hell" covering the Stolen Valor Act:
"Whoever falsely represents himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces, or the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such badge, decoration or medal, or any colorable imitation thereof shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both."
"Under the new law, anyone who falsely claims to be a decorated military veteran can be punished with up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine. The penalties are double for a claim involving the Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, Navy Cross, Silver Star or Purple Heart."
"Trust but verify!" One miscreant close to being revealed claims to be a 100% disabled "Ranger" veteran who was victimized by his mortgage company and "electrocuted" while saving classified information during an RPG attack. He fails to tell you he's receiving a monthly VA check equal to his prior active duty check but asks that you donate your hard earned cash to his favorite charity (himself) so that he can build a dojo in his basement. Given he's fooled the NYTimes and his disability has to do with lack of mental stability, he feels you should donate your money so he can be around young children with their own troubles.
Real War Heroes are unlikely to tell many tales, not because its classified, but because few outside the Veteran community truly understand the realities. Today's world sees Troops and Veterans more likely to tell war stories to the world on blogs but as many if not more will pass into the age of our forefathers, with children and grandchildren knowing that we served, but not knowing the stories we made. And the tales told are as likely to be humorous (if exaggerated) tales of pranks on fellow Troops rather than blood and gore. My own standard war story is pure fiction, designed as an exaggeration so blatant that it serves two purposes: 1) humor and 2) an end to further requests to tell tales. Only Veterans get the other stories and usually over a beer at the VFW. ((And that's an exaggeration as well!))