Posted on May 17, 2016
Did CSM Basil Plumley steal valor by wearing unauthorized awards?
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"The U.S. Army is investigating allegations by a military researcher that the late Command Sgt. Major Basil Plumley -- a legend in the airborne and infantry communities -- wore unauthorized combat and valor awards that exaggerated the wartime achievements that made him famous.
"Among the many documents Siddall provides in his research is an Oct. 2, 2015, letter from Army Lt. Col Wil Neubauer, chief of Awards and Decorations Branch, confirming that Plumley was authorized to wear one CIB and states that "we are unable to verify" the Combat Infantry Badge with "one star" listed on Plumley's DD Form 214.
"In that same photo, Plumley wore valor awards he did not earn, Siddall wrote. Plumley wore a Silver Star with a bronze oak leaf cluster, which indicates a second Silver Star. Plumley also wore a Bronze Star with a V device for valor and one bronze oak leaf cluster for two awards.
"The October 2015 letter from the Army states Plumley was authorized only one Silver Star and the Bronze Star with one oak leaf cluster, not two OLCs. The letter also states that Plumley was not authorized to wear the V device with his Bronze Star medals."
Please read the article before commenting.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/05/17/army-investigating-we-were-soldiers-legend-for-inflating-award.html
"Among the many documents Siddall provides in his research is an Oct. 2, 2015, letter from Army Lt. Col Wil Neubauer, chief of Awards and Decorations Branch, confirming that Plumley was authorized to wear one CIB and states that "we are unable to verify" the Combat Infantry Badge with "one star" listed on Plumley's DD Form 214.
"In that same photo, Plumley wore valor awards he did not earn, Siddall wrote. Plumley wore a Silver Star with a bronze oak leaf cluster, which indicates a second Silver Star. Plumley also wore a Bronze Star with a V device for valor and one bronze oak leaf cluster for two awards.
"The October 2015 letter from the Army states Plumley was authorized only one Silver Star and the Bronze Star with one oak leaf cluster, not two OLCs. The letter also states that Plumley was not authorized to wear the V device with his Bronze Star medals."
Please read the article before commenting.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/05/17/army-investigating-we-were-soldiers-legend-for-inflating-award.html
Stolen Valor
Vietnam War
Awards
Edited 8 y ago
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 139
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https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/army-not-amending-war-heros-record.html
I'd seen this after reading that earlier stuff, I just thought you should all see it, obviously...did seriously make me feel better about that whole thing, you know?
I'd seen this after reading that earlier stuff, I just thought you should all see it, obviously...did seriously make me feel better about that whole thing, you know?
Army Not Amending War Hero’s Record
Command Sergeant Major Basil Plumley will not have his military records amended by US Army officials. There are discrepancies in his records that call into
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Capt Daniel Goodman
Yeah, I was kimda glad I'd seen that, restored my faith in human nature, to a large extent, you know?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
Trust me, as I'd said, that much I gather not, I'd surmised no one with five jump stars could possibly be a fraud. Ivecread stories of other stolen valor's of course, where a vet was elderly and possibly made error due to age and/or memory loss, frequently, though of course obv in this case, those are shown to be true stolen vslors. Clearly, CSM Plumley was obv quite real, as I'd said I was certainly glad I'd seen that article I'd sent in that such was and is evidently the case, and, as I'd said, it quite def helped restire my faith in human nature. I'd read about the apparent errors, that, given the article, if they did in fact occur, clearly, they were most likely true simple errors due to either age and/or confusion, certainly not overt deliberste falsehood, by any stretch of imagination, or the article I sent in clearing him would, I should think, never have been released, you know? As I said, I'm glad I'd found it, also glad others found it as obv gratifying as I did, of course. Some time ago also, my wife and I had gone to Hershey, PA to see the Hershey factory, and the Amish country. While we'd been at a motel in Hershey, one morning, there'd been a reunion breakfast for I'd gathered Amy Airborne, I think 101sr Div, though I was never quite sure. I recalled while watching the HBO Band of Brothers series that when I'd seen Maj Dici Winter he looked rather familiar,bad I'd thought, I'd realized I think he was at the reunion I just happed to change on and listen to some if, wguxy clearly seemed to make some sense in retrospect, as I'd heard onmthe series and also read he and his family lived in Hershey, OA, he'd been tall, lean, wearing the same wire metal rimmed glasses with rectangular lenses, sittingbwith his hands clasoes at the head if the cintinental breakfast reunion table, I'd been fairly sure on reflection it might well have been him, indidnt say anything, I had of course no idea back then who was, obviously, just a hopefully interesting little side anecdote, many thanks.
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Does anyone know of CSM Plumley ever saying he fought in Korea? It seems everyone BUT him says he fought in Korea. In a 1965 photo in the Ft Benning newspaper he is seen wearing the 1st Award CIB prior to deployment to Vietnam. Also he wore no Korean War ribbons. Also a photo of him at Ft Benning just after Vietnam wearing a 2nd Award CIB (I star). Even his DD214 says he is entitled to the 2nd Award CIB. It seems it was not until his later years as an old man that he wore the 3rd Award CIB (2 stars) - such as in the above 2010 photo. Does everyone on this blog take a "see-no-evil" approach? There are some real questions out there that deserve a reasonable amount of scrutiny. So go ahead and ask the hard questions. You are not disgracing the man by doing so - you are being an NCO / CO. Because its ok to be a follower sometimes but not a blind follower (of a Hollywood movie).
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There is No Doubt he was a hero and a Leader and Inspired many Future NCO and Senior NCO... My Company and later Bn CSM was a Sg tE5 under his command...
The man Is gon Let Him Go... Face it he Fought in 3 major Wars... WTH did the Whiners ever do...
The man Is gon Let Him Go... Face it he Fought in 3 major Wars... WTH did the Whiners ever do...
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Everyone seems to be asking - why look into this issue now- after all, the man is dead. This issue must be vetted NOW because it will leave future researchers scratching their heads for generations to come. If you have not seen the records, you really must do so to understand the gravity of the situation. Take a look at the CSM's records (posted on Siddell's website) and you will understand. Then ask yourself if you can write this off as clerical errors or WWII incompetent clerk-typists or whatever. If this can be attributed to errors, then it is a 3 decade long list of "consistent errors" : an artillery scout in WWII who served in artillery units for the majority of his career and was stationed in specific artillery units CONUS and Germany during Korea. I'm just being a realist and saying this has to be sorted out in an unbiased way and NOW is better than later. And to those of you who say -"He's dead so just let it be". All I can tell you is that you are doing him no favors because generations from now, NO ONE will shy away from researching this, just like how we today when we don't think twice about researching Civil War generals. So it is better to look into it NOW while there might be some favorable info out there other than those records. He needs all the help he can get because those records will be archived forever and they do not look good for him.
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That soldier has past. He has his cup filled on fiddlers green. Leave him alone.
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Suspended Profile
The stolen valor movement is annoying at this point. I understand calling someone out over having never been in the military or by being a complete fraud, but the whole movement has become more annoying over small nuances. Leave the CSM alone who cares.
This article says it all about the stolen valor movement.
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/10/28/sacramento-marine-vet-says-he-was-beaten-over-mistaken-case-of-stolen-valor/
This article says it all about the stolen valor movement.
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/10/28/sacramento-marine-vet-says-he-was-beaten-over-mistaken-case-of-stolen-valor/
Sacramento Marine Vet Says He Was Beaten Over Mistaken Case Of Stolen Valor
It happened over the weekend at The Long Shot, an Arden-area bar. Michael Delfin says the man was looking for a fight, saying Delfin had never served.
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Give him the benefit of the doubt. My grandfather's records from the USMC in WWII were lost in the St. Louis fire and my first DD 214 was definitely not error free.
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Today a service member can sit down with the admin clerk and review the awards info that is going on the DD 214 (I am glad I did because I know that it is correct and I did not have to rely on anybody else to ensure it was correct). Back in CSM Plumley's day that likely did not happen as personnel admin was spotty at best. But if anyone thinks this guy lied about what he did and did not rate they need to take a good look at themselves.
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Very Sad, that someone would put so much work into damaging the image of a hero, who can no longer explain, and/or defend himself. I prefer to believe this a matter of poor record keeping, or non-existent record keeping vs. an overt attempt to device. I agree with MGySgt James Forward the benefit of the doubt should go with CSM Plumley.
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