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What was the situation you encountered, and how did you handle it? I'll start it off.
It wasn't your typical, what you hear these days, type of stolen valor. This man wasn't in uniform, wasn't parading around touting his affiliation. He was an elderly gentleman, who appeared to be homeless. Who claimed to be homeless.
I was out on the town (a casino on Fremont Street in Las Vegas). My buddy and I were headed back to the bar when this elderly gentleman approached us. He asked for some money, and in the spirit of the holidays we told him we'd help him out.
As we were walking with him to the ATM we struck up a conversation, asking him about himself. At some point in the conversation he asked us if we were military. Mind you, we weren't discussing military things or our personal life with him, I had longer than normal hair as I hadn't gotten a haircut in almost three weeks, and my buddy is retired with a beard and long hair. Why he asked if we were in the military, is still beyond me.
We told him our respective situations, what we do, etc. He then told us that he was in the military too. What then started striking us odd, is when we asked him about his service, he wouldn't tell us what rank he was when he left the military, what branch he was in, where he served, what his job was, anything specific at all. He just adamantly repeated that he served, got offended, became agitated, and then left us before we even could make it to the ATM.
We ended up looking for him, found him, and confronted him about the whole thing. He admitted that he lied, and that he in-fact had never served. He apologized for it, said he did it because he thought we would only help if he told us that he served, and promised he wouldn't do it again to others. We gave him some money and went along our way.
This whole event really ate at me for a few reasons. The first, was just seeing someone in need. Everyone could use some help every now and again. It could be someone's dad, brother, uncle... It then bothered me even more, because the thought of those that HAVE served, and made the ultimate sacrifice, and lost their lives. Here is this individual, attempting to get the honor, but never having made ANY sacrifice.
What about you guys? Any situations to share? How did you shake the lingering feeling of anger, disgust, and just generally being upset?
It wasn't your typical, what you hear these days, type of stolen valor. This man wasn't in uniform, wasn't parading around touting his affiliation. He was an elderly gentleman, who appeared to be homeless. Who claimed to be homeless.
I was out on the town (a casino on Fremont Street in Las Vegas). My buddy and I were headed back to the bar when this elderly gentleman approached us. He asked for some money, and in the spirit of the holidays we told him we'd help him out.
As we were walking with him to the ATM we struck up a conversation, asking him about himself. At some point in the conversation he asked us if we were military. Mind you, we weren't discussing military things or our personal life with him, I had longer than normal hair as I hadn't gotten a haircut in almost three weeks, and my buddy is retired with a beard and long hair. Why he asked if we were in the military, is still beyond me.
We told him our respective situations, what we do, etc. He then told us that he was in the military too. What then started striking us odd, is when we asked him about his service, he wouldn't tell us what rank he was when he left the military, what branch he was in, where he served, what his job was, anything specific at all. He just adamantly repeated that he served, got offended, became agitated, and then left us before we even could make it to the ATM.
We ended up looking for him, found him, and confronted him about the whole thing. He admitted that he lied, and that he in-fact had never served. He apologized for it, said he did it because he thought we would only help if he told us that he served, and promised he wouldn't do it again to others. We gave him some money and went along our way.
This whole event really ate at me for a few reasons. The first, was just seeing someone in need. Everyone could use some help every now and again. It could be someone's dad, brother, uncle... It then bothered me even more, because the thought of those that HAVE served, and made the ultimate sacrifice, and lost their lives. Here is this individual, attempting to get the honor, but never having made ANY sacrifice.
What about you guys? Any situations to share? How did you shake the lingering feeling of anger, disgust, and just generally being upset?
Honor
Service
Stolen Valor
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 28
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MSgt (Join to see)
One time while walking through Chicago O'Hare I saw a Sailor in uniform wearing quite a few ribbons that he couldn't possibly rate. I politely asked him how long he had been in the Navy and he said "I just graduated Boot Camp Sir..." I then asked him "In that case, how do you rate an Overseas Service Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (and whatever else he was wearing that he didn't rate)?"
I got a deer in headlights look from him. I then showed him my ID card and identified myself as Petty Officer Miller and suggested that he remove the unauthorized ribbons before somebody a lot less nicer than me saw him.
One time while walking through Chicago O'Hare I saw a Sailor in uniform wearing quite a few ribbons that he couldn't possibly rate. I politely asked him how long he had been in the Navy and he said "I just graduated Boot Camp Sir..." I then asked him "In that case, how do you rate an Overseas Service Ribbon and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (and whatever else he was wearing that he didn't rate)?"
I got a deer in headlights look from him. I then showed him my ID card and identified myself as Petty Officer Miller and suggested that he remove the unauthorized ribbons before somebody a lot less nicer than me saw him.
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1SG (Join to see)
I like it.
Young Soldiers/ Sailors/Marines/etc make mistakes like this somewhat frequently. He probably thought he was pretty cool walking around O'Hare looking like he wasn't a noob. Of course, How many E-nothings walk around O'Hare in uniform that aren't noobs?
Better to fix it with an OTS correction and set them straight then make a spectacle.
You both represented the Navy in a very public forum; you represented it very well that day, PO1 John Miller.
Where you are matters a lot.
Young Soldiers/ Sailors/Marines/etc make mistakes like this somewhat frequently. He probably thought he was pretty cool walking around O'Hare looking like he wasn't a noob. Of course, How many E-nothings walk around O'Hare in uniform that aren't noobs?
Better to fix it with an OTS correction and set them straight then make a spectacle.
You both represented the Navy in a very public forum; you represented it very well that day, PO1 John Miller.
Where you are matters a lot.
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PO1 John Miller
1SG (Join to see)
Exactly. In cases like this it's generally some kid who is legitimately in the military but just wants to "look cool."
Hell, I'll admit to buying a bunch of ribbons I didn't rate when I was a dumb E3 and going as far as to assemble them into a ribbon rack. But I had a "moment of clarity" and decided NOT to put them on my uniform.
Exactly. In cases like this it's generally some kid who is legitimately in the military but just wants to "look cool."
Hell, I'll admit to buying a bunch of ribbons I didn't rate when I was a dumb E3 and going as far as to assemble them into a ribbon rack. But I had a "moment of clarity" and decided NOT to put them on my uniform.
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What I saw: Heavy set, older man wearing Marine Corps dress blues. He had only Lance Corporal stripes and the National Defense Service Medal. He looked too old to be a new Lance Corporal but didn't seem like the kind of guy who stayed in for an entire enlistment either. He was wearing the uniform outside of a Wal Mart standing next to the Bell Ringers last month. Now aside from it not seeming right that he was an older man who only made Lance and only had a NDSM I have always been under the impression that Marines aren't allowed to wear their uniforms anywhere and everywhere off post, especially for something like that.
How I handled it: When he said hi to me as I was leaving I said hi back and continued on with my day. Regardless of whether or not it annoys me it isn't my place to do what many of the knuckle heads in SV videos do by going up to people and yelling and cussing them out and threatening them. All that does is makes actual service members seem like assholes to everyone else. That and there has been cases of falsely accusing actual vets as SV. Regs change, people get older and don't always remember how every single little item is placed on a uniform. In fact, at my grandpa's funeral a friend of his family wore his Air Force blues for his funeral. He was missing his U.S. insignia on his collar. He knew he was supposed to have them but wasn't going to worry about something so minor. He was a legitimate SSgt who worked in Fire Protection in the AF and separated honorably yet I have no doubt that their are people out there who would see that and throw a hissy fit at him for it.
Just leave them alone. If they are really faking service to gain benefits then let law enforcement handle it and they will see their day in court.
How I handled it: When he said hi to me as I was leaving I said hi back and continued on with my day. Regardless of whether or not it annoys me it isn't my place to do what many of the knuckle heads in SV videos do by going up to people and yelling and cussing them out and threatening them. All that does is makes actual service members seem like assholes to everyone else. That and there has been cases of falsely accusing actual vets as SV. Regs change, people get older and don't always remember how every single little item is placed on a uniform. In fact, at my grandpa's funeral a friend of his family wore his Air Force blues for his funeral. He was missing his U.S. insignia on his collar. He knew he was supposed to have them but wasn't going to worry about something so minor. He was a legitimate SSgt who worked in Fire Protection in the AF and separated honorably yet I have no doubt that their are people out there who would see that and throw a hissy fit at him for it.
Just leave them alone. If they are really faking service to gain benefits then let law enforcement handle it and they will see their day in court.
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PO1 John Miller
SrA Matthew Knight
Eh, as long as he was wearing the uniform properly, etc., maybe he really WAS a Marine. It's not uncommon to not advance past LCPL in 4 years. If he went to Mast he wouldn't have gotten a GCM, and if he never deployed he wouldn't rate any other medals.
Eh, as long as he was wearing the uniform properly, etc., maybe he really WAS a Marine. It's not uncommon to not advance past LCPL in 4 years. If he went to Mast he wouldn't have gotten a GCM, and if he never deployed he wouldn't rate any other medals.
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SrA Matthew Knight
PO1 John Miller - That's the point though, you never know unless you know the person yourself or dig into their history. I couldn't tell you if the guy was a Marine or not. He didn't seem like it to me but the little bit of doubt I had is what kept me from pushing the issue. The problem is with all of the popularity of Stolen Valor people get this Vigilante mind set that they are doing good by walking up to someone and yelling and in some cases getting violent because they think they are being the hero. Unfortunately there has been cases where people have done this and the person turned out to be an actual veteran.
All I am trying to get at is we shouldn't feel like it's our responsibility to light someone up when there is the possibility that they have earned what they are wearing. Regulations change and when you've been out for a while you forget some things. Yes there are people who do steal valor but as I said, let law enforcement deal with it. It's not worth getting yourself in trouble.
All I am trying to get at is we shouldn't feel like it's our responsibility to light someone up when there is the possibility that they have earned what they are wearing. Regulations change and when you've been out for a while you forget some things. Yes there are people who do steal valor but as I said, let law enforcement deal with it. It's not worth getting yourself in trouble.
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1SG (Join to see)
SrA Matthew Knight - I have said something like this every time RP Staff posts one of those Stolen Valor videos - and they love posting them because they always stir the pot. I would just as soon see the phenomenon of video taping these confrontations where everyone behaves badly go away forever.
The world will be better for it, trust me.
The world will be better for it, trust me.
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SrA Matthew Knight
1SG (Join to see) - Same here. Don't get me wrong, I hate the fact that people do it and follow Stolen Valor myself and read their stories and findings on people but that's exactly it, it should be left to the legal system to deal with which SV generally does. The problem is too many people want their 5 minutes of fame by thinking they are being a hero confronting people. All to often it starts to turn ugly with verbal assaults and in some cases it's even gone physically violent. I'm sorry but no amount of stolen valor is worth getting into a fight over. Leave it to law enforcement plain and simple.
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First, I only read the question.
I wouldn't go out of my way to record these stolen valor guys and blast them on facebook, youtube, or social media. We're professionals, or were supposed to be. Should I encounter anyone who I believe is wearing our uniforms and they aren't in the service, I would be polite about it. I tire of seeing what veterans are doing to these people, Like a bunch of damn holier than thou attitude pansy's looking to be internet famous.
We all signed the dotted line to protect the civilian population, not berate them because they decided to wear our uniform and get attention for doing it. I don't know about anyone else but I don't need to get recognition for anything I have done by anyone and personally don't feel offended when I see someone wearing my uniform who hasn't served. Would you get angry at a child for wearing it? (BUT SGT PEASLEE A CHILD IS DIFFERENT!) They are still wearing a replica / look alike to it. What we do for one we must do for all.
TL:DR No, I wouldn't go bananas on someone, Yes I may ask a few questions and speak to them like an adult.
I wouldn't go out of my way to record these stolen valor guys and blast them on facebook, youtube, or social media. We're professionals, or were supposed to be. Should I encounter anyone who I believe is wearing our uniforms and they aren't in the service, I would be polite about it. I tire of seeing what veterans are doing to these people, Like a bunch of damn holier than thou attitude pansy's looking to be internet famous.
We all signed the dotted line to protect the civilian population, not berate them because they decided to wear our uniform and get attention for doing it. I don't know about anyone else but I don't need to get recognition for anything I have done by anyone and personally don't feel offended when I see someone wearing my uniform who hasn't served. Would you get angry at a child for wearing it? (BUT SGT PEASLEE A CHILD IS DIFFERENT!) They are still wearing a replica / look alike to it. What we do for one we must do for all.
TL:DR No, I wouldn't go bananas on someone, Yes I may ask a few questions and speak to them like an adult.
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