Why The Army Is Investigating 'We Were Soldiers' Legend For Inflating Awards

The man served with distinction and valor, Siddall is just attempting to make a name for himself on the service of an honorable man that is also deceased.

This whole thing is ridiculous. We are scrutinizing CSM's career and awards on the basis that records from almost 80 years ago were not kept correctly?

I know dozens of cases of personnel from that time that had their records inaccurately updated but they still had the signed orders and awards in their possession.

Also the notion that his headstone will be altered is ridiculous x2. He is dead, he served with distinction let the man and his memory rest.

My view is, this is much ado about nothing. There are too many possible explanations. Leave it alone.

Some points to consider about WWII veterans and why this erks me:
- MOS were not written in stone, a scout could have been an Infantryman. The Engineers have a scout section in the S-3, guess what they are coded as Engineers not Cav Scouts. My Uncle for instance started as an Infantryman was designated an Artilleryman and ended up as a Field Medic in the Artillery. So it's quite possible and more than likely the CSM earned his multiple CIBs
- Glidermen may or may not have been Glidermen per say, (the Pilots yes); there are more than several well documented instances where the Soldiers delivered by gliders were Paratroopers.
- Soldiers were frequently issued decorations on the battlefield between engagements, documentation and orders were frequently in flux. I personally encountered instances where veterans had photos of themselves being awarded Bronze and Silver Stars by a GO on the battlefield but not a document one or mention on their 214 (GO's didn't and still don't just pin stuff on for a joke in a photo). Also the award of the CIB at early stages of WWII enabled some of the Soldiers to also qualify for the Bronze Star (try unscrewing this for an old Soldier and how it effects oak leaf counts).
-Many of the Soldiers really didn't care about medals, "they were doing their duty" until later in life so stuff sat in boxes untouched and forgotten until someone takes interest .
- The fire at the ST Louis repository destroyed thousands of records and damaged thousands more from the WWII and Korea era. So it is very difficult to match DD214s, Personal Records and Veterans actual racks and badges.
Its one thing to do research but another to take time and learn the nuances of the time periods. I'm no expert but I've spent my life since my youth learning about WWII and interacting with my family and Dads friends who fought and gained some insight.
Before I dragged a good dead mans name through the mud over weather he may or may not have an extra oak leaf on a ribbon I'd take the above into consideration.