Where Were These Guys When I Needed Them?
As noted earlier, one of my few diversions when I was working in bars was picking holes in the stories of the hordes of people who, at last call, claimed to be former SEALs, Green Berets, Deltas, Recon Marines, CIA SOG agents, "Undercover" narcotics agents, FBI agents...
...the whole works. I exaggerate a bit - but some of my most vivid memeories from that exceedingly un-vivid time of my life was the sheer number of drunk morons who got off on pretending to be something they weren't. I was pretty good at it - I've read enough and had enough friends in the actual military that I can usually find the hole in the story (after six or seven drinks, it's rarely all that challenging).
Interesting to see that there are some people who do it as a job:
The FBI's [Special Agent Thomas A.] Cottone estimates that for every actual Navy Seal today, at least 300 people falsely claim to be one [Hmmm? - Ed.. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society in Mount Pleasant, S.C., suspects that the number of people who falsely claim to have received a Medal of Honor is more than double the 124 living recipients.
There was a time, back when the military was out of favor in society, when the joke was that ten million baby boomers claimed to have been among the 400,000 people at Woodstock.
Today, with the military enjoying the greatest respect in living memory in our society, it's natural that everyone wants in on the action, whether they earned it or not:
Naturally, some of the real veterans are getting concerned about the trend:
The Department of Veterans Affairs will prosecute only those military impostors who try to register for veterans' benefits. Law enforcement lacks the resources to investigate all but the most aggravated situations...At the same time, military discharge papers and Purple Hearts can be bought on eBay by the dozen.
Concerned with a burgeoning army of dissemblers, actual veterans and other are turning to the Internet to stop the fakers in their tracks. POWnetwork.org, HomeOfHeroes.com, AuthentiSEAL.org and VeriSEAL.org, among other Web sites, provide concerned citizens with a free investigation into a person's military status. AuthentiSEAL.org and VeriSEAL.org neither solicit nor accept funds. POWnetwork.org and HomeOfHeroes.com both have some sponsors but the vast majority of their funding comes out of their founders' own pockets. None of them make a profit from their endeavors.
Oh, could I have used that...
Posted by Mitch at
August 10, 2005 07:01 AM
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Most of those jackasses aren't worth the air it takes to have a conversation with them!
Let 'em talk, but if they try to collect money or benefits (and I don't mean taking home some skank at closing time) then we should arrest them and ship 'em to the sandy countries to get a little taste of what they say they've experienced!!!
Posted by: fingers at August 10, 2005 09:04 PM2 quick comments.
Skank? nice.
Also Mitch, I'd wager that during/post WWII the military had as much respect as it does now, probably more, as a few in the senior ranks appear to be toadies for a bad idea (Tommy Franks, Gen Boykin).. and before anyone attempts to strumpet around about how they LOVE the military and I hate it, get over yourself, criticizing individual conduct is hardly hate for an institution..I frankly think our military is just dandy, and they are in a pretty lousey situation doing the best they can, but to compare Iraq as crappy as it is, with Iwo Jima or D-Day, would be a little silly. What folks went through in WWII was much more severe. We (me included) as a race/species have a natural tendency to always think what we're doing is the biggest, best, worst, least that there has ever been, and we are nearly always not right. It's a minor point in Mitch's post, but a major point in the fabric of our society. We probably would get further by trying a little less hard to take things to the extreme, and work a bit harder at remembering mostly we've been here before, and good people found ways to work through the problems rather than simply shouting epithets and thumping their chests.
PB
Posted by: PB at August 11, 2005 06:05 AM"I'd wager that during/post WWII the military had as much respect as it does now, probably more, "
That's why I said living memory.
Posted by: m at August 11, 2005 07:17 AM"Skank? Nice."
Dang, Mitch, Lord Fauntleroy really nailed you there. That kind of talk will have you drummed from the Solsbury Club in no time, you blighter!
Posted by: Brian Jones at August 11, 2005 09:01 AM