In 18 years at the Board of Veteran's Appeals, I saw many claims for VA benefits filed by non-veterans. No service at all or non-qualifying service (kicked out of boot for fraudulent enlistment, etc). When that book was written (
Stolen Valor), it was required reading. But this is nothing new. There were probably guys who faked being in the Roman Legions. Walter Mitty meets Rambo.... an old story.
If it wasn't guys with no service, it was guys who served but were given punitive discharges (DD or BCD from courts martial) (or other than honorable administrative discharges - UOTHC) and doctored their DD Form 214s with white out, or guys who never left Fort Knox who claimed combat service and injuries.
Two categories really. Those who never served wanting glorified attention
from anybody (usually as a decorated veteran), and those who did serve but exaggerated their service
to gain some VA benefit ($) for which they were not qualified. Did you know a MoH winner gets to send a child to a military service academy?
Then we had claims from alleged widows (survivors pension), who were not/never married to veterans. Or my favorite case, a woman who had married two different veterans in the past, but was later discovered to have had 17 total husbands (and only about 8 divorces).
Son of Sam (Gary Berkowitz) served with the (peacetime) Army and was honorably discharged in 1974; he (or his attorney) claimed he had PTSD from combat service as mitigation evidence at his murder trial (but he never served in combat, and was just a schizophrenic who also claimed demonic possession).
Another famous case was a senior American Legion or VFW post commander for many years before it was discovered he never served at all.
Falsely claiming honors of military service, esp decorations for bravery, is as old as dirt.
Interestingly, with the
much better record-keeping in the military since Vietnam, fraudulent claims with VA are much easier to weed out almost immediately than it used to be.
I don't much care if someone wants to put on an unpatched pair of BDUs and shined/bloused boots and walk around a gun show (happens all the time), but when you start adding insignia, Purple Heart, CIBs or CARs, Bronze/Silver Stars, Navy Crosses, DSCs or the Medal, you really ought to have your ass thoroughly kicked (and then be prosecuted).
http://www.stolenvalor.com/book.cfm
Wearing three CIBs is a sure way to get caught by someone who served. Or wearing senior noncom stripes and being 20yo.
