Do not copy!
A proliferation of phony heroes is prompting such groups as The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation to lobby for tougher laws to punish the impostors.
The organization reports that there are 113 living recipients of the nation’s highest military award, but an FBI agent who tracks the fakes said impostors outnumber the true heroes. “There are more and more of these impostors, and they are literally stealing the valor and acts of valor of the real guys…”
Anyone convicted of fraudulently wearing the Medal of Honor faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. But there’s no such penalty for other medals.
The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation and other veterans groups are looking to change that. They’ve enlisted the help of U.S. Rep. John T. Salazar, D-Colorado, who is sponsoring the Stolen Valor Act to penalize distributors of phony medals and those who pretend to be decorated veterans. Salazar’s legislation would make it illegal to make a false public claim to be a recipient of any military valor award, such as the Medal of Honor, a Silver Star or Purple Heart.
“It is about more than punishing people,” said Salazar. “It’s about preserving the history and honor of those medals.”
A former contractor for the medals was fined for selling 300 fakes in the 1990’s. The FBI says there are many others around.
I wonder how many politicians can authenticate the medals they parade about at election time.
What?! Stealing valor? Somebody stole the FBI’s dignity. Clearly the funding at the countries premiere law enforcement agency is misdirected….Stop with the petty crimes and go find Bin-laden!
-Hello watch list here I come!
I’m certain the families and comrades of the dead recipients of these awards don’t feel the same way as you.
I doubt it will be an FBI agent who either a) captures Bin Laden, or b) puts a bullet in his head.
There’s a picture of Bush wearing a medal he didn’t earn when he was in the ANG. Bush is clearly in violation of regulations by doing so. I wonder how the FBI investigation into that is going?
Chasing people for stolen adjectives in no way honors these recipients!
Honor, and valor cannot be taken away, or diminished by the actions, or words of individuals. A metal is recognition for, not the actions of, a hero’s bravery, and therefore cannot be taken away. The shame the “fakers” have in themselves should be punishment enough.
There is a certain amount of pride that is felt when receiving a medal. Anyone remember the conterversy back in the mid 90’s when Admiral Boorda was found to be wearing a “V” (Valor) on his Air Medal. There was a big deal made about it back then and it was speculated that he may have commited suicide over that. It is a huge deal to military members.
But I think we would be doing a better service to all who have served our country with honor that we do a better job of taking care of our disabled veterans. Closing up shop on places like Walter Reed and numerous other VA hospitals is doing a bigger disservice to our vets than chasing down someone who is falsely wearing a CMoH.
Not everyone gets a CMoH, but there are a lot of vets out there that the country seems to forget about and it is about time we get that situated.
Nobody said it was being stolen from the people who actually received the medals. What is meant is that the people who are illegally wearing the awards are “stealing” valor of their own by misrepresenting their deeds (or lack thereof). I had never known this to be a trivial matter for the people I knew within the ranks, and I would spit in the face of anybody who I knew to be doing it.
[“…and they are literally stealing the valor and acts of valor of the real guys…”]
Nuf said
Honor, and valor cannot be taken away, or diminished by the actions, or words of individuals. A metal is recognition for, not the actions of, a hero’s bravery, and therefore cannot be taken away. The shame the “fakers” have in themselves should be punishment enough.
I understand your point, but don’t agree. The honor that goes with earning (not winning) a medal is only cheapened when they become common place and handed out for more trivial acts. They become even more cheapened when that honor is fraudulently claimed by those who do not deserve it. Those that break the law very rarely believe they will be caught, so they have no shame in what they do.
If someone up the street from you is wearing one of these (which is highly unlikely), and he/she is not on this list,
http://www.cmohs.org/recipients/living_recips.htm
then you know they are full of shit, and have no sense of dignity. However, should the United States really be into legislating against bad taste? If you cannot manufacture valor, and you cannot steal it (which I still maintain you cannot take from these people), then it becomes a non-crime.
One last time- the metal is not the action, it is recognition for the action of honor/valor…the two should be separated. Also, there are many military personnel who go unrecognized for their valor, and selfless behavior. To give them less respect just because they don’t own a metal is just as silly as wearing this medal undeservingly.
#5 has it correct when he talks about not just paying lip service, but actually doing something for our vet’s.
I would certainly spit in the face of anyone I caught wearing any metal/ribbon of importance that they didn’t earn. Metals and ribbons mean a lot of military personal, and the Metal of Honor means the most.
The metal is important. Knowing you did a good thing is great, but you’re happy to have the metal to go with it. So when a-holes are walking around wearing an important metal they didn’t earn, it does weaken the whole honor system, which hurts everyone.
It is illegal to impersonate being a police officer, a Judge, an officer in the military, a physician, a lawyer, or a Congressional Medal of Honor holder. To this list should be added any military honor or rank. Sure, anyone could check out if a recipient is on the list, but we want to believe and trust people. We don’t ask a police officer for absolute proof of his position, or if a Physician is really licensed when we meet him in an emergency room.
Aaron, please check your spelling. It is a medal, not metal. And I totally agree that veterans should be given more assistance. But let’s blame that one on the disposable attitude of the current administration.
I find Joseph “Bob” Kerrey and Daniel Inouye on the list. Any other current or former members of Congress?
It’s funny how true valor doesn’t really read like a Schwarzenegger movie, and yet it’s still so rare (though I understand not all valor is decorated with a medal).
[”…and they are literally stealing the valor and acts of valor ofthe real guys…”]
notice the semantical difference of saying “stealing the valor from the real guys”
This will be silly to continue arguing over this, but your quote doesn’t make my point wrong.
The point I’m trying to make is that as you look back on history, at say Caesar, Alexander, Napoleon, Washington, Swortzcoff, etc., none of them have been defined by their medals. They are all great men on their own account.
I would guess a conversation with a Medal of Honor recipient would go something like this:
What do you think about counterfeit medals like yours floating around?
—Makes me mad as hell. I would like to kill the bastards.
Does it diminish what YOU did to earn it?
—Not in the least!
Is there anything that can take that honor away from you?
—Negative!
One person cannot make another feel any way they don’t want to feel. Therefore, no matter how many medals are floating around you cannot diminish the honor/valor of the truly deserving.
Besides who is to say these people are not history buffs/collectors. I’m sure most are not wearing these things to the mall. Maybe some have relatives that earned them and would like to honor that family member. There may be legitimate reasons for owning these.
I agree it should be illegal to pass yourself off as a professional (doctor, lawyer, policeman etc.). it should not however, be illegal to own a stethoscope, badge, law book etc.
Some fakers merely brag about receiving the award — and that’s not illegal — but some impostors wear military uniforms and bogus medals. The FBI has about 25 pending investigations of such phony heroes, said Cottone.
So does that mean I can’t be MacArthur for Halloween? 🙁
After WWII the goverment was so far behind in replacing lost and damaged decorations they allowed private companies to reproduce medals and ribbons, with the exception the CMoH. Veterans were waiting years to get their decorations replaced. What really matters is the certificate. There’s always going to be people full of crap bragging for attention.
The point I’m trying to make is that as you look back on history, at say Caesar, Alexander, Napoleon, Washington, Swortzcoff, etc., none of them have been defined by their medals.
These men were all Generals. They didn’t have the opportunity to get down and dirty in order to earn a medal for valor. Rest assured, any General or Admiral will receive a campaign medal to add to their chest even if they only come close to a theater. Campaign medals should not be confused with those earned for valor and bravery.
Secondly, the higher rank the soldier, the more likely they are to get a medal and the more prestigious the medal received. An example was Lynden Johnson winning a silver Star. While a Congressman and reserve officer, went on a fact finding mission to the the Pacific during WWII. He went along on a bomber on a mission and when enemy aircraft were sighted, the plane headed for home. Because there had been some fighting, Johnson, the passenger, was given the medal even though his plane wasn’t attacked.
I would guess a conversation with a Medal of Honor recipient would go something like this:
Although I understand your point, I believe that most Congressional Medal of Honor holders would be more modest about it then your suggested conversation. Mostly because of the way their medals were gained, I don’t think many would even want to discuss it. I have talked to several gentlemen who lived through the horrors of WWII. None of them really wanted to relive the killing or death of friends.