from: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com

Medal of Honor fiction

Library of Congress’ Web site hosts 24 bogus valor claims

By John Hoellwarth - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Sep 17, 2007 20:05:46 EDT

The Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project, which for the past seven years has been collecting oral and written histories of veterans’ war experiences, contains 24 entries for Medal of Honor recipients that are bogus, according to official records.

Of the 49 purported recipients of the nation’s highest award for combat valor who have participated in the nationwide project by telling their story for posterity, only 25 appear on the official Medal of Honor registry mandated by Congress in 1917, which includes 3,463 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have earned the medal since its inception.

The bogus entries came to light based on a review of Veterans History Project records by Doug Sterner, who maintains an extensive, yet unofficial, online database of valor award recipients, and Mary Schantag, who runs the POW Network, a Web site listing U.S. prisoners of war.

Their review also turned up 47 history project participants who appear to claim unearned service crosses — the nation’s second-highest combat award — and 45 participants who falsely claim to have been prisoners of war.

Bob Patrick, director of the Veterans History Project, said the records are provided by interview subjects voluntarily, and project staff rarely verifies Medal of Honor claims. They do not review entries involving lesser awards for valor or service.

“We in the past have made an attempt to make a review when people claim the Medal of Honor,” Patrick said in a telephone interview Monday afternoon. “We did a review some months ago, 18 months, and clearly it is time we do a review again.”

Based on a list compiled by Sterner and Schantag and provided to Marine Corps Times on Monday morning, the project’s Web site included 32 unsubstantiated Distinguished Service Cross claims and 14 for the Navy Cross. It also includes the profile of Wallace M. Gallant, who was listed as of Monday morning as a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the Air Force Cross and the other two service crosses. No service member has ever earned all three service crosses.

Patrick was hesitant to classify the interview subjects as frauds, and held open the possibility that there were clerical errors along the way.

“We have found cases of transcription errors and some cases where someone just wrote something down wrong,” he said.

Sterner, a Vietnam veteran who was a driving force behind recently enacted legislation setting harsh punishments for those who claim unearned awards, said seeing “lies stamped with the seal of authenticity implied by finding these war stories preserved in the Library of Congress makes me want to throw up.”

He added that the fraudulent claims call into question the credibility of the all the project’s accounts, but Patrick said accuracy is not the project’s primary goal.

“I don’t think the project is compromised because it is not the mission of this project to establish a registry. The mission is to collect the war-time memories from World War I to Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said.

As of Monday afternoon, it was unclear whether any of the subjects could be prosecuted under the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, in which false verbal, written and physical claims to unearned military awards carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Patrick said project members are planning to scrub their Medal of Honor entries, and that “because of the new legislation, perhaps we need to take a look at Distinguished Service Crosses as well.”

But he added that there’s only so far that the project can dig on its own. Verifying the reported awards of “roughly 50,000” veterans who have participated in the project since it was created by Congress in 2000 is “not feasible,” given the breadth of information that would have to be reviewed and the lack of a national database for recipients of awards other than the Medal of Honor, Patrick said.

Instead, the Veterans History Project relies on the public to point out false information and makes “a good-faith effort” to “strike that from the individual’s record” when it is discovered, Patrick said.

Sterner said this case exposes the problem with records relating to valor awards: The government does not maintain a central database of award recipients that, if made available to the public, could easily disprove false claims of valor nationwide.

“The VHP exists because officially, as a nation we have done a poor job of recording and preserving the history of our heroes. They, like myself and others, have seen the need to preserve the stories of our veterans, and have stepped out to do something positive. It is critical, however, that official channels provide them the tools to ensure that the history thus preserved is accurate history.”

Sterner also applauded the project’s goals, adding that “the worst thing we can do because of this problem is kill the messenger” and places the onus on Congress to establish a searchable database that would have prevented this problem.

Several lawmakers who were recently contacted by Marine Corps Times expressed their support for the establishment of the database and hearings to discuss it, but none has yet scheduled a hearing nor drafted legislation.

The following names listed as Medal of Honor recipients on the Library of Congress’ Web site for the Veterans History Project do not appear on the official Medal of Honor registry:

Navy Seaman Anthony Belcastro
Army Sgt. 1st Class Levi L. Bizzelle
Army Maj. Donald Arthur Comes Jr.
Air Force Sgt. Ronald Keith Cook
Marine Capt. Charles Raymond Craynon
Army (E-5) Timothy Rene Dickinson
Coast Guard Boatswain Don Louis Duiven
Marine Col. Thomas McCoy Fields
Army Lt. Col. Wallace M. Gallant
Army Sgt. William L. Gnerlich
Army Capt. Michael P. Guglielmo
Navy Seaman 1st Class Steven Hanson
Navy Capt. Whitney R. Harris
Army Sgt. Roy R. Holt
Army Capt. Richard Plummer Howe
Army Pfc. Edwin R. Kruckenberg
Army Sgt. Douglas A. Kruse
Army Master Sgt. Erwin George Lathrop
Navy Seaman 1st Class James P. McNabb
Army Cpl. Paul B. Oakes
Navy Yeoman 1st Class Woodrow Wade Partin
Army Pfc. Arsenio F. Sanchez
Air Force Lt. Col. Billy Neal Stovall
Marine Col. John J. Windsor

I wonder how much of this is actual lies, and how much is just bad data entry.

Lt. Col. Wallace M. Gallant is in fact a DSC receipient, and was considered for the Medal of Honor. To lump him in with, and actually use him as an example, of posers that could be prosecuted under the Stolen Valor act is poor research on the part of whoever wrote this article.

The overall problems with the project is undoubtedly a mixture of both some lies/some poor data entry. Either way, it needs to be fixed. Wallace Gallant DID receive the DSC in WWII. He did NOT receive the MOH, NX, or AFC. The problem is not the reporters, the problem is with LOC and with the lack of a database for verification/clarification.

quote:

Originally posted by heritageman:
.......
Medal of Honor fiction
.......
Coast Guard Boatswain Don Louis Duiven
.......

This one should have been easy to detect. After all there has only been one –
Signalman First Class Douglas Munro, USCG

At least that’s the way this old soldier and proud Coast Guard dad sees it!

Chuck and Mary Schantag do a bang up job. Been keeping them real busy as of late.

An addendum to the Topic:

FYI-the below details what may be a major story set to break next week that illustrates the magnitude of this problem in, of all places, the Library of Congress. I wanted to get this to you early so you can be prepared if/when the story breaks. I�ve also attached an analysis from a cursory examination of VLHP records to give you an idea as to the magnitude of the problem.



One of the most admirable efforts to preserve American Military History is the "Veterans Living History Project" administered by the Library of Congress at http://www.loc.gov/vets The problem is, without a national database of TRUE recipients of awards, even the LOC can not check out the veracity of these stories, preserved for posterity and stamped with the legitimacy of having it recorded by the Library of Congress.

See For Instance: The page maintained by LOC for the most highly decorated man in history, Wallace M. Gallant who, according to LOC earned the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, and Air Force Cross (accomplished by no other person in history) at: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/14966



� In a sampling of 49 records in which the interviewee claims to have earned the Medal of Honor in a VLHP interview, 24 are NOT recipients of the Medal of Honor.

� In a sampling of the TWO interviews in which the veteran claims to have received the Air Force Cross (only 191 have ever been awarded), only ONE is a legitimate recipient of the AFC.

� In a sampling of 100 interviews in which the veteran claims to have received the Distinguished Service Cross, more than 30 are bogus.

� In a sampling of 50 interviews in which the veteran claims to have received the Navy Cross, nearly ONE THIRD are bogus.

� In a sampling of 144 interviews in which the veteran claims to have been a Prisoner of War, as many as ONE THIRD are questionable.



To get a clearer picture of this problem, check out American hero (according to the Library of Congress) Joseph Bernard Murphy who has a page in which he claims he was Special Forces, earned the DSC, and suffered as a POW at: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/29411 Then, to really ruin your day.... take the time to watch Mr. Murphy's video interview in which he tells his outlandish stories of SF service, covert missions into the USSR, Laos and Cambodia, and his capture and daring escape at: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc20...1/video?ID=mv0001001



We DO need a national database to identify true heroes, more for the admirable purpose that launched the VLHP of preserving TRUE history, but without a means to verify and then weed out the phonies, the REAL history becomes suspect and looses its meaning.





Sincerely,

Doug



C. Douglas Sterner

3111 Thatcher Ave.

Pueblo, CO 81005

(719) 564-1755



SEN. DANIEL AKAKA, D-Hawaii, Armed Services, Veterans Affairs Chairman

"I am deeply distressed to hear that there are some individuals who would stoop so low as to masquerade as recipients of medals that our nation awards to those who have served with valor in the military. While I realize that creating a database of those who have received medals of valor would be a huge undertaking for DoD, something must be done to curb this abuse. We must protect the legacy of America's heroes."



SEN. BERNARD SANDERS, I-VT, Veterans Affairs, (through his spokesman)

"I checked with our chief of staff and he said Bernie would support hearings by the committee."


REP. DOUG LAMBORN, R-COLO, Veterans Affairs Committee

�It is appalling that anyone would ever fraudulently claim to have received such a tremendous honor. By doing so, these impostors seek to detract recognition from the brave men and women who have heroically served our nation. I look forward to working with Mr. Sterner and others to see that a system is put in place to deter false claims by recording all true recipients of this award.�



SEN. JOHN THUNE, R-S.D., Armed Services

�While the idea of a database seems reasonable, and those who are fraudulently claiming to be recipients of combat medals deserve to be prosecuted, there may be privacy issues involved,

so I would have to look at the details of a proposal before giving my support.�



SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, R-Texas, Veterans' Affairs, (through her spokesman)

"Sen. Hutchison believes that nothing is more important than honoring the sacrifices that our military service members make everyday to preserve the rights and freedoms of all American

citizens. Sen. Hutchison feels that we owe it to our veterans to ensure the accuracy of these awards and citations earned in great service to our great nation."



SEN. BARAK OBAMA, D-Ill., Veterans Affairs

"Reports of some imposters falsely claiming to have earned military awards or medals disrespect all of America�s veterans who have defended our nation with honor and courage. Those who have worn a military uniform in Iraq, Afghanistan, and in wars past should rest assured that we will maintain the integrity of their awards and aggressively prosecute cases of fraud. That's why I�m proud that Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act last year, and why I will ensure that our law enforcement agencies have the resources they need to crack down on anyone who would try to fake what can only be earned through the incredible dedication and sacrifice of our service members."



REP. SAM GRAVES, R-MO, (Through his spokesman)

"Sam is very interested in this idea. There should never be any doubt that medals were won and not stolen, so he is committed to protecting the integrity of these awards."



REP. MARILYN MUSGRAVE, R-COLO

�Soldiers risk life and limb for our nation and we recognize their service in a solemn way and award them medals. The honor becomes diminished when others are able to defraud the government and military by obtaining medals they did not actually earn. As a lawmaker, I support creating a system of accountability that preserves the integrity of our military medals and recognizes the bravery of our soldiers, sailors, and airmen.�



(her spokesman said, "I spoke with Doug Sterner in Colorado of the Home of Heroes and he alerted me to an upcoming bill in Congress called the Preservation of Valor Act. He�s called to get my boss to support the bill. After hearing about it, the Congresswoman is going to support the bill.)



REP. STEVE BUYERS, R-IND, Ranking Veterans Affairs Committee member

�As a co-sponsor of the Stolen Valor Act and a Gulf War veteran, I believe faking military service or heroism is appalling and applauded President Bush�s signing the bill into law last year. Electronic records are essential throughout the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs systems to ensure the seamless transition of veterans from the service into the VA; and electronic DD 214s would be helpful on many levels, in particular the prosecution of those who would steal the mantle of uniformed honor."



REP. JOHN SALAZAR, D-COLO, Veterans Affairs Committee, (Through his spokesman)

"It's a great idea. there should be an accessible digital database of military records including medals and awards. Ultimately one will work with the next. that database is going to be a tool law enforcement officers can use in order to enforce the stolen valor act and prosecute illegitimate heros. I don't know what the likelihood of hearings are but someone will take up the issue of legisalting the database in the near future. Congressman salazar has been giving it a lot of thought lately. It is an issue that definately will be addressed and the congressman feels it makes perfect sense for him to carry the legislation as a follow up to stolen valor to give law enforcement all the necessary tools"



REP. NEIL ABERCROMBIE, D-Hawaii, Armed Services, (Through his spokesman)

"In principle, we would absolutely support it. I can't imagine right now how any reasonable person could object. It sounds like it makes a great deal of sense. It sounds like something worth while. It sounds like something necessary to protect the honor of people who've earned these decorations. To make sure there is a record of it is essential. People need to know how common this is. Basically, it's a theft. It's a form of stealing an honor you did not earn."



REP. PATRICK MURPHY, D-PA, Armed Services, Only Iraq veteran in the House

"With a new generation of veterans returning home from war, we need to make sure that they get the honor they have earned. I strongly support a digital database of valor awards so that we can enforce the law and protect legitimate heroes."





REP. MADELEINE BORDALLO, D-Guam, Armed Services

"I support holding hearings on this issue and I would like to know how pervasive the problem is as well as whether we can do more to address this issue. Those who fraudulently use military valor decorations for personal gain should be prosecuted and subjected to severe penalties. I believe that establishing a national database of military valor award recipients is a good idea if privacy issues can be adequately addressed, and I would

like to hear comments from our veterans� community and the Department of Defense on this proposal."



REP. KRISTEN GILLIBRAND, D-N.Y., Armed Services, (through her spokeswoman)

"We should and would support hearings."



REP. MIKE CONAWAY, R-Texas, Armed Services

"Clearly a hearing is the least we could do to get a sense of the scope of the problem and then also a chance to have some people who have concerns have an opportunity to voice those concerns. You want to just make sure that as the details of the database are put together that privacy concerns are accommodated. If you're a ready, fire, aim kind of guy, you want to go straight to legislation. But if you're a ready, aim, fire kind of guy, a hearing would be the right approach. I would rather have a hearing first."