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Wearing Medals without Entitlement

Labarum

Labarum

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castlebar

castlebar

About 10 years ago there was an admiral in the US Navy who wore a commendation he didn't earn - it was a "V" notation on a ribbon. He earned the ribbon but apparently didn't have the rights to wear the "V", which I think stood for "valor". It was a really obscure thing. Anyway, someone in the press questioned it, and when the story broke, the admiral ended up taking his own life. A very tragic end to what by all accounts was a great career - he had come up the ranks of the enlisted men and was really respected by all who knew him.
 
Leche

Leche

There was someone in the Palm Springs area recently that was impersonating a Marine and wearing all sorts of medals. Disgusting IMO. Scumbag.
 
Labarum

Labarum

You hear stories of academics claiming degrees they do not have. Why do they do it? It is so easy to check these things.

The Admiral? Could it have been an honest mistake?

I was in Cyprus during the second Gulf War. I was told to put the medal up, so the ribbon went on my Service Dress and my Chaplain's Scarf and the miniature as added to my Mess Kit. All that cost quite a few pounds.

When my unit formally applied for the medal I was told I was not entitled. Those in Cyprus were awarded Gulf 1, but not Gulf 2 unless they overflew the war zone.

So for quite a few weeks I was innocently wearing a medal to which I had no entitlement.
 
Hawkeye5

Hawkeye5

A mistake is a mistake, but there are truckloads of pretenders. There are more Viet Nam vet SEAL, Special Forces, Ranger pretenders than actual veterans and I'm sure the same situation exists for Desert Storm and subsequent conflicts. Ask them what they did and where they were and its "classified". Such BS, stealing others glory.
 
mankini

mankini

Self esteem/importance issues comes to mind. It is plain wrong and belittles those who tirelessly work(ed) to secure and maintain our freedom.
 
castlecraver

castlecraver

Labarum said:
You hear stories of academics claiming degrees they do not have. Why do they do it? It is so easy to check these things.
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It may be easy, but most people don't. The risk vs reward is still quite favorable for the unscrupulous. Most don't get caught, because they're smart enough to stay within the realm of plausibility with their lies.

Same goes for fake military medals. Few among us would would be so brash as to scrutinize or distrust a person in military dress uniform. This person likely wouldn't have been caught if he was a bit smarter and less daring about the number of medals he wore.

Quite frankly, I don't want to live in a world where people aren't assumed to be trustworthy unless first proven otherwise, even with the full knowledge that many people aren't. True, things like this are appalling and deserve to be shamed, but I can't honestly say I'm proud of everything I've done in my life, never told a lie, etc. Certainly nothing as shameful as disrespecting military awards and those who've rightfully earned them, but I certainly wouldn't be able to cast the first stone.

I don't know what the legality of this is in the US. I know medals are sometimes bought and sold, which strikes me as inappropriate although I'm sure there are those who appreciate them purely for their historical and collectible significance. It's fortunate this is a prosecutable crime in the UK -- none of us have perfect ethics but certainly he's offended his country and those who've served it.
 
airplanedoc

airplanedoc

I know of a few people who have legitimately earned medals that refuse to wear them on their uniform. One said that he felt like a blond with a large chest, people spent mre time looking at his chest, than they did looking at his face when he spoke, so he just quit wearing them.
 
DirtyDave

DirtyDave

Every so often I see articles like this. It's a case of wanting the glory, but not wanting to earn it. The thing is, the guys who so often earn it just want to forget it when it is over.

My dad saw a lot of hell during WWII, yet he rarely talked of it. When he got out of the Navy he just wanted to get on with his life, nothing more.
 
airplanedoc

airplanedoc

I know of a few people who have legitimately earned medals that refuse to wear them on their uniform. One said that he felt like a blond with a large chest, people spent mre time looking at his chest, than they did looking at his face when he spoke, so he just quit wearing them, even at official functions he chose to omit a few.
 
JPM

JPM

Doing it by mistake is one thing, but intentionally wearing a medal you don't deserve is unconscionable, IMO.
 
D

dpmtherrien

For whatever the reason a person is doing something like this, it is out and out fraud. It must be a very useless life that person is leading. Don't pretend to be something/someone you're not. Sooner or later you will be called out on it, and then its gonna bite you right where you sit down. :thumbdown
 
flatstick96

flatstick96

I have a cousin in the Air Force who has the opposite problem; he's highly-decorated, and if often doesn't sit well with others.

Apparently he gets stopped and questioned fairly often by higher-ranking officers who feel it's "impossible" that he's earned ALL of the medals and ribbons that he wears. In fact, that's happened often enough that he's resorted to carrying with him, any time he's in his dress uniform, an official printout showing that he has, in fact, earned every decoration he wears.

I don't think he'd even consider NOT wearing any of them - he's very proud of his chosen vocation, and he views every one of those decorations as an honor to be displayed proudly, under the appropriate circumstances.
 
The Nid Hog

The Nid Hog

There's an old Marine named Gene Duncan who wrote a published a series of short stories about his time in the Marines. "Green Side Out" was the first, and there were several others after that.

I remember one story where he and his buddy were in a bar where some BS artist was regaling everybody with his phony stories about his service with the Marines. They immediately recognized his routine for what it was, but they played along with him for a while. Finally, they told him that they had been in the same unit that he was talking about. In fact, one said, they thought that they remembered him.

At this, the BS artist was startled--since he knew that he was making everything up, he couldn't understand the direction that the conversation was taking. But he knew he was in trouble.

The two old jarheads peered at him intently as if they were trying to place him. Suddenly, one of them slapped the table and said, "Now I remember! You were that ^&#@%$ who got kicked out for &%*$&# with a %&$*&!!! Didn't you end up doing some time for that too?"
 
Doc4

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
What is the opinion of our active and retired servicemen about someone wearing the medals of a deceased relative ... say, wearing Grandpa's medals from WWI on Remembrance Day as a way of honouring his memory?

Obviously, the wearer didn't "earn" the medals, but is making no pretense of that, and is trying to carry on the memory of his grandfather's honour. I am unaware of acutal examples of this, but I could see it happening.
 
The Nid Hog

The Nid Hog

Doc4 said:
What is the opinion of our active and retired servicemen about someone wearing the medals of a deceased relative ... say, wearing Grandpa's medals from WWI on Remembrance Day as a way of honouring his memory?

Obviously, the wearer didn't "earn" the medals, but is making no pretense of that, and is trying to carry on the memory of his grandfather's honour. I am unaware of acutal examples of this, but I could see it happening.
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I'd call it as inappropriate. There are all kinds of ways to honor his memory, but wearing his medals doesn't strike me as one. Put them on display, wear a poppy, donate money to a disabled vet organization.
 
airplanedoc

airplanedoc

My mom worked as a personnel manager for a guy who constantly bragged about his exploits in Korea, and the medals that he had won (legitimate). Under him was the parks manager who she said never even mentioned that he had been in the military. After being passed over for a good promiotion he took a position in Milwaukee, and moved away. About a year later, she recived a phone call inquiring about the former parks manager. She told them that she could not give out personal information, the person then explained that they were from the US Military records dept, and they needed to find this guy, They had been going thru the service records and found where he had not been awarded a couple medals during his time in service. It was really important that they get in touch with him, so he could come to washington and these medals could be awarded. My mom gave them what information the city had for a forwarding address etc. A couple of weeks later she watched the news of Jimmy Carter awarding Matt L Urban the Medal of Honor, and explaining that he was now tied with Audie Murphy as the most decorated American Soldier.

She always said how turned off everyone was by her boss and his tales of how he had won his Bronze Star in Korea. She could not fathom how Matt Urban could sit thru all of those meetings hearing this guy brag, and never say a word.
 
Labarum

Labarum

This is accepted and common practice in the United Kingdom. They are worn on the right instead of the left. There was a high profile military funeral recently of an officer killed in Afghanistan. His medals were very properly on the coffin, but his widow wore his miniatures on the right.

At the Albert Hall for the Festival of Remembrance I have seen women with WW2 service wearing their own medals on the left, and their deceased husband's on the right.

At appropriate ceremonies children may wear their parents medals - again on the right. There is no room for confusion. It is very touching to see deceased veterans so honoured.
 
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