Restoring Valor: One Couple?s Mission to Expose Fraudulent War Heroes and Protect America?s Military Awards System
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Restoring Valor: One Couple?s Mission to Expose Fraudulent War Heroes and Protect America?s Military Awards System
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Overview
Stolen valor occurs when a person lies about receiving military decorations that he or she has in fact never earned. It has become a major societal problem that has been discussed numerous times in the news; according to the New York Times, the Department of Veterans Affairs paid disability benefits to more than six hundred people falsely claiming to have been POWs in the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. The number of stolen valor cases reported to the FBI has tripled in the last decade. In fact, more imposters lie about earning high military declarations for battlefield bravery than the actual number of real-life hero recipients. These imposters trade on tales and the trappings of military valor to secure privileges such as career advancements and even unearned veterans’ benefits.
In Restoring Valor, Doug Sterner provides riveting case studies of the stolen valor imposters he’s investigated and exposed and the serious crimes—including murder—they’ve committed. He chronicles the evolution of stolen valor from the inception of the republic to today. Sterner shows why the federal law he and his wife, Pam, helped to enact—the Stolen Valor Act—is necessary.
Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781628739145 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Skyhorse |
| Publication date: | 02/04/2014 |
| Sold by: | SIMON & SCHUSTER |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 288 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
About the Author
Michael Mink is a free-lance writer who has written more than five-hundred nationally published articles and has co-authored two previous books.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
A Bit of Colored Ribbon: The History of Medals
Should any who are not entitled to these honors have the insolence to assume the badges of them, they shall be severely punished.
— General George Washington
In 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte told the captain of HMS Bellerophon, "A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon." That statement by one of history's greatest military leaders stands at odds with the 2010 legal opinion of District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn when he struck down a 2006 federal law that banned lying about military awards. Blackburn's position was as such: To suggest that the battlefield heroism of our servicemen and women is motivated in any way, let alone in a compelling way, by considerations of whether a medal may be awarded simply defies my comprehension. Indeed, the qualities of character that the medals recognize specifically refute the notion that any such motivation is at play. I find it incredible to suggest that, in the heat of battle, our servicemen and women stop to consider whether they will be awarded a medal before deciding how to respond to an emerging crisis. That is antithetical to the nature of their training, and of their characters.
Servicemen and women may be motivated to enlist and fight by the ideals the medals represent, but I give no credence to the notion, and, more to the point, the government has offered no evidence in support of its burden to prove, that the medals themselves provide potential recipients any incentive to act to protect their comrades-at-arms or the interests of this nation they have sworn to defend.
Most combat veterans will quickly agree with Judge Blackburn that "a bit of colored ribbon" is not what motivates a man or woman to single-handedly charge across a mine field and attack an enemy machine gun nest, or to throw themselves over a live grenade to save the life of a comrade. Actions in the heat of battle are at once both intuitive and instinctive, based on training, an instinct for survival, and a strong bond of camaraderie that compels a soldier to protect his buddies.
That said, many soldiers have left home for war with the thought, "I'll be home soon with a chest full of ribbons" in their heads. Such statements are no doubt, part bravado, part machismo, some measure hopeful, and occasionally truthful. Tragically, in all too many cases the medal is awarded but never worn on the recipient's chest. Rather, it is presented posthumously to a grieving widow or sobbing parents.
In the civilian sector those bits of colored ribbon are often little understood. Most civilians with no former military service couldn't readily distinguish a badge awarded for being a good marksman from a medal given for uncommon courage. Those bits of colored ribbon, however, serve as both a resume and as a form of currency in the military profession. To the individual soldier, they have value both tangible and intangible, for example:
• Campaign Ribbons, to which soldiers' refer as "I was there" awards, note a degree of experience.
• Achievement Ribbons detail a soldier's proficiency in his field.
• The far more rare Valor Awards represent the most heroic of actions.
• The Purple Heart, awarded to those killed or wounded in combat, and the Prisoner of War Medal, denote personal sacrifice.
For nearly a century after the United States military services were born, the US military establishment eschewed the European custom of adorning the uniforms of its soldiers, sailors, and Marines with "bits of colored ribbon." For the most part, these medals were viewed as an aristocratic braggadocio and beneath the dignity of our brave new form of government.
One early military officer who did see the value of an awards system was our first American commander, General George Washington. During the Revolutionary War, officially known as the War for Independence, he sought to motivate and reward exceptional soldiers through promotions, which brought with them the privileges that accompany higher rank, as well as a monetary value in terms of increased pay.
By the summer of 1782 the American Revolution was over and only the formalities of adopting the peace accords remained. General Washington was in his headquarters at Newburgh, New York while the Continental Congress reviewed the cost of the War for Independence, as well as the continued cost of maintaining an army. Funds were depleted and, in fact, many soldiers had not received their pay for war time service (and would not — a point which later led to Shay's Rebellion). In a cost-cutting measure the Congress sent General Washington a message to cease his practice of recognizing individual achievement or valor with promotional pay raises.
Though the battle for freedom was over, Washington understood it was important to maintain the effectiveness and high morale of his troops during peace time. Brevet promotions, assigning a higher rank to a soldier without the higher level of pay, became one solution. During the war, Washington had issued a few Brevets, usually to foreign allies who came to assist his fledgling citizen-solider army. In the aftermath of the war, he granted at least 50 Brevet promotions. While these lacked monetary value, Washington realized that higher rank carried with it an intangible but real, and welcomed, value in the military community.
General Washington further pondered new ways to recognize his soldiers for their service or for singularly meritorious acts of gallantry. An award system was formalized in the General Orders he issued from his headquarters on August 7, 1782.
To honor every veteran for his service in the War for Independence, General Washington authorized a chevron to be worn on the left sleeve of any enlisted man or non-commissioned officer who had served for three years with "bravery, fidelity and good conduct." Veterans with six years of service were authorized to wear two chevrons. In many regards, these chevrons became the military's first "good conduct" ribbons, quickly identifying real war veterans. His "badge of service" took emphasis away from rank, indicating that it was service and not rank that was important. He instituted this step to recognize our first veterans of military service with the pronouncement, "The road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is thus open to all."
General Washington then carried his efforts to recognize the service, sacrifice and valor of his soldiers one step further, authorizing in those same General Orders, an individual award for men who singularly performed deeds of valor or unusual merit. This award was called The Badge of Military Merit. The General's Orders described it thus:
The General, ever desirous to cherish virtuous ambition in his soldiers as well as foster and encourage every species of military merit, directs that whenever any singularly meritorious action is performed, the author of it shall be permitted to wear on his facings, over his left breast, the figure of a heart in purple cloth or silk, edged with narrow lace or binding. Not only instances of unusual gallantry but also of extraordinary fidelity and essential service in any way shall meet with due reward.
By that act, General Washington made his position clear on the value of "bits of colored ribbon." The purpose and value of that colored ribbon was identified by him as a means to "foster and encourage every species of military merit."
Of further note however, with regards to the Service Chevrons and Badge of Military Merit (which in 1932 was revived and became the Purple Heart Medal), was General Washington's recognition of the fact that the value of a colored bit of ribbon might be stolen by charlatans. In the same General Orders authorizing these awards he wrote, "Should any who are not entitled to these honors have the insolence to assume the badges of them, they shall be severely punished."
Historical records show that the Badge of Military Merit was only presented three times in the aftermath of the American Revolution. It fell to disuse, and until the American Civil War, was the only individual military medal available to American soldiers. Despite General Washington's early efforts, America's military still tended to look unfavorably at the custom of awarding or wearing medals. To many, it reminded them too much of European custom of a chest-full of medals.
During the Mexican American War from 1846 to 1848, US soldiers were recognized for their heroic service with a Certificate of Merit. Although not truly a military decoration in the truest sense, it was the second step towards a system of colored ribbons that is known today as our military's "Pyramid of Honor."
As the Civil War loomed on the horizon, Congress sought a way to encourage and motivate military service. On December 9, 1861, Iowa Senator James W. Grimes introduced Senate Bill No. 82, a bill that would establish a Medal of Honor for enlisted sailors of the US Navy. That legislation spelled out the intended purpose of such an award, which was "to further promote the efficiency of the Navy." Once again, in contrast to Judge Blackburn's 2010 legal opinion, even the United States Congress saw in "bits of ribbon" a symbolic value and a means of motivating individual members of the military. The following year President Abraham Lincoln established a similar Medal of Honor for members of the United States Army.
Even in those early days, there were concerns in Congress with regards to the reception such an award would receive in the US military community. For eight decades, our forces had shied away from individual recognition of our soldiers, sailors, and Marines. In addition, some members of Congress felt even after they voted to authorize the Medal of Honor that such a recognition would be met with disdain among military men.
In fact, of the nearly 2,500 Medals of Honor subsequently awarded for actions in the Civil War, only about 700 were awarded during or in the immediate aftermath of that war. The vast majority of these Medals of Honor came decades later, usually upon request by the recipient. Perhaps aging veterans of the Civil War who had once eschewed medals were now envious of those who had accepted them. In fact, from 1890 to 1917, more Medals of Honor were awarded for Civil War heroism than were awarded from 1861 to 1870, a period that includes five post-war years.
Veterans of the Civil War subsequently organized as the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), a pre-cursor to the veterans service organizations that grew out of World War I and exist in considerable number to date. Among the ranks of the G.A.R., men who had received the Medal of Honor became celebrities. They were feted at patriotic events and often led parades on Independence and Memorial Day. For those who did not have a Medal of Honor to wear, the G.A.R. established their own organizational award, the G.A.R. Medal, available to any G.A.R. member. Its design was eerily similar to that of the Medal of Honor, making it difficult to distinguish the man who had been so highly decorated from the veteran who had not.
In 1890 the recipients of the Medal of Honor established their own separate organization called the Medal of Honor Legion, which later became the Legion of Valor. Their membership distinguished those who had received our nation's highest and only authorized military decoration, from those who had served but had not been so decorated. Further, to distinguish the Medal of Honor from the G.A.R. medal, a new design for the Medal of Honor was created and patented by the US Government. Such steps had become increasingly important to insure that only legitimate recipients of that medal lay claim to its receipt.
World War I brought with it major new changes. In 1917, before the majority of Doughboys sailed for France to "save the world for democracy," Congress made sweeping changes in the military awards system. Beyond ordering a review of the Medal of Honor awards to that date, and rescinding Medals of Honor deemed frivolously awarded (in one case more than 800 had been awarded to an entire regiment simply for re-enlisting), Congress restricted awards of the Medal of Honor solely for "heroism, above and beyond the call of duty" in combat action with an enemy of the United States.
While this new criteria would make Medal of Honor awards much rarer in future wars, it also posed the dilemma of how to recognize individuals who performed heroically or otherwise distinguished themselves through acts that were worthy of note, but not at the same level as the Medal of Honor. To address this, Congress established a "Pyramid of Honor," a series of new medals, all with distinction but requiring descending levels of heroism and carrying, to some degree, lesser personal acclaim.
Directly below the Medal of Honor was the Army's newly authorized Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy's new Distinguished Service Medal. At the third level was the Army Distinguished Service Medal and the Navy Cross. (In 1942 the Navy reversed their two top awards, elevating the Navy Cross above the Distinguished Service Medal.)
At yet a fourth level, at the bottom of the 1917 version of the Pyramid of Honor, was the Army's Citation Star. This small silver star could be issued by any General Officer on the spot to a soldier who had either exceptionally distinguished himself by his conduct, or who performed with gallantry. A decade after the end of World War I this decoration was elevated to medal status as the Silver Star Medal and restricted solely to combat valor. It's our nation's fourth highest award and third highest for valor. In 1942 the US Navy authorized awarding of this previously Army-only decoration to members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.
In 1932 General Douglas MacArthur revived General Washington's Badge for Military Merit. What was once a piece of purple ribbon in the shape of a heart became the Purple Heart Medal. While this award ranked low in precedence in the Pyramid of Honor, it became and remains one of the most distinctive and honored of military awards. Unlike other awards denoting someone who performed heroically, or served in a particular war or theater of operations, the Purple Heart represents one thing — personal sacrifice. It is awarded to those men and women killed or wounded in our nation's combat actions.
Any doubts as to whether "bits of colored ribbon" would be embraced in the American military community, or derided as frivolous braggadocio, were quickly dispelled in 1918 — 19 by the sight of Doughboys returning home from the battlefields in France. These young men, most of whom were ordinary citizens who had answered the call of duty, returned home proudly wearing not only the awards presented by their own nation, but those they received from the governments of France, Italy, Great Britain, and others as well. For them there was no such issue as having too many medals.
Heroes of the "Great War" such as Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant Alvin York, a backwoods boy from Pall Mall, Tennessee, became household names. York was portrayed in a movie by Gary Cooper, who earned an Oscar for the title role. Some of World War I's most decorated heroes like Douglas MacArthur, who earned two Distinguished Service Crosses and seven Silver Stars, went on to parlay their heroism into powerful leadership roles in World War II. Others, like Medal of Honor recipients Willis Bradley and Edouard Izac, the latter of whom suffered as a German prisoner of war, turned their combat hero status into successful political careers as members elected to the United States Congress. There can be little doubt that even if unintended, being a World War I hero, especially one with a Medal of Honor or other high decoration, could bring with it considerable value and career enhancement in civilian life following that service.
No period in history has produced more heroes, or evoked more "hero worship" than World War II. Highlighted by author Tom Brokaw as "The Greatest Generation," four Medal of Honor recipients graced the cover of Life magazine during that war. A regular inside feature in the same publication included a "Roll of Honor" with the photographs, names, and brief accounts of other men who received Medals of Honor, Service Crosses, and other recognitions. Such heroes as Medal of Honor recipient John D. Bulkeley (whose story was brought to the big-screen in "They Were Expendable") were featured in true or fact-based movies during the war, with the post-war era producing many more. Perhaps best known among these was To Hell and Back where the war's most decorated soldier, Audie Murphy, played himself in the movie that detailed his combat heroics. Murphy continued to build a very successful career as an actor and there can be little doubt that this opportunity came only because his combat heroism had made him a household name.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Restoring Valor"
by .
Copyright © 2014 Doug Sterner.
Excerpted by permission of Skyhorse Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction,
Chapter 1 A Bit of Colored Ribbon: The History of Medals,
Chapter 2 Buy a Medal, Be a Hero,
Chapter 3 There Ought to Be a Law,
Chapter 4 The Stolen Valor Act,
Chapter 5 It'll Take an Act of Congress,
Chapter 6 It's Not Like I Killed Somebody or Something,
Chapter 7 Going Back to Where I've Never Been,
Chapter 8 Mother Me, Smother Me, I've Suffered Much,
Chapter 9 Putting the Con on Congress,
Chapter 10 Putting the Con in Congress,
Chapter 11 The Monster in the Closet,
Chapter 12 What Else Are You Lying About?,
Chapter 13 A Lie Gone Too Far,
Chapter 14 A Man for All Reasons,
Chapter 15 The Constitutional Right to Lie,
Chapter 16 Stolen Valor Act 2.0,
Chapter 17 The Other Side of Stolen Valor,
Chapter 18 The Final Indignity,
Appendix 1 How to Spot a Phony,
Appendix 2 FOIA and Understanding Military Records,
Appendix 3 Resources,
Acknowledgments,
References,