Op-ed by Wes O’Donnell, Managing Editor, inmilitary.com/inmilitary and Veteran U.S. Army and USAF
Stolen valor is the internet age version of a military impostor; someone who makes false claims about his or her military service in civilian life. This includes claims by people that have never been in the military, as well as lies or embellishments by genuine veterans.
For as long as there has been conflict and glory in battle, there have been fakers. Even as he was establishing the Purple Heart medal, George Washington recognized and predicted that there would be fakers, and stated that they should be punished.
Over the past few years, a new sport has emerged on social media: that of finding individuals guilty of stolen valor and publicly shaming them.
As a veteran, I have given a decade of my life to the U.S. military, split between both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force. And I will admit to being furious when I see an example of someone claiming military honors that they did not earn. But is my fury misplaced?
Several of the individuals that I have personally encountered were suffering from a mental illness. It seems morally wrong to shame a person with a personality disorder, yet it happens daily on Facebook. As veterans, should we not hold ourselves to a higher ethical standard?
There is another issue: that of protected speech. The freedom of citizens to say anything is one of the rights that we, as veterans, swore to protect. We cannot choose to protect just the speech that agrees with our views and not the speech that we disagree with.
But what about physically wearing a uniform or medals that one didn’t earn? According to the law, that is another matter entirely. Lying about serving is protected because it is speech, but wearing false medals or a uniform is conduct, and against the law. In 2014 the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that wearing unearned medals is against the law; particularly if it is for financial gain. The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 makes it a federal offense to falsely claim to have received any of several major military awards with the intention of obtaining money, property, or other tangible benefits. There are additional laws criminalizing the altering or forging of discharge documents, and attempting to obtain veteran’s benefits from the government.
In my opinion, the only thing worse than stolen valor is the mob vigilante mentality of some veterans. There are some people that feel good about confronting people, and making themselves look big by trying to take them down. This has resulted, on numerous occasions, of actual veterans being accused of stolen valor just because the accusers didn’t recognize a particular medal or uniform configuration.
Take the case of Lindsey Lowery, a stay at home mom and former Army officer. She writes for a website called Mad World News under the pen name Prissy Holly. Early last year she posted a photo of herself on Facebook in uniform, carrying a rifle and described her experience leading an all-male infantry unit during her deployment to Iraq.
The response was fast and brutal:
“Posts and personal messages to Lowery asked how she could have been in an infantry unit, which in the United States military is traditionally all male. “You can do one of two things. Prove that you held an Infantry command — which you never f*****g did, or remove your post,” one message read. “Otherwise, you’re going to have a real bad time. Embellishing is just as bad as stolen valor. And don’t think for a second that we can’t FOIA [Freedom of Information] your records. Liar.”
A few hours later, the same person posted: “As a matter of fact, never mind. I’ll just have fun exposing your lying a**.”
When Lowery woke up the next morning, she found hundreds of vile comments on her Facebook page, calling her a liar, a w****, a c***. The frenzy lasted for several days, even as she posted redacted copies of her personnel records, a letter from her commander, even a video showing her accessing her deployment orders online. But her accusers just called her a forger, in addition to a fraud.”
Make no mistake, there exists online groups that go after military posers, exposing those who lie about their military records. These people see themselves on the front lines of an internet war, fighting against wannabes who steal and tarnish the valor of actual heroes. The problem is that, in their frenzy, real warriors get caught up in the grinder.
The problem has a simple solution: don’t wear medals that you didn’t earn. And on the other side, don’t be so quick to confront a perceived stolen valor case. If you suspect someone of stolen valor, report it to the authorities. Wrong doing will be confirmed or dismissed and the world will keep spinning.
Comments are closed.