Operation Stolen Valor or slam the veterans by ABC?

ABC has nine stories up on the site. Nine. Taken into account all the reports that have come out over the last few years, there are so few it makes my head spin when I see what kind of attention these reports are getting instead of reporting on real veterans, real heroes with real need for the VA to honor their claims and get them into treatment. Where are those stories?

Operation Stolen Valor
The VA says it's in the midst of a crackdown on phony military heroes.

Michael David Heit: For four months, Heit deceived the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Spokane, Wash., claiming he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He claimed he was a Vietnam veteran who had been a prisoner of war for more than three years and had received mutiple medals, including a Purple Heart, Silver Star and Bronze Star. He actually never served in Vietnam, was never a POW and had never been awarded those medals of valor. He pleaded guilty on Thursday and is scheduled for sentencing in December. (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General)

Reggie Lee Buddle: A real Army vet, Buddle claimed he had served and earned the rank of captain in the United States Marine Corps. He also boasted a chestful of medals, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Vietnam Service Medal and the United States Marine Corps Gold Jump Wings. Buddle also claimed to be a Marine Corps chaplain, officiating over weddings, baptisms and funerals. In fact, Buddle was never in the Marine Corps, never earned those medals and wasn't a chaplain. He pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced to 500 hours of community service. (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General)

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/slideshow?id=3631778

There also these

Army alerts feds of possible Stolen Valor case
By Brendan McGarry - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Dec 15, 2008 10:08:19 ESTDiscrepancies in the service record of a Vietnam veteran seeking a Medal of Honor have prompted the Army to alert the FBI of a potential violation of the Stolen Valor Act, sources close to the investigation said.The case involves Terry Richard Calandra, 59, of Forks Township, Pa., who is commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 700 in Glen Gardner, N.J.

Thursday, March 19, 2009


Man charged in Stolen Valor case
Man indicted on charges of faking serviceThe Associated PressPosted : Thursday Mar 19, 2009 6:48:35 EDTANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Ketchikan man has been indicted on charges of lying about his military record.U.S. Attorney Karen Loeffler says 53-year-old Thomas A. Dye is charged with two counts of violating the Stolen Valor Act, which criminalizes false claims to military medals.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Colorado Veterans Alliance begun by impostor
Local veterans advocate exposed as impostorStory By: Susan DaviesSource: KOAAPublished Wed May 13, 2009, 09:47 PM MDTUpdated Thu May 14, 2009, 05:41 AM MDTHe was a local activist for veterans issues who claimed to be a 9-1-1 survivor. He said he was a marine captain serving three tours of duty in Iraq and wounded in the line of duty. But federal investigators say he lied about all of it - even his name.The man we knew as Rick Duncan was an advocate for homeless veterans.

Life already ruined, lying First Coast vet gets light sentence

Florida Times-Union - Jacksonville,FL,USA By Timothy J. Gibbons Story updated at 6:24 PM on Wednesday, May. 27, 2009In the past five months, Charles T. White has lost most of his friends.After pleading guilty to lying about being a prisoner of war in Vietnam and earning a Purple Heart, the veteran was kicked out of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, an organization he’d been part of for 40 years, holding offices and serving on the honor guard.

There are 29 on this blog alone and more under fake and phony but you get the drift. When you think of the hundreds of thousands of veterans, real ones, real combat veterans waiting and then think about this "thugs" taking what they can get by lying, it makes people sick. It would be really wonderful if the real ones had half as much attention as reporting on these criminals gets. ABC has nine pictures and stories to go along with the title of their page but it would have been nice to add a few words to it like, hundreds of thousands of veterans are really wounded and really paying the price for their service but we want to focus on the few frauds that make the rest of them look bad. The frauds are criminals and should be brought to justice but it is not justice to the rest of the veterans to have this much attention on the fakes while they suffer in silence.