Dishonorably discharged man posed as homeless veteran

Reading this my knee-jerk reaction was anger. A veteran living on the streets begging for money is more heartbreaking for most people than to see someone else asking for money. We give to charities, like the Salvation Army, never knowing where our money or clothing goes because we just want to help someone with less than we have. We don't know how they ended up homeless, if it was their "fault" or not any more than we care if they are on drugs or drinking because as humans they have basic needs like clothing, shelter, food and to know that someone thinks they are worth helping. When it comes to veterans, most of us look at them differently because they were willing to die for the rest of us. To see them living on the streets after that is heartbreaking. To have someone claim to be a veteran just to get more money makes us wonder if every other person we see begging claiming to be a veteran is really a veteran or not.

Then I finished reading this coming to the part where it says this faker was dishonorably discharged. I wasn't so angry after that. I wondered if he was one of the 26,000 or more discharged under personality disorder instead of taken care of because they had PTSD. This kind of discharge left them without everything. No income, no help from the VA or service organizations, no jobs and no hope. It would be very interesting to find out why he was discharged but I doubt we'll see any reports getting further into this.

POLICE: Beggar posed as veteran


Posted: Dec 29, 2010 10:59 AM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB Fox 41) -- Police say a homeless man went too far when he impersonated a veteran.

Paul Kaemerer was apprehended by officers Tuesday afternoon when he was seen walking near the I-264 westbound off-ramp to eastbound U.S. 31. A police citation indicates that he was holding a sign that said, "homeless hungry veteran."

When officers asked Kaemerer to prove that he was a veteran, he couldn't do so, according to the report.

Officers quickly became suspicious.

"It is common knowledge that persons will lie about their veteran status to attempt [to] gain additional monies from begging," the citation states.

Police say Kaemerer was disturbing traffic and had previously been warned not to beg for money at that location.

Kaemerer eventually told them that he had been dishonorably discharged from the military and that he was begging for money, police say.

He was charged with misrepresenting his military status, disorderly conduct, standing on a limited-access highway and criminal trespassing.
Beggar posed as veteran