Triple shock for family of Vietnam Vet killed in fire

Imagine someone you loved dying in a fire. Then imagine someone else in your family did it then killed himself. Pretty shocking with just that but then add in the veteran you thought you knew turned out to have not been telling the truth.

Military medal doubted for vet found dead in south Sacramento fire
Sacramento Bee
By Sam Stanton and Morgan Searles
Published: Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013

By any standard, Dennis Felmley's death was a tragedy.

The 64-year-old Vietnam veteran died after suffering violent injuries and being found in a burning south Sacramento home on July 22, a fire that authorities say may have been set by a nephew who later killed himself in a Huntington Beach park.

On Wednesday, the tragedy appeared to be even greater, with Felmley's paid obituary in The Sacramento Bee listing him as a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award.

But online databases do not show Felmley as having received the award, an honor that is closely tracked by authorities and military historians nationwide.

Felmley's daughter Shannon said her father's wartime experiences and the lore of the medals he received had been passed down over the years by family members. She added that the family had difficulty getting records of his service because of the July 12, 1973, fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis that destroyed as many as 18 million official records.
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