Silver Star Vietnam Veteran may not be after all

UPDATE

Senator Tom Harkin:

"I regret to have learned today that a Silver Star medal presented by a member of my staff to an Iowan earlier this year appears not to have been earned through service," Harkin said, noting records provided to his office by the Navy.

The Navy launched an investigation within hours after a story published Wednesday in The Des Moines Register quoted several military groups or advocates who say Dennis William Myers, 64, of Marshalltown provided Harkin with bogus documentation showing him as a recipient of the Silver Star medal.

As for Meyers,

He additionally said he obtained the certificate from the American War Library, a private business in California that allows people to purchase the certificates for as little as $9.50. Officials from the business declined to outline how they verify military records before issuing the certificates.
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Iowan's Silver Star documents under investigation
Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth
September 3, 2014

The U.S. Navy has confirmed "unexplained irregularities" in the paperwork of an Iowa military veteran who received one of the nation's highest military honors from Sen. Tom Harkin's office, a spokeswoman for the senator said in a statement Wednesday.

"Senator Harkin intends to ensure that the Navy completes a full investigation, arrives at the true historical record and that appropriate sanctions are issued, if warranted," his spokeswoman Susannah Cernojevich said.

The investigation comes hours after publication of a Des Moines Register article in which several military groups or advocates questioned whether Dennis William Myers, 64, of Marshalltown provided Harkin with bogus documentation showing him as a recipient of the Silver Star medal.

In June, Harkin's office staffers publicly presented Myers with the Silver Star medal after receiving documents from Myers.

Questions surfaced soon after that event when Doug Sterner, the curator of the Military Times Hall of Valor, attempted to fact check Myers' background before adding him to a searchable online directory of military honors.

Sterner said he believes the certificate Myers provided to Harkin was a fake. The certificate is unsigned, undated and does not have an accompanying letter of support. Such certificates are signed by a top-ranking military official or the U.S. president, Sterner noted.
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This is a blank one found online from the Navy