Veterans Angry After Contractor Claimed To Be One Of Them

Veterans want apology from Sheriff's candidate 
The Advertiser
Claire Taylor
June 28, 2015

Mark Garber appears in military garb on campaign material used in his race for Lafayette Parish Sheriff.
(Photo: Claire Taylor, Daily Advertiser)

Mark Garber, a candidate for Lafayette Parish Sheriff who was awarded the Bronze Star for his work as a civilian interrogator with the Air Force in Iraq, has angered a couple of local military veterans who say he is pretending to be one of them.

The Southwest Louisiana Veterans Coalition board wants an apology, while one Lafayette veteran said Garber should withdraw from the Sheriff's race.

Garber is pictured in campaign material dressed in military gear with a gun; his Bronze Star medal also is shown. To make it worse, local veterans said, Garber stood up at a banquet recently when military veterans were recognized.

"He slapped the face of every veteran in Lafayette by portraying himself as a veteran," said Daniel J. Bentley, commander of American Legion Post 69 of Lafayette. "He is not a veteran."

Garber told The Daily Advertiser , "I have never, ever claimed to be a military veteran."

But the website for his private legal practice with attorney C. Ray Murry recently stated: "Mr. Garber and Mr. Murry are military veterans."

The statement was changed Thursday after The Daily Advertiser brought it to Garber's attention. He said the statement was written long ago and was worded improperly because his law partner is a veteran of the military.

While in Iraq, Garber wore a uniform and carried weapons like military personnel, and was deployed on missions with soldiers. He considers himself a veteran of Iraq, but not a military veteran, he said.
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