1. His Good Conduct Ribbon has a “V” on it..
2. Says the Government “lost” his service records so they won’t have to reveal the secret missions he was on, which is why he can’t wear his MOH.
3. His 12 rows of ribbons include the WWI Victory Medal.
4. Modestly claims he served with SOG, the “Special Operations Group” in Vietnam.
5. Has a harrowing story of how on his first day in country, he had to kill two “gooks” walking point on a patrol into Cambodia.
6. Can’t seem to remember what unit he served with, below the division level—if that—or just where he was in Nam. (I was all over!)
7. Says he enlisted in the Air Force, but was trained at Marine Corps Basic Training at Camp LeJeune by Marine Drill Sergeants for special service with the Seals.
8. Appears to have been born about 1965.
9. His MOS of “Bandsman” was just a cover for the secret missions he was running in both North Korea and North Vietnam.
10. Starts telling you about the atrocities he committed.
11. Can’t remember his MOS, the names of anyone he served with, or which C-Rats had the big can main meals.
12. You show him your John Wayne and he doesn’t know what it is.
13 The reason the other POWs never heard of him is he was held in a separate camp because he knew too much.
Okay, this is intended as humor for vets, but I’ve come across pathetic people with five of these cues. Really.
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I met one one time who used the exact phrase "I was all over". It just so happened I was holding a book with a detailed foldout map of all of Vietnam. So I opened it and handed it to him and said "where were some of the places you were?"
ReplyDeleteEver hear somebody, who has never heard them pronounced aloud themselves, try to pronounce the names of Vietnamese cities and provinces?
Hue came out sounding like "Hughey".
For the record, I am a student of that conflict - not a veteran of it.
I was a marine truck driver in vietnam and I can claim I been all over I-core....but I know,where I been and when ...some gets a little mixed up but that's age. I was on the first convoy to Khe-Sanh...not fun ...point us I been a lot if places tad to many different units ...I don't remember all some was only a few days or weeks..but nit knowing your main unit is a joke....ir your mos...anyways it was hell no matter where you were or who you were with...Semper Fi
DeleteYou are mistaken in some of your understanding.
DeleteIt's about 1986 and I am in a restaurant in Jersey City, NJ eating dinner with a few Jersey City cops. The majority of us are Motorcycle cops. An emergency service cop joins us and he makes mention of the fact that he served in VN. I asked what unit he was with and he states that he was with the "Green Beret's". One of the guys asked him if he saw any action and he freely admitted doing alot of clandestine classified stuff "behind enemy lines". One of the guys asked if he had received any medals, and without batting an eye he responded. " I have the Congressional Medal of Honor". Immediately my blood began to boil as I knew this was a bald faced lie. I asked him when and where he received the medal and he stated that it was a classified mission and he was bound by the official secrets act not to reveal any details. He was very calmly advised by me that he was a liar and a coward and that if he didn't leave the table he was going to be dismembered. Before he could leave several people at the adjoining tables requested that I be asked to leave the restaurant. Needless to say I stood my ground and he left. To this day there are JC cops who believe that a zero named John Mechanics received the MOH for acts of gallantry while serving as a SF warrior in VN. He retired a few weeks later after learning he had cancer. He had never served in any branch of the service as far as I know. Thanks to the internet phonies are exposed much easier than 20+ years ago, but they are still out there and we must always be vigilant and expose them for the cowards they are. Semper Fidelis.
ReplyDelete1st Cav, Iron Triangle...mainly Tay Ninh Province.
DeleteWe called the crackers which were with the peanut butter in C's "John Wayne crackers." (Peanut butter had oil separated in the can and it was hard to mix.)
WELCOME HOME!!!!!!
John Wayne? Do I want to know?
ReplyDeleteLOL... I had to google it. I was there a full year, in the bush most of the time and didn't know the sh#t paper included in the crats was called John Wayne. Also, I was in a chat room many years ago and they kept mentioning "dust off"... finally I asked them what that was and was then told. In the Marines, at least the unit I was in 2/26th Marines third plt., Echo, we called "dustoffs" "medivacs"... and I was twice medivaced after being wounded or injured. Once by helicopter and another time by truck. I wonder today if those in that chat group thought I was a phony... LOL.
DeleteI agree, medevac is what we called it also. By truck, AmTrac or Huey. Semper Fi, 68-69
DeleteJohn Wayne could also refer to a pattern tiger stripe BDU.
Deletep38
Delete#14- he mentions he was at Dien Ben Phu, but is not French and had to be in high school (at most) in 1954
ReplyDelete#15- he talks about his Agent Orange problems, coming from the time he woke up covered with orange dust after a night in the jungle
#16- he mentions qualifying at Parris Island with the M-16 in 1967, which is years before they stopped using the M-14 at PI.
PS- some people called the C-rat can opener a "John Wayne", but most of us only referred to it as a P-38
ReplyDeleteyip, a P-38 and really could not stand Ham and MF'ers
DeleteI am a Vietnam veteran, and served with 2/4, the "Magnificent Bastards" from Oct 67 to Nov 68. I retired from the Corps in July 1993. I am also a docent at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, in Triangle, VA, and about a year ago I had one of my two encounters with a Wanna-be. I was at one of the exhibits and saw a gentleman decked out with a vest covered with all kinds of patches, and wore a Viet Vet hat. I went up to him and greeted him with our "special" greeting: "Welcome Home, Brother." I knew something was wrong when he gave me a blank stare. I then asked him what unit he served with and he wouldn't tell me. I ignored the non reply and proceeded to tell him who I served with and when. He responded by asking me how many tours I served; I told him only one, which was enough for me. He then said: "Well, I had 10 tours," and gave me a condescending look. I turned around and walked away muttering under my breath: "you're a f-ing liar and a wanna-be." We're not allowed to be confrontational with museum visitors. By the way, our tours normally were 12 and 20, and we Marines were there from 1965 to 1972. You do the math. Semper Fi, GH, MGySgt, USMC(Ret)
ReplyDeleteThanks for all you continue to do in serving our Corps Master Guns. Proud to be one of your Magnificent Bastard Warrior Brothers. Semper Fi,
DeleteWVM
E/2/4
'66-'67
MARINES DID 13 MONTH TOURS
DeleteARMY DID 12 MONTH TOURS
AND WHAT IS THE 20 ABOUT?
The "20" refers to 20 days. I went to Viet Nam in 1967 and was told that my tour was 13 and 20 . The Army tour was 12 and 20 and in 1968, the Corps changed the tour to 12 & 20. I thought that I was a month short and celebrated by drinking an extra 4 cans of "Ballentine Ale" and 2 shots of "Jack Daniels" and puked the rest of the night. I was with 3/12 3rd MarDiv and remember all kinds of goofy sh-t that we did and all the places we were and even how to pronounce them. Lots of phony's out there and they are not too hard to spot if you were there.
Delete3. His 12 rows of ribbons include the WWI Victory Medal.
ReplyDeleteI know a guy who has one of these and he served in vietnam why is it looked at as a fraud? Please explain...
Because it was awarder to people who served in WWI. Making him in his late 60s when he served in Vietnam and at least 112 when you posted this in 2010.
DeleteServed in the same building, but not the same unit, with a Lt Col, who told me a story about almost getting into a fight with a Nam vet, who accused him of being a fake vet after over hearing him talking about duty in Nam. The vet didn't hear the whole conversation. The Lt Col had served in Nam, in the late 1990's, on a team searching a site for mains. Both parted ways as friends, but still, gotta be careful.
ReplyDeletecan't say I ever heard the word '' nam '' until a few years ago. I went 'south' , I went to Vietnam, did it more than once with different MOS but don't remember ever going to the 'nam'
DeleteTrue, I met a "Vietnam Vet" who told me drugs had messed up his mind and he couldn't remember the unit he had served with in the war. He was wearing a Navy Vietnam Vet cap. I can't believe anyone would forget their unit of service in a war.
ReplyDeleteI am a veteran of the 101st Airborne. C company 1/506 battalion. I am tired of hearing people say their brother was a tunnel rat or their uncle was in intelligence and doesn't like to talk about the war. First there were some tunnel rats but not ten of thousands. When we found a tunnel we just blew it up with C-4. Why would anyone craw in to a hole for which they would run in to enemy troops. You wouldn't have a chance unless there was no one there. Also most people who worked in intelligence worked in offices in safe places in the rear.
ReplyDeleteI also hear people say they have relatives that were forward observers and were out in the woods by themselves for months. First no one is in the woods by themselves. Second forward observers are officers and are assigned to companies and are with the company headquarters. They are out in the field but they are with a line company and not by themselves.
If they were by themselves what would they be observing and if they were far out in the jungle they would be out of range for 155 guns.
Lots of wanna-be's (isn't it strange that no one wanted to be associated with us back in the day of America's shameful treatment of us?) anyway .... lots of wanna-be's will listen to a vets story of an event or a battle and respond with a comment like "Man, that's nothing!" then they launch into their fantasy tale of what combat in Vietnam was really like. They'll tell you of their harrowing hand-to-hand combat experiences in Phi Pu, Loc Noy, Chi Lai, Phan Ku and other places they're sure you never heard of, because they don't exist.
ReplyDeleteJust two years ago, I was serving on a Army Reserve Division Staff with a LTC Evans, who always wore an Americal Patch. He always told absurd stories about having been selected in basic to be a sniper, due to his superior shooting skills. He claimed he was accelerated through AIT, then sent to the Americal and, of course, eventually to Special Forces. When I finally had enough of his B.S., I contacted the squared-away folks at the "POW network" who are great at uncovering fakes. In summary, I learned that everyone's service records are Public Records, available under the FOIA laws. The found Evan's which revealed he never left CONUS. When the Div G-3 finally confronted him, he claimed that "he was once on orders to Vietnam" but even the dates didn't work. He was forced to retire but I was pissed as no real punitive action was taken against him. He is now in Idaho, likely passing himself off as a Vietnam Hero at the local VFW or American Legion,
ReplyDeleteOne of the guys in a VetCenter rap Group I just joined says he was in the 1 Infantry Division (army) assigned to the USMC so that make him authorized to sport a USMC vet hat. I don't think so, but willing to check it out. Not a Marine but have a lot of respect for the Corps do to real NAM Vets (brother in law for one)
ReplyDeleteWe have these guys here in UK too. On or near November 11th every year we have Remembrance Sunday. Lots of parades at war memorials up and down the country. The phonies turn up with a row of Ebay medals or a uniform that any former soldier can spot as wrong a mile away. And they've always been in the SAS, or the Parachute Regiment. It's called "Walting " here - short for Walter Mitty. Lots of them collect money allegedly for service charities, but they keep it themselves. They get prosecuted if found, but the punishment for wearing medals you're not entitled to is a laughably small fine. The embarrassment in the press and the abuse from real soldiers is the true punishment.
ReplyDeleteFormer High School Principal in our town had his pic on the wall, in uniform. "Where'd you serve?" Viet Nam! "What part?" I don't remember..............
ReplyDeleteWittig, Robert, USMC, Vietnam, Service number 2439646, Bravo Company 1/3, skipper, Captain Sampson, who was killed up around Con Thien. Was at Khe Gio Bridge, LZ Rockpile and up somewhere near the NW corner near DMZ and Laos. Some of this might be off, but mostly accurate after all these many years. Dong Ha was our home base but we only spent a short time in the rear. Also went to An Hoa on some op in that area, and the mud was amazing.
ReplyDeleteEdward Dimsey, I served with the 35th SPS, US Air Force from 1969-1970 at Phan Rang and I have deep respect for all my brother Vietnam vets, especially those who served in the Army and Marine Corp. You guys really had it much worst than we did. I am like all Vietnam vets. I am angry with all the phonies who said they served in Vietnam. Now that most people honor us and are finally grateful for our service, they want to steal that moment from us. They are just as bad as those who disrespected us on our return home. I preferred "Welcome Home Brother" from a fellow VV because we know the true meaning of the words. We welcome ourselves home because nobody else would until now. "Welcome Home Brothers".
ReplyDeleteI have a neighbor who lives across the street from me and he has about a 6 inch black Marine sticker on the back of his SUV. Being a VA card packing, Vietnam Era(I got lucky and I didn't have to go over there), Combat Engineer 12B, Army Veteran who served from 1972 to 1975 myself, so I asked him about his military service. He said that while he was in his Marine boot camp he blew his knee out and was discharged on a medical discharge. Excuse me, but someone needs a minimum of 2 years of military service to get any kind of benefits whatsoever! This guy didn't even make it past the "newby" stage! Someone is also not a veteran if they are not eligible for benefits! Someone is not a veteran if they didn't even make it out of boot camp(What? One month in the military?)! This guy doesn't even have medical benefits from the VA for his blown out knee that suppossedly happened during his service! But, this phoney vet does participate in the veteran ceremonies at all 4 of his kid's schools!
ReplyDeleteIt IS possible that his story may be real. His DD214 will correctly reflect his situation. Questions to him. Does he get an Army or Marine disability check? VA check for his knee? Some Vets did actually get out for this kind of issue, but the proof lies in his DD214. Check the type of discharge...my guess, "Under honorable conditions", or worse. Sounds phony to me but I have seen it happen....County VSO
DeleteI was talking to a group of fellow veterans who were relatives and the conversation turned to MOS's. The first one immediately revealed their MOS without hesitation - but of course that person had just ETSed. The second one said that it was a long time ago and they had forgotten. The third one who had been in before the second one, many decades ago like myself, rattled off their MOS. I had two, a primary and a secondary, and discussed them. We all looked at the one with the memory issue with skepticism to say the least. I say you'd no more forget your MOS than you would your middle name - assuming you ever had one!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Army Personnel being assigned the the Corps. Even so...the only ones I know that would be 'authorized' to wear anything 'Marine' would be Marine Corpsman (our Docs in the field). They ARE Marines to us grunts! Semper Fi!
ReplyDeleteAmen!
ReplyDeleteI met one in Caldwell, Idaho. He said, "I was in all the jungle fighting and combat and saw all the shit," and then commented, "I used to go around and take cigarettes off the dead bodies after a battle, after all they couldn't smokem anymore." Then he said, "The scariest part of all the shit I seen was when we used to go on patrol around Hanoi." Then I found out he was born in 1957, and I asked him what years did you serve in Vietnam? He said, "I was in Vietnam in 1973 and 1974 with the 173 Airbourne." I told him that I thought all the combat troops were pulled out of Vietnam by 1972. He said, "I was over there for the cleanup and that was mess, let me tell you." I of course knew he was a fake from the start and then I found out the 173rd had pull out of Vietnam in 1971, just before this phony's 14th birthday. A lot of people might think this is funny, but Walmart put a plaque showing Brian Mohr with all his medals, right the front entrance of the store, saying below the picture, (a picture of him wearing a uniform and saluting) 'To our Honored Vietnam Hero.' I tried to get his military records from St Louis to show Walmart how stupid they look, but the records department said they could find nothing without more information, saying I would need his Social Security Number, or exact birthday. He had some kind of Vietnam era medal among the others, and I sneaked a look at some paperwork on his kitchen table and he did serve in the army, but in 1977 to 1981. Unfortunately most people still believe this clown. It shows the lack of education in military history in our schools.
ReplyDelete47 years later - the phonies stand proud of service they never did. I remember how people thought those men and women who served were responsible for the war.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend was says he's a Vietnam vet. He has claimed discounts for Vietnam vets, even recently got a plaque from our US representative. I know for sure he was in the Army at the age of 17. Hes 61 years old born on January 1st. He has never talked about Vietnam in the 28 years that I've known him. Recently he said he was in the 101st airbourne division. He also said he was a combat engineer and was right in the middle of some tough places. Is there anyway I can tell if he is telling the truth? I am not a vet. I am the son of a WWll disable vet who had post stress syndrome. I can't stand fakes even if they are friends.
ReplyDeleteIf he's 61, he was born in 1956. Even if he entered the Army at 17, with a January birth date, he wouldn't have joined the Army until January 1973, the month the war ended.
DeleteThe 101st stood down in late '71 and early '72. I served in A, 501st Sig from Mar 71 to Nov 71, then moved to A, 1/501st Inf from Nov until Jan '72. In Jan 72, I moved to the 196th LIB because the 101st was back at Campbell.
F. K. Boehm, Sgt Major, US Army (Ret)
Deleteask him to show you his DD214 discharge...it will list his active dates of service, type of discharge (assuming it is copy #4) and should list the VSM, as well as others. County VSO/
Sergeant major you are absolutely right I was with the 2nd/502nd widow-makers. Welcome home brother
ReplyDeleteI was an infantryman* for 6 years and was THRILLED when I got my 4th ribbon, starting a 2nd row. Not all that heroic compared to Patton but pretty darn good as they were\are all my own.
ReplyDelete*11B1P bonus baby 1981-87
Question for you guys. I have a friend (recently met) who has started telling me he was in Vietnam but has no records because he signed all his rights away. Says he was recruited after getting in trouble by "the man in a suite" trained and completed his mission in Cambodia. There is so much more to this story and I have a hard time believing all this, what do y'all think? Were there any recruits that have no record of service because they weren't suppose to come back? I hate to call someone out, but I despise a fraud.
ReplyDeleteScreams phony to me.
DeleteBS - just another version of """ I can't talk about it, they had me sign papers..... don't repeat this but S.O.G. sniper, North Vietnam , Chinese General, , , I will deny I told you if you repeat it, that is why I am unable to get my VA benefits, all the paperwork is still secret, wink wink
DeleteWe have these jerks in Australia too. I have met a couple and called them both out, dead easy. What bothers me is the way these guys claim/hint they were involved in all kinds of murder and atrocity shit in Vietnam, and expecting people to be impressed and awed as if that made them some kind of hero. Fact is, a lot of dumbasses actually fall for it because Vietnam really was a place where psycho killers and torturers on our side did stuff and got away with it.
ReplyDeleteFunny how you never meet someone who worked for rec services at Long Binh.
ReplyDeleteAccording to government census data 3 times as many people claim to have served in direct combat than actually did. The numbers of people who simply claim they were in country is even more over the top. It's as if everyone who served between 61 and 75 went straight to Vietnam, everyone was 11B and the U.S. DoD had nothing else going on but Vietnam.
I just met a black guy calling himself Martin at the Ventura State Beach in California. He claimed to be a ranger in Vietnam. He says he served between 1972-1977. I was really interested in hearing his story since I read some book on the LRRP(Long Range Recon Patrol) in the Vietnam War. I asked him if he knew the author of the book LRRP Team Leader named John Burford. He said he did because Burford was a legend. Then things started to go down hill from there. He claimed to have been in the 82nd airborne and 2nd infantry division. Then he ask me if I knew about Hamburger Hill and claims he went up it 3 times fighting the VC who were popping out of the tunnels shooting at him. He claimed to have been a medic and said he lost a bunch of friends. I looked it up and Hamburger Hill was fought mostly by the 101st airborne and it was in 1969. He told me he joined the US army in 1972. Then he claimed to have gone to Recondo school after I mentioned that book by Larry Chambers called Recondo. Recondo school ended in 1971. Martin did appear to be around 70 years old and he possibly is a Vietnam Vet, but he's full of crap.
ReplyDelete