It always upsets me when people claim to be what they never were. There have been many people who’ve claimed to be war veterans, Rangers, SEALs, Marine Recon, etc., that never were. It’s known today as “Stolen Valor”. I know it’s easy for some to claim something without proof. In fact, it is we, the public, their neighbors and friends that allow this to occur.

My father was a veteran of WW2, Korea, and Vietnam, retiring in 1969 after 25 years of service to his country. Even though I wasn’t around during WW2 or Korea, I have proof he was there because I have his DD214. For those that don’t know what that is, it’s a record of someones service from the time they enter the service to when the separate. It includes all of their training, and every place they were ever stationed.

I used to know a guy that claimed to be in Special Forces during Desert Storm (1991). I’ve known others in SF so I asked him which group he was with. He mumbled and fumbled and that’s when I realized he was lying. Unfortunately, I didn’t call him out right there, in front of others. I should have because he probably went on for years telling the same lie to a lot of other people.

Those that have served our country whether domestically or deployed, deserve our respect and for some, a few, to steal the honor that those few have sacrificed so much is despicable to me. Those same should be shamed for being pretenders. For whatever reason, they did not serve or decided, if they did, to add to their resume duty that they never performed.

We should, no matter where we live, thank those that have sacrificed for our freedom. In the U.S. we actually have two Federal Holidays that do just that: Veteran’s Day (November 11) which honors all those who’ve served our country and then Memorial Day (the last Monday in May) to honor those that gave their lives for our country.

For some to hijack those sacrfices, is to disrespect those honored dead and those that are currently away from their families protecting us.  Let’s remember all of them. I do. Everyday.