IMPOSTER
Posted on 07/15/2006 7:52:42 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
McALLEN — A combat veteran always knows when there is another one in the same room.
That’s what many Rio Grande Valley veterans have said since J.C. Ortiz, the Mission man who claimed to be a decorated combat veteran, admitted his supposedly illustrious and heroic military career in the U.S. Marine Corps was really less than honorable.
“He told me about his Purple Hearts,” said Homer Gomez, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam. “The things he told me didn’t jive.”
Ortiz, born Gerrald Jerome Bowman, lived a lie for at least a decade, convincing many he served four tours of combat in Vietnam, was awarded seven Purple Hearts and retired as a sergeant major.
His real military record came to an ignominious end in 1962 after he went AWOL and was given an “undesirable” discharge from the Marines, he said.
It’s unclear whether Ortiz will be prosecuted. There are pictures everywhere of him wearing medals he never earned, which is the most damning piece of evidence, said FBI special agent Tom Cottone.
The FBI investigates many of the cases involving people who impersonate veterans. It makes it a priority to investigate fraudulent Medal of Honor wearers. There is no evidence, it seems, that Ortiz ever wore a Medal of Honor.
Cottone, who is part of a violent crime task force in Newark, N.J., has uncovered more than 150 cases of fraud related to the military in the last 10 years, he said.
“The real guys are very reluctant to talk about their experience,” he said. “These impostors are the direct opposites.”
The FBI and other law enforcement are more likely to investigate fraud reports if they involve major combat awards than someone who bumps their rank up just one grade.
“Depending on the situation, we occasionally have a little chat with them to explain the errors of their judgment,” he said.
Ortiz bumped himself up at least 10 ranks, though, so that is something not likely to fly under the radar.
The Marine Corps is aware Ortiz has been impersonating a decorated war hero, but would not confirm whether it is launching its own investigation.
The maximum penalty for wearing medals never earned, a misdemeanor, is six months in jail and a fine.
Ortiz was able to get away with his story for so long, Valley veterans say, because military members are trained to not question authority, especially a sergeant major’s.
Many assumed any inconsistencies in Ortiz’s story were either his confused memory or harmless embellishment.
The most glaring was the incorrect order of awards on his uniform, said Tony Cordova, head of the McAllen Military Order of the Purple Heart.
“I thought maybe his old lady put them together for him,” said Cordova, a Marine who served in Vietnam. “I wasn’t going to embarrass him, especially one of that rank.”
The fact that the United States has been at war has helped impostors like Ortiz to come out of the woodwork, said FBI agent Cottone.
“A lot of these impostors are capitalizing on the fact that we are at war,” he said. “They are also capitalizing on the trust they are given.”
Close to two dozen soldiers and Marines from the Valley have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. This situation allowed for Ortiz, who really never made it past the rank of private, to take on a fatherly role as a sergeant major at funerals and when bodies were flown back from the battlefield.
“If you are a former Marine and combat veteran, you are generally looked up to in the Valley,” said Mick Sawyer, a Marine Corps pilot. “I think he saw that as an opportunity to do that.”
Ortiz claims he did not profit financially from his deception.
But not all deception is measured in terms of dollars, say several veterans.
“This is a gentleman who invaded the privacy of our fallen families’ soldiers,” Gomez said.
Something about Ortiz didn’t sit right with Gomez the first time they met.
Gomez, who was with the 101st Airborne, chatted with him about his jump wings and got answers that were not consistent, he said.
Even so, there are many veterans who would prefer to not focus on a fraud.
The death last week of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Omar Flores of Mission should be getting more coverage, said World War II veteran Bernard Littlefield.
“It is an affront to me that anyone in fraud would get that kind of recognition,” Littlefield said.
“You are glorifying a crook, especially in light that we are having bodies shipped back that are dying out there.” ——— Andres R. Martinez covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.
For a multimedia presention on J.C. Ortiz, visit www.themonitor.com/ortiz.
If you feel like giving your two cents on the subject, do so at www.themonitor.com/2cents.
I want him to do hard time in a Federal prison.
Imposter Ping!
In a way I can understand the temptation to steal some glory but you just can't fool a veteran for long. I think there's more dishonor in not serving and claiming you did than in not serving and honoring and respecting those who did serve.
There's plenty of honor for those of us who never served.
Indeed. Our troops couldn't do what they do for long without the support of their families and regular patriots on the street back home!
I wish I had served but I didn't and nothing can change that. All I can do now is pay my taxes, obey the law, support our troops, and occasionally buy lunch for the guys at the local recruiting office.
And with that, you're doing a great "service" without the uniform! :)
Please sign the "Stolen Valor Act" petition. Some of these wannabes and posers are also able to take your tax dollars. Let me just state that men, who have have been in war do not talk about it except to the few they served with or if pressed. Sometimes combat vets will get on the Internet to post a kind comment about a fallen comrade,or to see if a friend is still alive. But to walk around wearing any medals should raise attention.
Believe, you are serving plenty! All you have to do is love your country, obey her laws and raise good kids.
"I want him to do hard time..."I agree.Six months maximum seems lenient.
This is how you can tell John Kerry is a fraud!
The out of regs stache and Kerryesque salute are dead giveaways that this puke is a phoney.
The maximum penalty for wearing medals never earned, a misdemeanor, is six months in jail and a fine.
I guess Kerry got out of that one also?
After looking at his incorrect trouser/buckle/blouse military alignment in the posted picture, I'd question whether he was even in long enough to get his dishonorable discharge.
Semper Fi
It looks like he's wearing a National Defense ribbon (red with wide yellow stripe in center) in the middle row with a Vietnam Service ribbon (green stripes on ends, 3 narrow red stripes centered on a yellow field) to its left. I would have expected to see the National Defense ribbon at the bottom left with the Vietnam Service ribbon and Republic of Vietnam Campaign ribbon to its right. The RVN Campaign ribbon (green/white vertical stripes) is lower in precedence since it's issued by a foreign government.
I also don't recognize any of those ribbons as a Good Conduct ribbon although the Marines may have a different one than the Navy does.
"I want him to do hard time..."I agree.Six months maximum seems lenient.
I think 6 months for each stolen medal, each step in rank and each funeral that he wore his uniform....
Sounds good.If they came down hard on this imposter it would act as a deterrant.
Just type "Stolen Valor Act" on any google search. You will find a petition soon. Thanks for caring. When we have about five fake VN Combat Vets to every real one, it should make you upset. I will provide the link if ya need it. Stolen Valor has become stolen tax dollars,too.
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