do I really have to say it???
Posted on 02/22/2007 8:20:27 AM PST by aculeus
This is another HUGE journalism scandal .... Polk did not merely embellish a little bit....... if this article is correct (and it appears devastating to Polk and his apologists), Polk fabricated documents and combat activities that did not occur, not to mention an entire career as a naval aviator and fighter pilot that apparently never existed.
Ironically, Polk's actual military service would have been perfectly respectable and even quite admirable (before he got to the part about making up his first story of aerial combat). Serving on Guadalcanal in ANY capacity would have been worthy of great respect from others, but evidently Polk had a need to be a "fighter ace" and concocted a fictitious record.
Thanks for this great post. I had never heard of George Polk, but Richard Frank is the author of one of the definitive histories of the Guadalcanal campaign. The letter from Polk's delusional brother was fascinating.
Interesting. A quick look at Wikipedia says yes, it is him. No wonder he sounded like a pompous ass in his letter to Richard Frank.
What the heck -- offer this article to the folks at the American Journalism Review (link: http://www.ajr.org/ ), and see what response you obtain.
AJR traditionally has been a bit more honest about such things. Their response should prove interesting, to say the least.
Think of how dishonest and despicable these "leading publications" of the MSM are to turn down this stunning expose. All it takes is a quick read of Polk's own "oral history" to the US Navy in 1944 to see that he was never a fighter pilot at Guadalcanal and never shot down any Japanese planes there:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/pdf/Polk_08_OralHistory.pdf
His actual service in keeping key aviation ops going under difficult and dangerous combat conditions at Guadalcanal were quite meritorious in their own right, but apparently at some point he was no longer satisfied with his real life and created a fraudulent career as a "fighter ace" with 11 kills.
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