Count the errors.
Posted on 11/02/2007 5:33:38 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
AMARILLO, Texas — A man who wildly exaggerated his record to include a presidential nomination for the military's highest honor and more Silver Stars than World War II hero Audie Murphy has been sentenced to 34 months in prison.
Richard David McClanahan, who had inflated his history using medals purchased on eBay, was sentenced Thursday for lying about his record and for making false statements to get financing for a car. He was also given five years' probation on each count.
"It was wrong, and I knew it was wrong when I did it," he told U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson. "I take full responsibility."
McClanahan, a 29-year-old Fort Worth resident who served in the Navy and the Army, pleaded guilty in August. He had faced up to 31 years in prison and $1.1 million in fines.
McClanahan was discharged from the Army "under other than honorable conditions" in 2005 after investigators concluded he lied about his medals, his military career and his personal life.
When McClanahan returned to Amarillo, where he lived before moving to Fort Worth, he displayed bogus letters claiming President Bush and then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recommended him for a Congressional Medal of Honor — the military's highest honor.
Prosecutors said McClanahan received $9,500 in scholarship funds from Cal Farley's Boys Ranch high school, where he graduated, and $2,000 in other donations for claiming he was a Medal of Honor recipient.
Prosecutors also alleged McClanahan overstated his yearly income to get a Ford F-150 King Ranch edition financed through Amarillo National Bank.
___
Information from the Amarillo Globe-News, http://www.amarillo.com
Pretend to be a Hero, Get sentenced as a Zero.
So when is John Kerry going to be sentenced?
He probably earned an achievement medal from both, and possibly a commendation medal.
Honorable medals.
Why lie?
And these are the guys Rush means when he says phony soldiers.
The article says he received some kind of scholarship or gift money that was apparently made available to him because he supposedly earned the awards he claimed. It looks like he also got a better deal on a truck (?) but I’m not sure if that had to do with his exaggerated service claims or if he just lied about his income to get a bigger loan.
Will Teh-ray-zah visit him on weekends ... oh, wait, it wasn’t Kerry?
What a douc*bag
I’ve chatted with the guy’s ex-wife in another forum.
She is responsible for much of the evidence against him.
He actually tried to use his fake Medal of Honor to get the dealer to give him a free truck, and that’s what finished him.
Just another Harkin.
That is just contemptible, pathetic and sad.
Count the errors.
thank you...
Some guys are just full of crap. Youve met them Im sure.
They have to claim to have done everything sooner and better ansd bigger
LOL ! That is one salty E-4.
Agreed, only all the weapons would be loaded.
We used to call them PX Warriors.
Yes, have run into these folks upon occasion. Most ex-military will talk about their service in terms that would include:
1) Period served
2) Branch
3) Simple sea stories (those that have serve would know what I mean here).
If they start telling me about their “heroic” exploits, I begin to question them … no true military person will tell you about their heroic deeds until you have earned their trust, if ever.
Phony soldier BUMP!
Thats the truth. I knew a bronze star recipient. Hew is dead now.
I never did find out what he did. His lifelong buddy who also served in nam told me even he didnt know.
He told me it was either something real brave or real stupid.
how did I get Hew from NOW?
grrrr..tingers..fangled again
If he was just running his mouth and being a blowhard he shouldn’t be prosecuted, much less sent to prison. He should get nailed for fraud, because he obtained money from his lies.
Phony awards
Awards McClanahan claimed to have received:
Medal of Honor
3 Silver Stars
Legion of Merit
3 Purple Hearts
Meritorious Service Medal
2 Army Commendation Medals
3 Army Achievement Medals
Iraq Campaign Medal
3 Combat Medic Badges
Special Forces Tab
Parachutist Badge
Foreign Jump Wings
National Defense Service Medal
2 Navy Achievement Medals
Navy Good Conduct Medal
Freefall badge
SF Dive Badge - properly called the Special Operations Diver Badge
POW Status
Navy SEAL status
Merits he actually received:
Navy
Meritorious Unit Commendation
Army
Army Commendation Medal
2 Army Achievement Medals
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Army Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Korea Defense Service Medal
Army Service Ribbon
Overseas Service Medal
Marksmanship Qualification
Aviation Badge
The full story originates here at Amarillo.com and was picked up by the HouChron in the above abbreviated form.
To claim that you are a hero when you are not, I think, is a scourge on those that were actually heroes. Punishment should be given. In the least:
1. Public denunciation
2. Jail time … same as that given for any fraud foisted upon the general public.
3. Thirty lashes, given by anyone who served in WWI, WWII, Korean War, VN and any veteran of any on-going conflict.
Personal opinion, of course.
That’s EXACTLY what I was going to say!
Oh, by the way, I’m saying this as only one of 145 (or so) sailors that served during the VN war that was not a SEAL. ;-)
Just get sick of it after a while.
I wonder if they’ll ever catch the teacher at my highschool who claimed to be a big Vietnam SF Vet and POW?
“Some guys are just full of crap. You’ve met them Im sure.
They have to claim to have done everything sooner and better and bigger.”
Yea, I know what you mean. I never knew there were so many Green Berets or SEALS in Viet Nam. They read a Richard Marchenko book and think they can pass themselves off as the real deal.
I have met a ton of the SEALS in my lifetime L0L
..”no true military person will tell you about their heroic deeds until you have earned their trust, if ever.”
How true, also most won’t talk about your specific job unless it is with ‘like’ people.
About time for the other 143 to step up also...<: <:
Richard Cranium is a better name....
I was not a SEAL, not even close, but I did go through Coronado/Pendleton/Warner Springs after "A" School and prior to reporting for duty in Saigon and getting sent down the river, literally, to drive the Battlegearboat.
I did get the Combat Action Ribbon however and it has proved to be a blessing medically speaking.
I do my best … the others have to do what they can … ;-) Many organizations do their best to expose these “false heroes”.
Bless you for serving, bless you for serving in a very dangerous situation and thank God you survived. Combat Action Ribbon is something to be coveted and something to be very proud of. At least you are honest … many would have elaborated on their exploits.
You can sleep with a good conscience, being honest with your war exploits.
LOL. I hear you. I just don’t want the govt throwing blowhards in jail. Committing fraud is a different story and there are specific laws that deal with that.
Haven’t read the act, so I’m unable to comment on it’s constitutionality. Passage by the senate means diddly as they have violated the Constitution for eons.
There are specific laws dealing with fraud. If they apply, nail ‘em. Otherwise, leave the blowhard alone. Everyone, but fools, know that he’s a bullshit artist, anyway. Heck, the tavern business would go belly up nationwide if they enforced the law against all blowhards as half of their customers would get sent down the river.
Thanks for catching it! LOL!
Take care, brother.
True, what you say about the military, and the stolen valor types who give themselves away so quickly and obviously. But they exist in all walks of life-—can’t tell you how many damaged people I’ve come across who seem to have no real experience of their own they want to talk about, just “tall tales” obviously grotesquely exaggerated, usually in order to get you primed for the psychodrama they will eventually unleash in your living room, or in public, or wherever something happens that makes them snap.
She's the hero for exposing this phony. She should get a medal.
Bro.
I had an “Independent Duty Medical Technician” working for me while deployed in South America in 1996. It wasn’t until we’d been together about three months that I spoke with the commander of his unit in the states, who told me that he had a Bronze Star and Purple Heart from from the Gulf War. The guy never even mentioned that he’d seen action in Kuwait/Iraq until I forced it out of him.
There ya go
omg - what an idiot.
That list is flat out amazing.
The need for the Act came about because of large numbers of fake military heroes in the United States. For example, as of June 2, 2006 there were only 120 living Medal of Honor recipients, but there were far more known imposters.[8][9][10] There are also large numbers of fake Navy SEALS[11][12] and Army Special Forces,[13] among others.
The Orders and Medals Society of America (OMSA), an organization of collectors, had opposed the bill in its current form. OMSA is of the opinion that the changes to 18 U.S.C. § 704 included wording that implied that any movement or exchange of medals would be illegal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Valor_Act_of_2005
If the Act ever becomes used to target loud-mouthed blow-hard drunks in bars, then please ping me.
make believe soldiers?
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