I'll need more than that to hang this guy. I have plenty of orders that don't match actuality...in fact a good part of my personnel record is (or was) off the mark. Put that together with the accuracy of "Pentagon spokesmen" as communicated through a reporter and I'll let the Chief have his day. For now.
Note to self: Read the whole story, then post...
Retired Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, the Cole's skipper at the time, said he distinctly remembers being told after the attack that a new crew member was in Bahrain, waiting to join the ship.
Someone back in the States asked whether they should send the sailor back to the U.S., but Lippold - who'd just lost 17 crew members, including a senior chief - knew he could use more help. He gave approval for Sparenberg to join the crew.
"During the time he was on board the ship following the attack, he did an excellent job in helping the ship through some difficult times," Lippold said.
However, he added, "I know for a fact he wasn't aboard the day of the attack."
Agreed. I found many mistakes and omissions in my service record when I reached the end of my enlistment, but I was in a hurry to get gone, so I didn't have anything corrected. I suppose I should have looked it over more often, but I was too busy busting my ass and I didn't care much about wearing fruit salad on my chest.
When I joined the Navy Reserve a couple years later, nobody could find my active duty service record anywhere. They still hadn't found it when I called it quits 4 years later. At least they found my medical and pay records...
The Silver Star and Purple Heart are a little questionable, but not impossible; I met plenty of prior service combat vets in the Navy with PH's and a couple with Bronze Stars. They usually were pretty tight-lipped about it, though. I'm willing to give the Senior Chief the benefit of the doubt until he's proven to be a fraud.