Researchers say Sam Garrison no Tuskegee Airman

CBS19 KYTX, Longview/Tyler, TX. ^ | May 11, 2012 | Coretta Williams

[Former War Criminal]

I think the picture of the P-38 was posted as a metaphor for something that crashed, i.e. the guy’s story.

[Kenny Bunk]

Ja, but dat fokker vas flying a Messerschmidt.

[Leo58]

Go to the link and listen to the interview with his widow. She calls him out and says he will have to answer to God for his lie. She is very impressive.

[darrellmaurina]

Thank you for your note, which is very sad.

A little less than a decade ago, I was also the victim of a likely hoax involving a black World War II combat veteran. I got warnings, some of them anonymous tips. After some digging, I didn't have enough proof to do an expose of “stolen valor,” but I sure did have enough to decide to avoid doing a story that could have embarrassed me and the newspaper for which I was working at the time.

Asking to see DD-214s (and the earlier equivalents used in World War II) is helpful but not perfect.

This case of the false Tuskegee Airman seems to be airtight — the records of that unit are maintained well, they have an advocacy organization that researches unit history, and there's no way he would be able to receive the awards he claimed without being in the records. That's not the case with every soldier or every unit. There are legitimate cases where documentation either doesn't exist or is very difficult to locate.

Bottom line when dealing with an elderly person who says he served his country: trust but verify.

[rw4site]

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