Posted on 12/14/2001 7:49:34 AM PST by TankerKC
Yesterday, Freeper Holman alerted us to a “fishy” story about a Marine Reservist who was wounded in Afghanistan and had returned to the Dallas area. You can read the original post here. You can also read the original story here, although it is likely to be removed soon.
As you can see from the original link, several Freepers recognized that this story was probably not true and wrote emails to USMC Public Affairs and the reporter.
This morning, I got the following email form the reported at WFAA:
Tank,
Right on dude! Thanks to you and a few others we checked out his story and it was all made up including government documents and fake phone call from the Red Cross informing his wife he had been injured.
Sick, sick, sick. The boy needs help. But in the mean time we will break the story as well as his balls tonight at ten.
Brett
Once again, the power of Freepers is unleashed!
BTW, did all this happen (reporting of the first story, debunking by FReepers, public on-air retraction) in less than 24 hours?
I'm not sure. I'm not in Dallas, so I can only see what is on their website. Maybe some of our DFW area Freepers can answer. From the email I got, they plan on correcting the original story at 10:00 PM tonight [that will be 2200 for you military types ;) ]
Marine returns home to area as a hero
12/13/2001
By BRETT SHIPP / WFAA-TV
It was October 18th. Little Trinity Larez was delivered a bit early into the world, so her father could hold her prior to shipping out to Afghanistan, on an assignment he knew little about.
"I guess she is a new reason to make sure I come back," Sgt. Larez said at the time. "That's what I'm looking forward to, is to hurry up and come back."
Four days later, Larez found himself on the front lines in a war with the Taliban. As a squad leader, he was in charge of escorting Special Operations troops back in from the field.
Two weeks ago, his squad came under fire. Soldiers were wounded. According to an advisory from his commanding officer, Sergeant Larez "was one such casualty."
His injuries, the advisory says, "were sustained while saving a friendly soldier", an Army Ranger. Larez took "two shots to the upper torso" and "fragmentations to the upper thigh." He was temporarily blinded following the detonation of a "nearby concussion grenade."
The advisory goes on to say the Sergeant made "7 additional kills...." and was "instrumental in the capture of several prisoners."
It would be 36 more hours before his wife Pauline would get word of his fate. Minutes after that, his boss at work got the call.
"It shocked me, seriously," said Doug Baum of Bankston Chrysler in Frisco, Larez's employer. "I was really scared for him because his wife called me and she was just crying. She said Thomas was shot three times."
The entire staff at Bankston prayed for Larez, never thinking seriously that when he left, he might not return to fill the corner desk office left vacant for him.
Despite all the trauma and close calls, Marine Sergeant, faithful employee and father Thomas Larez is back at work, already trying to live down his hero status.
"I ran out there and was trying to pull (the injured soldier) into a defense perimeter we set up for him," Larez said. "That's what I was trying to do when I got hit."
Larez says not only his life flashed before his eyes, but his daughter and wife. He says having his daughter back in his arms is an experience worth fighting for.
"I think she recognizes me and sleeps on my chest and stuff," he said. "She looks at daddy kinda funny, recognizing my voice and everything."
Trinity Larez may now also recognize her daddy's smile, which is hard to forget.
Here we sit on the objective, eating his chow.
And to finish that old joke....
...the little hand will be on the ten and big hand will be on the twelve for you Marines. :=)
(Sorry, I could't help it; I was a squid.)
Seriously though, many thanks to all of you who were involved in flushing out this phoney. Excellent work!
If this guy really is a Marine reservist, he may want to watch his back at his drill weekends for a while (maybe the next 20 years' worth).
LOLOLOL!!!!! If there was a prize for funny, you WIN!
Good Morning Sir,
We received your email to the webmaster yesterday and the info you had provided to Sgt Niman this morning. Parallel to our track, we were also attempting to verify the story. It does appear that the story was fabricated and our internal resources are taking care of the issue.
Thank you for your interest and keeping us in the loop from the great state of Texas.
Take care and have a great day,
Greg Reeder
Branch Head, MC News and Information
Headquarters Marine Corps (PAMCN)
2 Navy Annex
Washington, DC 20380-1775
Tel: (703) 614-7678
DSN: 224-7679
Fax: (703) 614-1874
Visit us on the web at: http://www.usmc.mil
Udaman! </keyboard cleanup>
He continues to be a college professor.
We've seen another story where an Ivy League professor wrote a bestselling anti-gun book, and it turned out that nearly all his sources were fabricated.
He continues to be a college professor.
However, unlike college professors, car salesmen are held to a higher standard of honesty. Don't be surprised if his dealership cans this guy.
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