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!
WFAA retracts Wednesday's story about Texas Marine
12/15/2001
Channel Eight News regrets to report tonight that we must issue a retraction on what many considered a very touching and inspirational story we aired Wednesday night.
It was the story of Marine Sergeant Thomas Larez of Dallas who left behind his wife and newborn child to go serve his country, we were told in Afghanistan.
We quoted from what appeared to be a Marine advisory, of how the Sergeant was injured trying to rescue a fellow soldier. Of how he heroically killed and helped capture enemy soldiers. And finally we reported of his return to work and to his family.
We have now learned from his Marine commander that the story and document was contrived.
That Larez, in fact, never left the country and his whereabouts, for nearly two months were unknown.
Thomas Larez has been dismissed from his job for misleading his employer and his Marine commander says he faces possible disciplinary actions.
When contacted for a comment on this story, Larez declined to apologize and would say only that he couldn't believe that it went this far.
______________________________________________
This guy is in a well-deserved world of hurt.
He couldn't believe that WHAT went this far. This seems to be another gem of "reporter" Brett's prose. If you take a look at the professionalism exhibited by this "journalist".......particularly in the emails that he sent to freepers, you have a good look at what we have in the industry today.
Do a search for a former Freeper with the handle "Deep in the Hurtgen Forest". Thats exactly what he did and he got busted big time(been a couple of years ago, back when all of FR's links were red instead of blue).
How can he listen to this guy's lies and not think to ask one detailed question? I saw the retraction. The anchor had to give it. Brett was no where to be found. If he were a stand up guy he would have gone on air to issue the retraction.
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.
Go to the head of the class!!!!
Hey, I never told you guys that I work as a "consultant" and returned not long ago from a short visit to a "certain country" for a "good reason" did I? Well, keep it to yourselves, eh?
My best recommendations with concern the matter, is that repurcusions will be less by offending the local Don.
IMHO.
I'm sure that in the short term things might prove to be otherwise, but when it somes to the Don and the U.S. Marines, the Don will bow out (after all he has so many soldier in the service, no?).
I didn't have to read much to decide that its a bunch of hookey. So, let me tempt you with an idea:
Rep. Dan Burton (head of House Government Reform Committee) has been symied by Attorney General Ashcroft refusal to permit the Committee to review documents concerning decisions by three-Clinton-era prosecutors not to prosecute officials involved in various scandals (move forward, not laterally).
"While I have a great deal of respect for the attorney general," declared Burton, "he has announced a new policy that broadens executive privledge. If this unprecedented policy is permitted to stand, Congress will not be able to exercise meaningful oversight of the Executive branch."
Burton prepared to subpeana the documents from the Justice Department, prompting President Bush himself to threaten a claim of executive privledge. "The claim,if made," reported by the Associated Press on 5 Sep 01, "would be Bush's first known use of executive privledge, a doctrine recognized by the courts to ensure presidents can get candid advice in private without fear of it becoming public."
The doctrine of executive privledge wsa created by Harrry Truman, who from 1946 to 1948 issued an order forbidding government officials to provide information to congressional investigating committees without presidential premission. This was done to obstruct official inquiries regarding suspected Communists and similiar security risks within the Executive Branch. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower first used the expression "executive privledge" when he issued a similiar oder intended to block a similiar investigation by Senator Joseph McCarthy. The Nixon and Clinton administrations both cited "executive privledge" in their attempts to frustrate officcial investigations of corruption and misconduct.
Burton's Committe has been investigating the abundant evidence that Janet Reno's Justice Department had quashed efforts to prosecute politically protected figures.
Following the advice of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez, George W. Bush threatened (in Gonzalez's words) "to invoke the privledge and create a clear policy that [federal] prosecuters' discussions should be off-limits from congressional scrutiny." The Bush policy is a useful reminder that contempt for Congredss' contstitutional mandate to exercise oversight of the Excecutive Branch is a bipartisan presitential tradition."
P.S. I'm sure that the next one won't disturb you as much (I'm counting on it).
:)
He's also an arrogant doofus.
An another example of our lazy fourth estate. They just rewrite press releases.
If he is injured, who shot him? did he run off for two months with a honey and then get shot by her husband?
If he's not injured, how come his wife didn't figure it out?
Good Morning Mr. Reeder:
Here's the retraction.
Thanks for you help in this matter. The reporter was going to stonewall until I hit him with an HQMC PA "Daisycutter" which flattened his "Daily Planet". Please give Sgt. Niman an attaboy since it was probably HER forward-deployed straight-out, no-nonsense email transmission that electrified the troops (several of us were following this) and broke the newspaper's and television station's will to fight, saving thousands of mass email volleys and countless heartburns. The effective discourse that bayoneted the press was:
"Good Afternoon, Sir, We are figuring out if this story is valid or not right now. If you don't hear anything from us in the next hour, you should receive an answer by tomorrow."
This laser shot defeated any hope that the reporter could tactically hold his position, or threaten his way off the hill (he threatened to run a story on us at FreeRepublic for maligning the good sergeant), for he knew an active duty Marine sergeant had joined the hunt and WOULD get to the bottom of this.
So, it was one well-placed round that flipped and routed a determined foe.
Thank you Sgt. Niman.
Your Obedient Servant,
E.D. Holman
former officer, U.S. Marine Corps
----- Original Message -----
From: Reeder GS13 Gregory C
To: 'Edward Holman'
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2001 11:28 AM
Subject: RE: story verification
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
He continues to be a college professor.
That would be Joseph Ellis, of Mt. Holyoke College. If memory serves, he did draw a one year suspension.
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