Posted on 03/31/2015 2:20:05 AM PDT by cornfedcowboy
TAMPA (FOX 13) -
The man in uniform claimed to be a vet and was begging for money, and Garrett Goodwin had seen enough.
Goodwin is an Army veteran who confronted an apparently fake one on the streets of Tampa on Monday.
It happened at the intersection of Gandy and Dale Mabry, and the video has been seen by more than 1.8 million people on Facebook.
The man is holding a sign that says he's a homeless veteran and he needs help. It just so happens that Goodwin helps organizations who reach out to veterans in need, but minutes into the conversation, he says he knew something was up.
(Excerpt) Read more at myfoxtampabay.com ...
I’m a vietnam vet. And, like many other vets, after being discharged I wore my fatigues and khakis while attending college and working till they were wore out. Well, ok, also till I “out grew” them, lol.
Pandoras, like most vets I don’t like impersonators. But, we need to approach this with caution. Uniform attire can be purchased in surplus stores, Salvation Army, Good Will, etc, by anyone. And, students like to wear them with patches as decoration.
All that needs to happen is for some over zealous vet to jump some young person and rough him up and we could loose much of the good will we have going for us. Just saying, proceed with caution.....
Too many adds and a very poorly shot video but good enough to understand whats going on. Nothing new here fake Vets are everywhere. When I was at the last Tet reunion in Abilene TX one of the speakers said we now have 5 times as many people claiming to be Vietnam Vets than there were actual troops in Vietnam. Been doing Vet hunts for about 20 years now and I’ve even been bluffed by a couple, some tell a pretty good story. Now we have a whole new crowd claiming to be Vets and it’s getting tougher to weed them out. I’ve got a couple of local younger Vet’s that help me with the new guy’s so the old man doesn’t look so foolish. It’s sad when a man has to show his DD-214 to prove he’s a Vet but the world is full of liars anymore. Let me also add there a bunch out there with fake DD-214’s. I won’t even go into how many claim to be decorated SEAL’s here in TX. From what I’ve been told there’s only 3 here in TX and I’ve had the honor of meeting two of them, one was the late Chris Kyle the other was Marcus Luttrell. Take one look in their eye’s and there no need to check a DD-214. I didn’t go to Vietnam until 1970 so Tet was a little before my time but the Tet Reunion in Abilene is open to all Vietnam Vet’s.
I’d have no problem with a student wearing it as long no false claim to being a vet was made.
When I was discharged I put on my civi’s and never wore my uniform again.
There is an individual who frequents our local food market in upstate NY wearing a USMC Viet Nam Vet hat and satine jacket with huge globe and anchor emblem. I got into a conversation with him in the checkout line one day and asked he where he was when he was “in country” and what outfit. He told me a few blatant lies, clearly had no clue about RVN. I let it go. He still comes in to the store wearing his “uniform”. He is a fantasy veteran. There seem to be a lot of them. He wasn’t begging for money. This issue makes me crazy.
I read that one of the considerations of uniform design is the potential for sales in the civilian clothing market.
Another uniform design is in the works for the Army, to replace the ACU. Once it rolls out, look for it to become a new fashion trend among those who like military style clothing.
second - I wear a field jacket when the weather is chilly om April (here in the north) - it fits nice and I like the deep pockets for all my crap. My preferred pants in the summer are khaki bdu's or chocolate chips, particularly if I'm tromping through the woods at camp...again - pockets for all my crap. My pant size is 44/29....try finding regular pants that give in the waistline like bdu's LOL. I am not a veteran. I'm of the opinion that the pants or a jacket is fine if worn separately....But matching camo jacket, pants, shirt and hat are wrong when worn by civilians and misleading as it presents a complete image
We have one here in town has Vietnam Vet stickers all over his truck. Recently he got arrested for DWI and it was posted in the paper that he was 56 years old. A little young!
Wondering...What is proper way to dispose of army uniform, hat, coat,when no family left?
After reading this I went out in the garage and dug out an old flight suit and tried it in. I looked like a sausage about to pop out of the casing!
Give them to the Salvation Army, if they can make a nickel, good for them.
The fakes are always out there, better to keep someone warm than the landfill.
Yes the uniform is special to me, but I know that not everyone has the same perspective.
“I’d have no problem with a student wearing it as long no false claim to being a vet was made.”
Agree. What bothers me about this story is that of the two assumptions being made; one being that the accuser “is” a vet and the other being that the accused is “not” a vet could be incorrect. Who’s to say whether the accuser is actually a vet? And who’s to say that the accused is not? Just because he’s wearing a ROTC patch on his jacket and doesn’t appear to fit the accusers proscribed image? And, didn’t/couldn’t produce a veterans ID? Heck, the panhandler could be a Medal of Honor winner for all we know. Just not much of a fan of Vigilante Justice. Too much can go wrong.
I agree with Snoringbear. This issue makes me a little uncomfortable. In this case the guy was trying to use his “status” to beg for money, but there are so many veterans programs out there you can almost bet that if they are panhandling they’re either mentally ill or not a real veteran.
If a guy tells girls he meets in bars he’s a surgeon, but he’s not and he actually doesn’t try to do surgery, what’s it to us? The guy’s a liar and a fraud and truth will tell. It’s how I feel about this “stolen valor” issue—the lies and the fraud are the problem, not the fact they’re really not a vet. That’s just the pathetic lie of a loser.
Being introduced to a guy at work and someone says, he’s a VietNam vet.
I ask what unit, he says “I can’t tell you, it’s classified!” Since RVN I wear two large hearing aids, maybe I didn’t hear it right? So I ask ask again, same answer; dropped it like a hot potato.
I worked for a large corporation and they dislike drama.
I was at FSB Bastogne we had 105’s 155’s and 175’s, I’m familiar with hearing loss.
I had a college roommate who was Marine Recon. He’s about my age, 56, and claimed he had been in Vietnam. I didn’t ask many questions.
LOL!
Time does change us.
At least you’re honest—Diogenes would be a happy camper to meet you.
I have a friend who gets pretty upset at his father in law. The old man wears a Marine Retired hat. He was a Marine but only for one stint. My friend, who just retired after 20+ years in the Army tells him that retired means a lifetime of service, not just a few years. The old guy won’t change.
Over the years, I have encountered a few people who, early in the conversation, mentioned that they had been in the Army or Marines. I always ask what their MOS was. A blank stare in response was the “tell” that they were frauds. I then change the subject; it’s not worth the drama to confront them.
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