Name:   MAJ USA RET - Subject:   STOLEN VALOR Date:   2/5/2015 8:48:37 AM

“WASHINGTON — NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams admitted Wednesday he was not aboard a helicopter hit and forced down by RPG fire during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a false claim that has been repeated by the network for years.” [Stars & Stripes, THU, 05FEB15]

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The name for this is “stolen valor.”  Do YOU know someone who does this?  I do… and I don’t tolerate it in my presence.

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I was stationed in Baghdad in 2007 and worked with the Iraqis. During that time, I do not recall an instance when I was the intended target while under fire (they were not aiming at me). In truth, I did not fire my weapon at anyone while there. However, I COULD get away with telling all kinds of stories about “valor under fire”… BUT I DON’T. 

Soldiers are guilty of telling “war stories” in the same vain as golfers, hunters, and fishermen. We slap our coins down on the bar and invariably… someone ends up buying drinks. BUT NOBODY steals the blood of our wounded, maimed, or killed brothers and sisters.

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I’m sorry, Brian Williams, but you didn’t make a mistake… you are a yellow journalist… guilty of stolen valor. If I was your boss… you’d fired immediately.  You have violated the trust of your viewers. 

- - LMF Curmudgeon

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/nbc-s-brian-williams-recants-iraq-story-after-soldiers-protest-1.327792