NBC12 in Richmond, Virginia did a story on a local hobo, Henry Bauman, who was claiming to be a homeless Marine veteran in the picture above taken by a viewer. The news team confronted him and he denied ever claiming to be Marine, well, until they showed him the picture, then, well, you know, he wrote the sign wrong. Whatever that means.
It’s called stolen valor, pretending to be a proud member of an elite group of people, the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Bauman has been in trouble with the law in the past and has a record of petty crimes.
But, there are two sides to every story.
After investigating the man’s claims, it was revealed the rest of Bauman’s sign was true. He did lose his home and car and he is currently living in a hotel in neighboring Petersburg with his girlfriend and their four-year-old daughter, who has a serious medical condition that will require another surgery.
His new sign is more accurate.
Well, I feel better already. Actually, I’ve never met a real homeless veteran. I’ve met plenty of homeless men who claimed to be veterans, but they don’t stand up to scrutiny. I’m sure they’re out there, but I haven’t met one.
I hope the news team checked on Bauman’s family. But rest assured he will never be out there claiming to be Marine;
As for Henry, he says he won’t be impersonating a Marine ever again.
“I promise, swear to God,” he said. “On my momma, and my momma died of Stage IV lung cancer, I’ll never put this on there again!”
Well, until the next time.
About the only sympathy I can muster up is for the little girl. Another victim of other people’s bad choices.
We certainly have good reason to believe him, right? Here’s hoping that his promise not to claim it again happens to be true.
Yep. He’ll never claim to be a homeless Marine ever again.
Next week he’ll be a homeless Green Beret instead…
Nah, homeless SEAL… it will get him more “sympathy”.
That’ll be week after next…
“I swear on my mpomma, who died of stage IV cancer…if you don’t believe me just call and ask her”
It was the Sharpie with a high capacity ink cartridge that did the writin.
Maybe he can get enrolled in the All Points Logistics Phoney Veterans To Executive Program.
Nice.
He denied claiming he said he was a homeless Marine until he was confronted with the picture.
A better story would have been that he “misspoke”, and made up that sign to honor all the homeless Marines that he knows (or something to that effect).
If there’s truth about his girlfriend and her little girl, I hope the mother wises up and gets away from this guy.
Could be some conflating going on.
She will just end up hitching her star to another loser. And the kid has to suffer the consequences of Mom’s bad choices.
I promise….fuck you.
Cocksucker.
You guys seen the Kentucky Fried Chicken cook that claims to be a USMC veteran of Faluja and Ramadi? Also claims a PHM. Video is of him “testifying” before some city council or something, demanding $15/hour because frying chicken is his passion. Color me skeptical…
This guy?
http://www.businessinsider.com/iraq-veteran-on-why-raise-minimum-wage-2015-11
http://georgia.arrests.org/Arrests/Derrell_Odom_16325344/
lol….chicken man
He’s a liar like Bauman.
There’s no record of Derrell Harold Odom in our locator.
Odom is legit and did get a PH. He just isnt the sharpest knife in the drawer.
I used to have a link to his Facebook. Plenty of photos with him in country. He was an 03
If this is the same Derrell Odom he’s nothing like Bauman. Served with 3/8 in Fallujah.
http://www.2ndmardiv.marines.mil/News/NewsArticleDisplay/tabid/2643/Article/514113/division-cg-presents-38-purple-hearts.aspx
I see homeless veterans quite often. Of course there is far more homeless people in a market where the average apartment rental price is $2900 per month.
The VA has people that work with shelters to give them places to stay and there is a non-profit that can provide housing in exchange for 30% of their income. But some either do not know about it or are not functional enough to go through the process or remain in the program.
“I see homeless veterans quite often.”
LT
What to you is a homeless vet?
By accepted standards of the US Government if a vet is discharged and lives with a relative while going to school,working, etc that means the veteran is homeless. Any person over 18 living with a relative or someone they know but are not related to and their name isn’t on the lease/mortgage is homeless whether working, in school or whatever. The term homeless can be a deceptive term.
Someone that has no home. No address. That often sleeps on the streets.
I mean it as people imagine it is meant. There is a huge homelessness problem in the bay area.
Rent insane.
I know a number of people that live in their vans and rent access to bathrooms/showers. They go to work, look professional.
Though I would regard them as homeless they are not even what I am referring to.
I am talking about veterans that literally have no place to stay though they are sometimes sheltered temporarily.
You see them fairly often. They show up to pick up prescriptions or use urgent care at the VA.
There are a lot of people not functional enough to even use the VA effectively however. It is easy for one to fall out of the process for assistance the VA provides due to how long it can take or because they did not talk to the exact right person who would know the answer on how to utilize the programs available. Or they lack the executive function to go through the administrative process to gain access or remain in the program.
Others merely do not trust the environment that the VA provides to house them.
I think homelessness is less likely in areas where 1. rental prices are a fraction of the costs in the bay area. 2. The local law enforcement treats homelessness like a nuisance/crime and forces homeless people out of the area or into the legal system.
Rent insane…..umm…..move?
what kinda vet can’t find his way out of a city if he has no home there anyway?
Basic human behavior infers that the person’s needs are in some form being fulfilled to a level of satisfaction.
“Move” is a trigger word.
lol…yeah, because if people move to areas they can live more affordably, find work and increase their knowledge skills and abilities and thus, income, rich politicians can’t keep them homeless and espouse being their champion.
You seem to lack both empathy and awareness of homelessness.
Many homeless are essentially unemployable.
You act like they should just move and get a job. But you would not hire them.
You seem to lack reading comprehension and prone to assumptions.
as far as being unaware…I have been up close and personal with homeless and otherwise indigent people in ways that would make most most folks vomit. You ever scrape maggots out of somebody’s body creases LT?
All that and more IDC. I was a street cop for over 20 years in the Bay Area. Every time I encountered a bum holding a sign saying “homeless vet” or some such I would question them about their alleged “service”. Maybe 1 out of 20 would even know where they went to boot camp or what their MOS was. As being a Vietnam vet became popular used to see many claiming to be combat vets that were way younger than me, and I was in 71-75. Just another way to scam the gullible.
So, they have no marketable skills? Whose fault is that? 0% effort while in high school, spent their time abusing substances, varying levels of being “Justice involved”, and they are probably anti-social. Well, they can always apply to the All Points Logistics Executive Development Program.
How is it you think that is an effective response? I am talking about the homeless population. Not me.
Once one becomes homeless the economics changes. They have a hard time ever getting back into housing so the best place is a place that does not harass them and the weather is neither too hot or too cold or too wet.
So the bay area is not bad overall if you are homeless.
Some do leave to other markets. Some are able to get back into housing.
Though few people hire homeless people and many homeless are essentially unemployable.
They Bay Area weather is hospitable? I was there about eight years ago during August, and it was cold as hell. They should hop a plane to Hawaii. If you Re going to be homeless, it might as well be somewhere nice. Plus, you can always harass the Japanese tourists for spare change.
If I was homeless in San Francisco, I’d throw my bundle over my shoulder and walk to San Diego. Or Miami.
Many towns are shipping their homeless to Seattle as well.
http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/portland-begins-sending-homeless-people-to-other-cities-including-seattle/296353382
Yep. Portland, progressive city that it is, is shipping their homeless out, sending some here to Seattle. You can tell they’re progressive; they’re paying their way out of town. So caring…and the Seattle socialists will really “care” for them. The bums are seemingly everywhere. Send ’em to SF so they can piss on the lamp posts some more.
Head on over to Nancy Pelosi’s vineyard. She can exhibit some of that California Democrat compassion, and provide food and shelter.
Then why are there so many homeless in Seattle and Portland? Let me give you a hint – the local politicians have an open door policy on welcoming them. Private organizations can’t handle them and the local governments deal with it by allowing them to set up little camps throughout the city and start up useless programs to “help” them – and the cost is paid by the local small businesses and middle class residents, who rightfully complain about their taxes and cost of living and doing business being high.
BTW, both cities have been led by Democrats/liberals for a while…Seattle since 1969, Portland since 1980.
And going downhill since 1969 and 1980 respectively.
Comrade Poodle Dik….You, the asshole who said “People who are afraid of Communism are foolish”; is this the best you can think?
Maybe an option you never considered would be: Get A JOB you damned loser! Mickey D’s, Burger King, ALL of them are constantly seeking employees. Sure, they will work you with limited compensation, but at least you’d have the satisfaction that you EARN a living rather than being lazy and begging with the expected handout being given by gullible folks. There’s PLENTY of low paying jobs for those who prefer to work than to live off either Big Gub or begging. Yes, I realize there is a small % of those unable to work. But there’s a FAR GREATER % of those UNWILLING to work.
Your quote..Some leave to “other markets” is like you…a bucket of shit. What you really meant is easier pickings, easier and more gullible suckers walking down past the homeless crowd. As for your “Some are able to get back into housing”..again, you’re full of shit Comrade Poodle Dik. What you really meant by that last statement is, “Some eventually get back into FREE housing elsewhere”.
People could and would hire homeless folks if they were willing to work. Most choose to remain on the streets with their hands out. Many years back I lived in Nashville. If you needed help, especially in the construction field, all you had to do was go downtown early in the morning to a large corner where homeless people gathered who were ready for a day’s pay, if not more. Most every day, most every one of those on the corner left to earn at least a day or two’s pay.
Then again, those who made the effort to get to that corner every morning were known to be homeless, but eager to work briefly to be able to get by. Those who stayed on the streets elsewhere with their hands out did not fare so well. Homeless vets, I’d hire them even today, just to help with stuff around our home that gets heavier every year. A couple of minutes of conversation will tell any vet if he is dealing with a homeless vet or a homeless liar.
You never did tell us Comrade Poodle Dik…is your hammer and sickle flag flying this weekend?
I remember when my Dad retired the first time and wanted to have a horse stable built on their property. Around the area were plenty of young able bodied adult males who were capable of doing the work but didn’t want to, they were afraid of getting caught making money and losing their welfare check, thus Dad hired a crew of Mexicans who built it in no time. IMHO our Government is more than a little too generous with welfare payments to those too LAZY to work. I remember an episode during my days as an OTR Trucker when I saw a sad looking fellow on an Interstate off ramp and offered him some food and he then cussed me out demanding cash, thus I assume first that such people are “Professional Homeless” hustling for a free ride.
A recent article in the Big City’s newspaper covered millenials and multigenerational families moving back together.
The millenials are doing it to have a place to stay while they work to pay off college loans. They don’t relish paying the painfully high price of rental in metropolitan areas like NYC an Chicago. They do pay rent to their parents and contribute to the grocery and other household bills. BUT they are NOT homeowners in either single-family or multi-unit housing, e.g., condos, because they don’t want the expense. They are therefore part of the ‘homeless’ population described by IDC SARC. I know a few of these people. They are smarter than average and DO NOT want to live in debt. They are saving money instead of wasting it on frippery.
There are also grandparents moving back in with their own children rather than pay the expense of senior housing and nursing home care, which is frequently exorbitant. They are also part of that ‘homeless’ demographic. That multigenerational demographic is how a lot families used to be – all in one large group. The ‘modern’ world split that apart for awhile, but it seems to be reappearing.
The other side of that coin is the population of people who live on the street, frequently survive winters outside by living in the weather because they do not want to go to mission shelters even at the worst times. In that sense, they are self-sufficient and aren’t scamming people at traffic stops with phony neediness.
I have known a couple of people who spent nights at mission shelters, but kept themselves busy during the day making a few bucks by selling newspapers. They had their ‘spots’ and no one ever cheated them.
Those are the ‘homeless’ I know about. None of them own property or pay property taxes, yet the majority of them have a place to stay even if it does not belong to them. I have yet to run into anyone advertising himself as a homeless vet.
If he were, I’d tell him to find the nearest mission shelter instead of bumming cash from me. And around here, the VA has a social program to get those people off the streets into rental-assisted housing. So much for that whole ‘homeless vets’ thing.
Lars…. Please Refer to yesterday’s story about old school Vato stealing dead vets I’d.
Taylor: and you know these people claiming to be “homeless vets” actually are vets and homeless how, precisely? Did you see some form of proof? Or did you simply accept their claims as Gospel truth?
I’d guess it was the latter. And if the latter, I’d be willing to bet that a large fraction if not most of them aren’t actually vets. Some might have gotten pitched with an OTH or worse, while many of the rest are likely simply liars looking for sympathy – and an easy buck.
We see that kind of BS all to often. Like in Jonn’s article above.
Yeah, there’s this homeless guy I see at the end of every day waiting on folks to climb the stairs at the train station. Before I caught him in a lie about being a veteran, I once gave him 4 dollars (which was all I had). After quickly counting it, he said “What the hell? Just four dollars?!” (I told him if he didn’t want it, I’d be glad to take it back).
I refuse to give him any money. The guy is a lying asshole.
Just a few minutes ago I pulled up to an intersection and there was a black guy wearing digital camo Gore-Tex and a boonie hat holding up a sign claiming homelessness. Although his sign made no reference of his veteran status, he was dressed in head from head to toe in GI clothing. Before I had a chance to roll down my window and yell at the guy a policeman pulled up next to me and announced over his PA that he would take him to jail if he didn’t leave. I suppose the cop was as offended as I was that the dude would wear a uniform on Memorial Day weekend in order to increase his revenue.
Reading all the comments by LT…it seems that he spends more time interacting with and compiling statistics on the homeless than the average social worker.
Doing service verifications, health and comfort checks, hanging around the pharmacies, gathering employment stats on who does and doesn’t do what and when…sheesh
What a busy little grad student.
Has he been giving them complementary hernia checks?
“I mean it as people imagine it is meant.”
Just checking, but admittedly I asked before I read your whole previous post. My bad.
Your experience is your experience, but I never, not even in cali met a homeless person that didn’t have other obvious contributing issues, such as substance abuse or mental illness or both.
I’ve also only once (actually in fayettenam)seen a panhandler claiming to be a vet, prove that he was a vet(he wasn’t claiming to be homeless per se).
In retrospect I think I should have reported that, because I suspect the man was being forced to panhandle by some younger men that were around him that seemed anxious when I tried speaking to him.
I have never met an honorably discharged Veteran either. I am sure that they exist but probably not w/o drug, alcohol, or mental issues that were unrelated to their service. What I have met are many honorably discharged Veterans who are sane, sober (well, relatively sober) and whose service instilled in them the discipline to do what needs to be done to provide for themselves and their families. And that would include relocating to where there are more jobs and lower rent. I must say, I do like this guy Bauman’s open-air crapper but, as a rule, it’s best to drop one’s drawers before plopping down on one.
“I have never met an honorably discharged Veteran either.” Great. ‘Scuse me while I go look in the mirror. Add “homeless” in there somewhere. Thanks.
Hey, GI – wanna see my DD? Want some squid chips?
What’s the address for your mom’s basement? It’s her address, so I’m guessing you’re technically homeless?
Jonn wrote, “Well, until the next time.” I add, “and another corner in town”. See them regularly and you can always tell there is no military service in them or about them in any way.
Shitbags.
Hey, Channel 12….I just watched this story the other night. I live out in Henrico County but work in the city. The county enforces their panhandling laws, so all the hobos stay inside the city limits. The highway entrance I use going home every night always has some wino with a sign sitting in the median.
Totally off topic – that anchor, Curt Autry, has been on WWBT forever. When I was a teenager 20 years ago, I worked at a bagel shop and he used to come in for lunch with his little boy all the time.
I rarely see the homeless with a sign that does not claim veteran status with a ‘bless you’ thrown in for good measure. I don’t for a second believe them to be veterans. Yes, some are. We have a very active outreach program among the churches, VA and local charities. I know personally of several homeless ‘veterans’ who were found not eligible for VA care b/c they either were NOT veterans or had an OTH. I also know of a few homeless who are veterans who have refused all offers of substance abuse and mental health care. That’s how mired they are in their diseases. Substance abuse and mental health issues almost always go hand-in-hand among those of whom I have personal knowledge. (I have been part of several VA outreaches over the years, but not since retiring.) Yes, their substance abuse was brought on by their own actions, but sometimes it is the result of attempting to cope with underlying mental health issues. And sometimes the factors are reversed, with mental health issues being the result of drug abuse. Anyway, a homeless person with a ‘I’m a Veteran … Feed Me’ sign is losing it’s wow factor, or at least this is true among others I speak. I’ve stopped shelling out my money. Someone mentioned an ungrateful recipient of $4. My story is that Mrs. HMC and I, eating in a Whataburger, saw a homeless guy come in with a cup. All he wanted was water, which he got and was making his way to the door. I asked if he wanted a burger. Yes, I do. So I took him to the counter, gave the lady $10 and told her to give him the change. Did I get a thanks? No, I got squat. That was a few years ago and not a dime since. If I’m at a light and have an extra soda, I’ll pass it along. I’m waiting for a complaint of the soda not being cold. That will seal the deal for me. I do feel for some of these folks, but how is it possible to determine who is who?
His mom probably died of a paper cut, lying POS