This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Phony soldiers

  • Michael A. Mancuso Sr. takes Stolen Valor to the grave(Update 9-29-2011)


    From one of my countless hometowns, Oswego, NY where I finished college and put my kids through high school, comes the story of Michael A. Mancuso Sr., 89 who died Saturday taking his secret to the grave with him.

    Mike was born and raised in Oswego. He served gallantly in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He served as a ball turret gunner in a B-24 Liberator in the 58th Air Division, 392nd Bomber Group, flying 40 flights out of Wending, England. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Medal and the Oak Leaf Cluster.

    Yeah, Home of Heroes doesn’t list him in their records of Distinguished Service Medal recipients. Nor does the Distinguished Flying Cross Society list him as a recipient of that medal.

    His military service was one of Mike’s proudest times, and he loved telling his stories to anyone who would listen.

    “Stories” is an apt description.

    Thanks to AverageNCO for the link.

    Update (Sporkmaster)

    I am currently waiting on additional info from official group for the 392nd Bomber Group that is listed and his unit on the obituary about his awards. I found a photo of him in a crew photo under the command of Lt. Fletcher. There is only one mention of Lt. Fletcher’s crew and Mancuso is not mentioned in that mission.

    26 Mar 1944 578th Sqdn.
    A/C 415

    P Fletcher, R.E. 1st Lt.
    CP McCarthy, C.G. 2nd Lt.
    N Keck, R.W. 2nd Lt.
    B Judd, G.W. 1st Lt. (KIA)
    E Kelly, J.E. T/Sgt.
    R Biska, S.L. Sgt.
    RW Osborne, J.H. Sgt.
    LW Wukotich, M.L. S/Sgt.
    BT Mancuso, M.A. S/Sgt.
    TG McNiel, J.M. S/Sgt.

    Update x2 (Sporkmaster)

    I just got this reply from the 392th Group.

    According to our records, S/Sgt Mancuso, a member of the 578th Sqdn,
    completed 27 combat missions for the 392nd as well as 9 diversions or
    aborted missions for which he did not receive credit. This would have
    entitled him to the Air Medal and four Oak Leaf Clusters.

    Between late December 1943 and late February 1944, S/Sgt Mancuso and his
    crew were sent to the 93rd Bomb Group to be trained as a Path Finder Force
    crew. While there, Mancuso flew several combat missions with the 93rd BG.
    I do not know if he flew enough missions to qualify for another Oak Leaf
    Cluster.

    He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross upon successful completion of
    his combat tour. I have no information about his being awarded the
    Distinguished Service Cross.

    I have seen similar versions of the letter that Brig Gen Johnson wrote.
    Mancuso’s last mission was on 13 May 1944, and the letter was no doubt
    intended to help him secure a good follow-up job in the Air Corps or in
    civilian life. Johnson referred to an enemy aircraft that Mancuso was
    credited with destroying; that was on 8 Oct 1943, when he shot down a JU-88.

    S/Sgt Mancuso was a member of the 2nd Air Division, not the 58th

  • Thomas DiGirolamo, another bonehead judge

    This one slipped under my radar last week; A Maryland judge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas DiGirolamo, dismissed charges against Aaron Lawless when he agreed with Lawless’ lawyers that the Stolen Valor Act was too broad, according to the Washington Examiner;

    A criminal complaint says Lawless falsely told the gun manufacturer Glock that he had suffered combat injuries in Iraq while serving in the Marine Corps and Army, earning a Silver Star, four Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars. Glock then named him its hero of the year, awarding him a trip to a Las Vegas gun show and engraved pistols.

    Lawless spent 35 days in the Marine Corps until it was discovered that he tried to conceal a previous injury before he enlisted. In other words, he’s a scumbag who tried to con the Corps and then conned Glock to take something of value from a soldier or Marine who actually deserved to be recognized by Glock.

    And this greaseball judge just aided and abetted the fraud.

    “In its present form, the [Stolen Valor] Act punishes all false statements about the receipt of military honors, including the malicious, the reckless, the mistaken and the innocent,” he wrote.

    Yeah, except Lawless’ claims were neither mistaken nor innocent.

    And, oh, yeah, he conned the VFW into vouching for him to his employer for a job. But I guess it’s not fraud, huh, Judge Thomas DiGirolamo? Fucking liberal punk-asses think they sound smart when they defend the First Amendment…well, as long their defense doesn’t have anything to do with that religion part.

  • Taking Stolen Valor to the Grave; Part II

    Someone sent us some newspaper articles from the Gaston Gazette’s own archives in regards to Wilburn Carr. the first is a notice published in July 1955, two years after the ceasefire in the Korean War;

    From another article published on April 24, 1953, while the Korean War raged it’s final months, Wilburn Carr, was 18 according to the Gaston Gazette and arrested for “aiding and abetting in drunk driving”

    Hard to imagine Wilburn earning a Purple Heart and a Medal of Honor while being a typical teenager on the streets of Gaston, NC. the person who sent us these articles is much more forgiving than I am in regards to Josh. Our tipster, who wishes to remain anonymous, wrote;

    Hope this helps “Josh” understand more about his grandfather.

    ADDED: And, Josh, the reason that we’re so cynical is because of people like your grandfather. Zero Ponsdorf’s father was killed in the Korean War and my father served there in the Navy. I was born at Pensacola Naval Air Station while your grandfather was in basic training.

  • Taking Stolen Valor to the grave

    CavRick tells us about a veteran by the name of Wilburn “Wild Bill” Carr Jr. who must’ve been quite a hero of the Korean War. He died last week in North Carolina at the age of 75 and his family wrote this about him in the Gaston Gazette;

    Bill was a decorated Korean War veteran and Purple Heart and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. Bill served as a member of the 101st Airborne Division with the U.S. Army Screaming Eagles. Bill later served numerous years with the National Guard and American Legion.

    When the shooting stopped in 1953, Wilburn would have been 17 years old if his age is correct in the obituary. A 17-year-old Medal of Honor recipient would have made him famous, I’m sure. But, apparently not so famous that he’s listed in the “Home of Heroes” among the 135 Medal of Honor recipients of the Korean War.

  • Another Stolen Valor conviction

    Joseph Anthony Rossi got off fairly easy for his wearing of a Distinguished Flying Cross, aviator wings, Combat Action Ribbon and a GWoT medal on a commissioned officer’s uniform to a local Navy Week event…none of which he earned according to the Birmingham News;

    Rossi, who had reached a sentencing agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, was sentenced to a $750 fine, one year of supervised release by the U.S. Probation Office, a $10 special assessment fee, and 40 hours of community service if he has a full-time job or 80 hours if he does not.

    […]

    “Mr. Rossi’s crime is an affront to our great nation and dishonors the thousands who have served and sacrificed for it,” said Peggy Sanford, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

    They plan on having him work on Habitat for Humanity projects which are building houses for returning veterans. 40 or 80 hours hardly seem sufficient, though.

  • Steve “Snake Eyes” Jordan, MSgt Soup Sandwich’s retarded cousin

    This post is now a nightmare with things in the wrong place, but wanted to update with this from POW Net…

    UPDATE: Oh Steve, you’ve been a bad little monkey over there on N STILES ST (Or did you move to N WOOD AVE?) in LINDEN NJ…Mom and Dad (Eleanor and William) know about your SF days? You come off probation yet for your charge of UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF IMITATION FIREARM? Phone # still 908-943-7908, or did you get a new one? And by the way, Happy Birthday a little early (13th of this month)! And changing your DOB and SSN by 1 digit doesn’t really do much, the computers cross index by residence and a host of other factors, so that trick of changing your SSN from 152-84-xxxx to 132-84-xxxx didn’t do any good.

    Don’t make me angry Steve, you wouldn’t like me when I am angry. Dude, I will go all Bruce Banner on your GI Joe ass. So, write a nice little apology, you can post it in the comments, or send it to Admin@Thisainthell.us. I’ve got more fun here, should I share it Steve?

    EDIT x2: And what in the holy name of Spongebob’s necrofiliac Aunt is this huge ball of wombat sperm?

    EDIT: Is this shittard wearing a turtleneck?

    Earlier, back in Gotham….

    This morning, in the dawn air, I saw it, the douchebag bat signal.  I swooped in and found this asshat.

    Introduction

    I maybe outmand but never out numbered, Country boy whose hunting skills were honed on his grandparent’s farm.He live for the hunt

    Bragging rights

    I love to kill terrorists when they try stupid shit

    Occupation

    U.S. Army Spec Ops. (APO Wolfpack)

    Employment

    • U.S. Army
      First Sergeant, 1988 – present

    Um yeah, ok. When not killing terrorists who do stupid shit, he’s also a ninja.

    Dude can sneak in through your window and knock up your chihuahua without even making a sound.

    Does have a sweet beard though.

    Heroes like this need all the publicity they can get, so, please go forth and find all you can on Steve “Dusty/Snake Eyes” Jordan. He may be from Linden NJ.

    Places to start your search:
    Google profile.
    Flicker page.
    Facebook.

    More mental illness after the jump.

    (more…)

  • Phony colonel sentenced

    Michael hamilton
    AverageNCO sends us a link to news that Michael Hamilton, who we first wrote about last year has finally been sentenced;

    A federal judge sentenced him to 16 months in prison for counts one and two (false statements and larceny of government property, respectively), six months on count three (unlawful wearing of uniform), and 12 months on count four (unlawful claim of military decorations and medals).

    The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning the shorter sentences will be completed while serving the longer 16 month sentences.

    Hamilton will be on supervised release for three years after his prison term.

    The judge ordered Hamilton to pay $37,635 in restitution and $235 for a special assessment fee. The judge did not impose any additional fines, stating Hamilton would not be capable of paying.

    So what if he can’t pay? Let him work the shit off. I’m sure a judge would take into account whether I can pay or not when hammering me with fines.

  • Phony at American Legion Conference

    DSC_0025ood

    The title is probably unfair to Tim Walz, because he certainly does talk well for veterans, and that’s probably why TSO gives him a pass for embellishing his military career. Walz, on his campaign web site, wrote that he was deployed in support of the war in Iraq, but “in support of” in this case meant that he ran base security in Italy.

    Our buddy, Dave Thul, wrote about Walz a few years back;

    It took me about two months to realize that Congressman Walz, contrary to the statement on his official congressional website, did not serve in Afghanistan. He served in Italy, in charge of base security. In order to understand this discrepancy, it is useful to know a little bit about military terms. “In Support Of” means just that, a mission to support a major military operation. It is a vague term even among military members and the military itself. For instance, when I deployed to Kosovo in 2004, my military orders stated “Purpose: Operation Joint Guardian”, while my official discharge papers listed me as being “ordered to active duty in support of Operation Joint Guardian”.

    To the best of my knowledge, Walz has never come clean about this discrepancy, and until he does, he’s still on my shit list.