Our partners at Military Phonies send us their work on this fellow Daniel Silva who claims to be a Navy SEAL;
Yeah, but no. He has no SEAL Training;
He was an E-4 Navy Aviation Boatswain’s Mate, Handling (ABH) – an honorable profession, until you start lying.
Here’s another one from AverageNCO and this is one is still alive for the time being. Faustino Raquiza says that he was in Vietnam with the 11th Light Infantry Brigade of the Americal Division. He also claims that he was with the 174th Attack Helicopter Company.
He told a local news station that he had two Silver Star Medals, too.
[Andy] Perry and U.S. Army Sgt. Faustino Raquiza both received silver stars for their roles in Vietnam. Raquiza was awarded two silver stars.
“The silver star doesn’t mean anything to me,” said Raquiza.
“I know people make it a big deal -third highest ranking star in the United States military, but I rather be understood; understood for what I’m going through and not patronized. It’s hurtful.”
The Army doesn’t remember his career like Raquiza remembers it;
Yeah, well, maybe the Silver Star Doesn’t mean anything to him because he just bought it and pinned it on his shirt. I’m not sure how a Combat Infantryman Badge got in his records, because according to the records, he was a switchboard operator in a signal battalion for the time he was in Vietnam (July 1969- May 1970). You have to be an infantryman, trained, and in an infantry unit in order to be awarded the CIB, he was none of that.
AverageNCO found this obituary on a fellow by the name of Armand Martin Hammer who passed away on June 19, 2017. The obit said this about Mr Hammer’s military career;
Major General Hammer’s military consisted of 10 years in the U.S. Marines, 22 years U.S. Army, and 3 years assigned to the Military Department of Tennessee for a total of 35 years. The General began his career as a private in the Marines, rose to the enlisted rank of Gunnery Sergeant, received a combat commission as a Second Lieutenant in Vietnam. He was awarded several decorations and commendations for service in Vietnam and while performing in every position from Private to Senior Non Commissioned Officer (NCO) to Commanding General. Primary service was in the infantry, Field Artillery, Adjutant General, Embassy Security, and Mechanized Supply specialties.
His awards include Navy Cross, Bronze Star w/v, Purple Hearts 3, Meritorious Service Medals 3, Air Medal, Army Commendation, Navy Commendation, Navy Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, USMC Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Medal, Vietnam Cross Gallantry, Army Overseas Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and several medals and commendations awarded from the reserve components. Additionally, parachute wings, rifle and pistol expert badges.
Looking at his records from the National Personnel Records Center, they support just about everything the obituary says. He was a Gunnery Sergeant when he left the Marine Corps in 1969 after 10 years – there is no mention of a “combat commission” while he was in Vietnam.
Judging by the timeline, he probably went to a National Guard OCS commissioning course to be an officer by the time he went to the Artillery Officers’ Basic Course in July 1970. Hammer was in the National Guard in January 1970 for 12 years and then into the active Army for 11 years, leaving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Artillery.
Somewhere along the line, I believe he altered his Marine Corps records. The NPRC says that he earned a Navy Cross, but there is no record of him actually being awarded that particular medal on any list. His records say that he earned a Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf clusters, an actual Purple Heart with additional awards would be a Purple Heart and two gold stars. I’m pretty sure that a Navy Unit Commendation Medal is a valor award that wouldn’t need a “V” device – that’s like putting a “V” device on a Silver Star.
While he was in Vietnam in 1967, he was an aviation supply clerk in a Headquarters & Service Company of the 12th Marine Aviation Group which was at Chu Lai in 1967 when he was there. Although it’s not impossible that he was wounded three times and earned a pile of valor awards, it’s not likely.
The obit says that he was in the Tennessee State Guard (not the National Guard) and that’s probably where he was awarded the Major General rank.
It looks like he was mobilized for Desert Storm and the Tennessee Guard sent the 196th Artillery Brigade to Desert Storm (they supported the XVIIIth Airborne Corps and the French allies) but I don’t see any awards in his records for Desert Storm.
You probably remember Jan Spann, the Banning, California school board member who resigned recently after we busted her for lying about being a nurse in Vietnam. Well, the good folks at the Banning Informer write to tell about their former mayor who is currently a council member, Arthur Welch. Math sunk him, too;
According to reliable sources, Art Welch has made claims that after serving in the Army, he used the G.I. Bill to get his education. As we can see on the City of Banning website (view screen shot) Art Welch received a 4-year degree in “Business Administration/Marketing” in 1960. That would mean that he started college sometime during 1956, at age 18.
However, since Welch was born in December of 1937, there simply would have not been enough time for Welch to finish an enlistment in the Army prior to starting college in 1956. Therefore Art Welch could not have used the G.I. Bill as he claimed.
Like disgraced phony Viet Nam veteran and former School Board Trustee Jan Spann, Art Welch too could not have been in two places at the same time.
When asked about Welch’s military career, the NPRC responded “Who?”
You should click over and read the whole Banning Informer article. They had a phony SEAL, Don Robinson, on the council.
Our partners at Military Phonies send us their work on this Matt Williams fellow who claims that he’ll train you to be Navy SEAL and pro-wrestler just like him;
Of course, he’s one of only three survivors of his SEAL Team and he caught the PTSD;
When Military Phonies asked the NPRC for his records, they replied “Who?”
Our partners at Military Phonies share their work on this fellow, John Siver who claims to have graduated from the SEAL training program;
Well, the Navy disagrees;
Military Phonies summarize his career;
Based on John’s DD-214 he did just over 4 years and 5 months, got out as an E-3, not as an E-5 which he states on his resume and Linken account. It does show he went to BUD/s for about 6.5 months which most timelines would be 2 months of BUD/S prep, class-up quit or get dropped (1-2 weeks) then 4.5 months of being in the X-Division to process to a new command.
Siver explains himself in Military Phonies comments.
OK, now I’ve seen everything. This fellow, Richard Foreman, turned himself in to the stolen valor community for lying about his service. He says that he lied to the Facebook group Grenada 30th Anniversary Tour;
As hard as it is to believe I am turning myself in. What the report says happened. I wish I could take it back, but I can’t. I can only do what I feel is the right thing and man up to the fact that I pissed off real heroes & combat veterans because of stupid. Check with Mr. PATRICK O’KELLEY or at least look at the Facebook webpage. I feel such remorse, guilt, dishonor, & disgrace I need to come clean. No excuses for my stupid act. How else can I redeem myself and savage what dignity I may have left. Where is the forgiveness of the real lives that ended paying the ultimate price for our freedom?
So I guess he lied to them and told them that he’d been in the Grenada Invasion in October 1983. Well his records don’t support that;
His discharge says that he served two years and his separation code says the he was only on a two year enlistment. He got a Good Conduct Medal, but he didn’t go to Grenada.
The folks at Military Phonies send us their work on this Darren Bavaro fellow, who claims that he was wounded twice in combat and that he ejected from his “bird over Baghdad” during his grueling one year, ten month service;
Your pizza is ready, sir;
Yeah, none of that his true. He handed out a fake DD214 to folks;
But the Navy doesn’t remember his doing any of that stuff;
Less than two years, no deployments. But, yeah, he’s special – his excuse is that his ex-wife was passing out the forged DD214 to set him up.