Category: Phony soldiers

Our friends at Stolen Valour-Canada send us their work to get Robert Kelly some cross-border love.

We were recently asked to review a number of photographic images of “Sergeant” Robert Kelly who resides in the Leamington, Ontario area.

Our review identified many inconsistencies in his dress / appearance and, when combined with his confusing claims of service, that has given us cause to question his entire military narrative.

Our team conducted a thorough review of all available records, this included websites, newspaper articles, photographic images, regimental tour books, searchable data bases of medal recipients and extracts from military documents in Canada in order to determine the legitimacy of his claims.

SV-C then reached out to the regimental associations, their museums and other organizations in which Kelly has claimed to have served. The publicly accessible records, that we have had the opportunity to review, do not support the majority of his claims. That being said, the absence of verifiable records alone does not conclusively prove that an individual is a fake or embellisher, it just indicates that there are no records…

Kelly has alluded to being a WW2 Veteran yet, he was born in Douglastown, New Brunswick in 1936. Now, we are not mathematical geniuses but, those numbers just don’t work… Therefore, question becomes, is he a legitimate Korean War Veteran, a Cold War era Veteran or, is he a Veteran at all?

In addition to his World War 2 foolishness, he has also claimed over the years to be an infantryman with The RCR “SPECIAL FORCES” (1953-1959), a “sky trooper”(whatever the hell that is!), a “NATO Peacekeeper” in Europe, a Code Talker, a Korean War Veteran, a British trained commando and, quite amazingly, he claims to have served in the Canadian Airborne Regiment over a decade before it was formed in April 1968.

Judging by the extensive press coverage he has received over the years, it appears that he’s being pimped as the veteran “go to guy”. The leadership of the Windsor Veterans Memories Project have showcased Mr Kelly at many of their events so, one would assume that they must have verified his military service. Factual errors and omissions occur due to misremembering & that can be forgiven. However, complete fabrications, not so much…

In the old style Battle Dress uniform image, he’s wearing a highly unlikely, and quite confusing display of medal ribbons including the (1) unofficial Aboriginal Millennium Medallion in the senior position, (2) followed by the 2 x WW2 ribbons (including the France & Germany Star), (3) the Special Service Medal NATO, (4) the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal without any accompanying tour medal , (5) the Coronation Medal, (6) the Canadian Decoration indicating a minimum of 12 years of good conduct and loyal service, (7) the Commissionares Long Service Medal, (8) the Service Medal of the Order of St John (without its accompanying ribbon) is often worn on his right lapel & there’s are some sort of parachutist wings on his left breast pocket.

On a stand up poster prominently displayed in the Windsor area, Kelly’s story included the following -“While in Europe, his tours included Germany, England & Holland. A highly trained reconnaissance soldier, as part of a 30 man reconnaissance team. He would gain information on Germany during the day, and then inform his Commanding Officer in the morning”

Was he alluding that he’s a WW2 vet who gathered information on the Nazis or, is he implying that he crossed the IGB and was gathering intelligence on Warsaw Pact Forces? Wearing the France and Germany Star leads us to believe that he was proclaiming himself to be a WW2 Vet!

In the more recent/current images, he’s wearing a maroon blazer along with maroon beret & any evidence of his claimed WW2 service has been removed.

The constant on his many make-believe uniforms is the Queen’s Coronation Medal. That particular medal was presented to just 15 junior ranks of the 2nd Bn of The RCR, all combat veterans/paratroopers who were members the Canadian Contingent in London, England during the 1953 ceremony. Not surprisingly, Mr Kelly’s name is not on that list…

He also says that he met the Queen in Picadilly Circus, and he talks about JOHN Prince (Does he mean Sergeant Tommy Prince MM of the 2nd Bn PPCLI?) who he claims he was forgotten by his regiment and family!

Other than the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, which he is a bonafide recipient, and the Special Service Medal (NATO) which he would have been awarded for his limited service in Europe, what’s the story regarding the other medals he’s been sporting?

This includes the Canadian Decoration (CD), which requires 12 years of qualifying service and good conduct so, how can an individual who claims only 6 years of service (1953-59) be entitled? Additionally, there’s absolutely no evidence that he’s eligible “peacekeeping service” to wear the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal.

We believe Mister Kelly may have found himself in a situation in which his stories, unchecked embellishment & outright lies finally caught up with him, and he was finding it difficult to extract himself. SV-C was prepared to assist with correcting this situation if and when Kelly made contact with us.

*What we do know.*

Private Bob Kelly, actually served in the Canadian Army as an infantryman with the 2nd Bn, The Royal Canadian Regiment in NW Europe. This was followed by a number of short time periods of service as a reservist in the Royal New Brunswick Regiment and the Windsor Regiment. He never advanced past the rank of PRIVATE during any of his actual service nor, did he get anywhere near the 12 year threshold to be awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration (CD).

SV-C reached out to Kelly in order to clarify the situation & he has not responded. But, the President of the Windsor Historical Society – Veterans’ Memories Project jumped into the discussion, vouched for Kelly’s service, and states he has all the paper work to back it up his buddy’s claims. However, he has refused to release the information so it could be independently verified and, has threatened SV-C with legal action, because we had “slandered an innocent soldier”!

What’s particularly disturbing, his supporters were actually going turn a blind eye to Kelly’s military fairytales and allow him to escort Hockey’s Memorial Cup, a trophy that is dedicated to all Canadian Armed Forces members who gave their lives in the service of our great country.

*The bottom line*

PRIVATE Robert Kelly had legitimate military service during the Cold War, that’s something in which he should have taken great pride. He had no need to embellish his time in the Army but, by doing so, he stood in the blood of our brothers and sisters who paid the ultimate price for our freedom during the period 1947-1991!

Regardless, all of our research will provided to law enforcement agencies which would have jurisdiction(s) in the area in which the alleged violation of s419 CCC may have occurred. Additionally, we will provide them with the contact information for the Library and Archives – Canada and the CF’s Directorate of Honours and Recognition so, they can make a formal request for relevant documents, should they so desire to further investigate Mister Kelly’s bogus military narrative.

Someone noticed a grave marker in South Bend, Indiana for Billy Ray Masters which claims that Mr Masters was a Vietnam War POW. Mr Masters has yet to be interred at his intended last resting place;

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has never heard of him;

He is indeed a Vietnam veteran, an engineer equipment repairman and a warehouse equipment operator with a transportation unit 1969-1970;

There’s nothing to indicate that he was a POW, or anything to indicate that he was ever in a position to become a POW while he was in Vietnam.

Our partners at Military Phonies send us their work on this fellow Almon Henthorne who claims that he earned a Navy Cross, a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, a Combat Action Ribbon and a POW Medal just to start with. He claims that he was a Recon Marine and a Scout Sniper and that he left the Marine Corps as a Gunnery Sergeant (E-7). His nickname in his little motorcycle club, Patriots 4 Veterans, is “Gunney” (yeah, I know it’s misspelled, but he wrote it not me).

But the US Navy doesn’t remember it like that, because he wasn’t a Marine;

He had about 22 months of service in the Navy, not the Marine Corps, when many of his generation refused to serve and he left with only the National Defense Service Medal at the rank of Seaman Recruit (E-1), but his ego needed more. We’ve heard that he claims that his USMC service was classified and that we can’t get access to his records…total BS. While operations might not be on his records because of the classifications, the fact that he served would not be hidden.

He locked down his Facebook pages last night and started threatening folks, because it’s perfectly legit to bully folks in order to qualify for valor awards.

Need a Semper Fidelis tattoo?

Compare that to earlier this morning;

Someone sent us their work on Terry Willey, the President of Rolling Thunder Chapter One in Ozark, Missouri.

He claims that he was a graduate of BUD/S class 108. He tells folks that he deposited his SEAL Trident in the cremains of a real Navy SEAL, George (Herk) Albrecht with whom Willey claims to have graduated from BUD/S class 108. You can hear him tell someone in a clip from a phone call in this video;

Well, according to his records, he was a Utilitiesman Third Class when he left the Navy from 1978 – 1986 with a few months break in service, but he’s not a SEAL. His assignments included a stint with NMCB Forty, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FORTY. Yep, he was a SEABEE.

Another perfectly honorable career in the toilet because of vanity.

Someone sent us a link to the UK’s Daily Record where they tell the story of “A thieving lowlife…Rat James Reilly” who founded a veterans’ charity that he used as his personal bank account stealing more than £60,000 ($76,698) in donations in less than two years of operations.

Ex-soldier Les Mason, who first found out the truth about Reilly, said: “He is lower than a snake’s belly.

“He was never in this to help veterans. It was all about making money.”

[…]

Walter Mitty Reilly, who falsely claimed to have trained with the Commandos, set up Tayforth Veterans in a blaze of publicity in Dundee in 2011.

TV star Lorraine Kelly – one of the many people he duped – appeared at the launch.

[…]

The shameless thief even accepted a substantial donation from the grieving parents of Black Watch soldier Aaron Black, 22, who took his own life in 2011 after suffering combat stress.

He was convicted Thursday night and sentencing is scheduled for next month.

Our partners at Military Phonies share their work on this fellow, Jeffrey Brian Muise who claims to have served in the Navy as a SEAL with Team 2;

He wears a SEAL Trident on his hat and he has the money to buy T-shirts in order to prove his claims;

The Navy doesn’t remember his career the same way that Jeffrey remembers;

Muise served in the Navy for four honorable years as a machinist mate, he left with the rank of MM3 (E-4), a Sea Service Medal, a Good Conduct Medal, but no SEAL Training, no service with SEAL Team Two.

The folks at Military Phonies share their work on this fellow Royal Lovejoy who claims to have been a Navy SEAL for seven years, a Vietnam veteran, a recipient of the Navy Cross, well, here Military Phonies outlines his claims according to his uniform;

He is wearing the cover of an officer. He is wearing the uniform of a Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer E8 with 4 gold hashmarks. Each hash mark represents 4 year of service equalling 16 on his uniform. Above his ribbons is the SEAL Trident. Under his ribbons is a set of officer flight wings and a Master Diver emblem. He has 25 ribbons in between all of that. The ones that can be seen are Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Joint Service Commendation, Joint Service Achievement, Navy Commendation, Presidential Unit Commendation, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Navy Unit Commendation, Battle E, Good Conduct (1), National Defense (1), Vietnam Service, Afghanistan Service Medal, Humanitarian Service, and NATO Medal and marksmanship ribbons for pistol and rifle. The Ribbon at the very top that is hidden may be the Navy Cross.

This is from his online resume where he claims that he earned the “flying cross” whatever that is and he has a “profational body guard license”, he was a “precher” and he has a “Comadation Medil”;

Anyway, the Navy doesn’t remember his career like that;

Less than three months of service, he probably didn’t graduate boot camp, his sole award is the National Defense Service Medal, he was discharged as an E-1 seaman recruit. He earned the NDSM in the final months of the eligibility period for the Vietnam War. The military stopped issuing the award in August 1974 – Royal never made it to Vietnam, he barely made it to Great Lakes Training Center.

The folks at Military Phonies shared their work on this Paul Simono fellow who has been out there pretending to be a SEAL for years. Someone engaged him in a conversation and Simono responded that he was in Bravo Company, Team 5 and that he’d attended some BUD/S class in the next century;

SOCNET folks have been aware of him for about ten years;

The Navy, however, isn’t aware of him at all;