{"id":157614,"date":"2024-06-10T07:30:05","date_gmt":"2024-06-10T11:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=157614"},"modified":"2024-06-10T07:43:44","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T11:43:44","slug":"157614","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=157614","title":{"rendered":"Steve Slaton – The ‘He Said, She Said’ of Vietnam Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
The good folks at Military Phony<\/a> and the Guardians of the Green Beret<\/a> give us their work on this fella – Steve Slaton<\/a> – who is running for Arizona State Representative for LD-7. Steven Hawthorne Slaton<\/a> comes to us from Show Low, Arizona. At the time of this writing, June 2024, Slaton is 69 years old. Slaton emphasizes his military service in the Army for his campaign.

\"\"<\/a>
On Slaton’s official campaign site, he claims to have been honorably discharged and to have been a helicopter co-pilot in Vietnam.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"SOURCE: <\/span>https:\/\/www.steveslatonaz.com\/about\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Also, on Slaton’s campaign website, there is a discrepancy of a claim of being an Army veteran, but on previous iterations, it claimed he was a retired member of the Army. We believe this change came about after attention was drawn to this claim.

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

The “retired” claim was present in May 2023, but by May 2024 it changed over to say “veteran.”<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
You can see for yourself in the WayBack Machine \/ Internet Archive: https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230517201712\/https:\/\/steveslatonaz.com\/about\/<\/a>

VIETNAM
<\/strong>Slaton posed for a photo with his pickup truck. It had a sticker of a helicopter over a medal for Vietnam.

\"\"<\/a> SOURCE: https:\/\/arizonadailyindependent.com\/2024\/04\/02\/slaton-stolen-valor-claim-roils-arizona-legislative-race\/<\/a>

HE SAID – SHE SAID
<\/strong>Here’s where things start going sideways. The media, other candidates, and stolen valor folks called out Slaton on some of these claims. Slaton presented a copy of his DD-214, but it differed from what people obtained from the National Personnel Records Center. Slaton holds his version, and the Official Version is on the right.

\"\"<\/a>
Notice there are more lines under ‘DECORATIONS and MEDALS,’ then a few more lines under the ‘REMARKS’ section. Although blurry, you can see a difference in the number of lines.

\"\"<\/a>
Here are the two versions side-by-side. Notice the “4” under the ‘Nixon Vietnamese Program 1974,’ it is different than the “4” in the rest of the document.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
A local newspaper in Arizona called Slaton out on his claims.

https:\/\/mountaindailystar.com\/az-house-candidate-misrepresented-military-service-locals-sound-alarm\/<\/a>

Things got a little messy at this point – Slaton wrote a “manifesto” where he disputed each claim in the article. Below are some excerpts:<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
Steve Slaton’s Rebuttal to Article<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

In addition, he suggested that the Guardians of the Green Beret may have altered the results that they got back from the NPRC. Military Phony and This Ain’t Hell \/ Valor Guardians have worked with the Guardians of the Green Beret over many years and find that they adhere to very high standards. We find the claim that they altered records completely implausible. This was discussed on their YouTube channel, complete with a phone call to Slaton.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
SOURCE: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n
\u00a0<\/div>\r\n

This Ain’t Hell \/ Valor Guardians encourages everyone to just send for Slaton’s official military records and observe them firsthand. Military Phony did this and found that the Guardians of the Green Beret were 100% credible, which was no surprise.<\/p>\r\n

. . . . .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

ACTIONS CONDUCTED BY MILITARY PHONIES<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Steven Hawthorne Slaton’s military records were ordered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. We filed with the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) to account for his service claims.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

. . . . .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n

FOIA RESULTS<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n NATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER<\/strong> (NPRC)

\r\n
\"\"<\/a>
FOIA – NPRC – Slaton – Summary Sheet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n
\"\"<\/a>
FOIA – NPRC – Slaton – Assignments and Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

. . . . .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\nNATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER<\/strong> (NPRC) – Guardians of the Green Beret

NOTE: These are third-party records but from a trusted source. We post these results to complement what the NPRC provided us. As always, we obtain our own results to establish a clean chain of custody.\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
NPRC FOIA Results – Guardians of the Green Beret<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\nIn addition, the Guardians of the Green Beret sent the DD-214 supplied by Slaton and asked them if it differed from what they had on file. This was their answer:

\"\"<\/a>\r\n

. . . . .<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

DISCUSSION and SUMMARY<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n LENGTH OF SERVICE
<\/strong>The length of active duty service was three (3) years but did not support a retirement claim. There is always a chance that it could be a medical retirement, but this is a non-issue since the claim was changed on Slaton’s website.

RANK
<\/strong>Slaton was discharged from the Army as a SGT (E-5). This is also a non-issue.

VIETNAM
<\/strong>No medals in Slaton’s record would support a claim of being in Vietnam.

COMBAT and AWARDS
<\/strong>Nothing to designate Slaton as being in Vietnam or combat.

SUMMARY
<\/strong>If Steve Slaton has used any of these claims to gain anything of value, he could be in violation of the Stolen Valor Act. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

. . . . .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
The good folks at Military Phony<\/a> and the Guardians of the Green Beret<\/a> give us their work on this fella – Steve Slaton<\/a> – who is running for Arizona State Representative for LD-7. Steven Hawthorne Slaton<\/a> comes to us from Show Low, Arizona. At the time of this writing, June 2024, Slaton is 69 years old. Slaton emphasizes his military service in the Army for his campaign.

\"\"<\/a>
On Slaton’s official campaign site, he claims to have been honorably discharged and to have been a helicopter co-pilot in Vietnam.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"SOURCE: <\/span>https:\/\/www.steveslatonaz.com\/about\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Also, on Slaton’s campaign website, there is a discrepancy of a claim of being an Army veteran, but on previous iterations, it claimed he was a retired member of the Army. We believe this change came about after attention was drawn to this claim.

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

The “retired” claim was present in May 2023, but by May 2024 it changed over to say “veteran.”<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
You can see for yourself in the WayBack Machine \/ Internet Archive: https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230517201712\/https:\/\/steveslatonaz.com\/about\/<\/a>

VIETNAM
<\/strong>Slaton posed for a photo with his pickup truck. It had a sticker of a helicopter over a medal for Vietnam.

\"\"<\/a> SOURCE: https:\/\/arizonadailyindependent.com\/2024\/04\/02\/slaton-stolen-valor-claim-roils-arizona-legislative-race\/<\/a>

HE SAID – SHE SAID
<\/strong>Here’s where things start going sideways. The media, other candidates, and stolen valor folks called out Slaton on some of these claims. Slaton presented a copy of his DD-214, but it differed from what people obtained from the National Personnel Records Center. Slaton holds his version, and the Official Version is on the right.

\"\"<\/a>
Notice there are more lines under ‘DECORATIONS and MEDALS,’ then a few more lines under the ‘REMARKS’ section. Although blurry, you can see a difference in the number of lines.

\"\"<\/a>
Here are the two versions side-by-side. Notice the “4” under the ‘Nixon Vietnamese Program 1974,’ it is different than the “4” in the rest of the document.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
A local newspaper in Arizona called Slaton out on his claims.

https:\/\/mountaindailystar.com\/az-house-candidate-misrepresented-military-service-locals-sound-alarm\/<\/a>

Things got a little messy at this point – Slaton wrote a “manifesto” where he disputed each claim in the article. Below are some excerpts:<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
Steve Slaton’s Rebuttal to Article<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

In addition, he suggested that the Guardians of the Green Beret may have altered the results that they got back from the NPRC. Military Phony and This Ain’t Hell \/ Valor Guardians have worked with the Guardians of the Green Beret over many years and find that they adhere to very high standards. We find the claim that they altered records completely implausible. This was discussed on their YouTube channel, complete with a phone call to Slaton.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
SOURCE: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n
\u00a0<\/div>\r\n

This Ain’t Hell \/ Valor Guardians encourages everyone to just send for Slaton’s official military records and observe them firsthand. Military Phony did this and found that the Guardians of the Green Beret were 100% credible, which was no surprise.<\/p>\r\n

. . . . .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

ACTIONS CONDUCTED BY MILITARY PHONIES<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Steven Hawthorne Slaton’s military records were ordered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. We filed with the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) to account for his service claims.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

. . . . .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n

FOIA RESULTS<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n NATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER<\/strong> (NPRC)

\r\n
\"\"<\/a>
FOIA – NPRC – Slaton – Summary Sheet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n
\"\"<\/a>
FOIA – NPRC – Slaton – Assignments and Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

. . . . .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\nNATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER<\/strong> (NPRC) – Guardians of the Green Beret

NOTE: These are third-party records but from a trusted source. We post these results to complement what the NPRC provided us. As always, we obtain our own results to establish a clean chain of custody.\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
NPRC FOIA Results – Guardians of the Green Beret<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\nIn addition, the Guardians of the Green Beret sent the DD-214 supplied by Slaton and asked them if it differed from what they had on file. This was their answer:

\"\"<\/a>\r\n

. . . . .<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

DISCUSSION and SUMMARY<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n LENGTH OF SERVICE
<\/strong>The length of active duty service was three (3) years but did not support a retirement claim. There is always a chance that it could be a medical retirement, but this is a non-issue since the claim was changed on Slaton’s website.

RANK
<\/strong>Slaton was discharged from the Army as a SGT (E-5). This is also a non-issue.

VIETNAM
<\/strong>No medals in Slaton’s record would support a claim of being in Vietnam.

COMBAT and AWARDS
<\/strong>Nothing to designate Slaton as being in Vietnam or combat.

SUMMARY
<\/strong>If Steve Slaton has used any of these claims to gain anything of value, he could be in violation of the Stolen Valor Act. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

. . . . .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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