We see a lot of military fakes here at TAH.\u00a0 And often, it seems as if there\u2019s simply no way of getting through to those sh!theads just how badly \u2013 and why \u2013 their false claims disturb legitimate veterans and their families.<\/p>\n
Most of the time, for fakes the words of the Captain character from Cool Hand Luke<\/span> (the prison warden played by Strother Martin) are completely apropos:\u00a0 \u201cSome men you just can\u2019t reach.\u201d<\/p>\n I thought about this for a couple of days, debating whether or not to post this article.\u00a0 I decided to go ahead.\u00a0\u00a0 So here I\u2019ll try yet again to explain to those fakers why stolen valor – and especially false claims regarding the Purple Heart – is so infuriating.<\/p>\n Past history tells me I\u2019m tilting at windmills.\u00a0 Still, here goes.<\/p>\n . . .<\/p>\n In a previous article, I highlighted a comment from TAH reader Enigma4You<\/a>, Wesley Wilson.\u00a0 His comment regarding the Purple Heart and why those falsely claiming to have received this decoration should be ashamed of their lie is truly worthwhile reading.<\/p>\n Wesley\u2019s comment is eloquent, heartfelt, and moving.\u00a0 And it gets the point across in a manner that only an absolute idiot could miss.<\/p>\n And yet, that moving and heartfelt comment only tells part of the story.\u00a0 It discusses the third-worst<\/i> scenario regarding the award of the Purple Heart.<\/p>\n . . .<\/p>\n Wesley’s comment addresses the situation of a wounded loved one injured in combat, but who will survive.\u00a0 There are two scenarios that are even worse.<\/p>\n A worse scenario is one in which a Purple Heart is presented to the next-of-kin of someone killed in action, or who dies of wounds received in combat.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t really think I need to discuss this situation.\u00a0 Why it\u2019s worse should be pretty damned obvious.<\/p>\n And yet, IMO even that<\/em> isn\u2019t the worst scenario.\u00a0 In even that nightmare scenario \u2013 like the scenario of someone WIA who is now out of danger \u2013 the individual’s status is known.\u00a0 There is closure.<\/p>\n And there’s also a Purple Heart.<\/p>\n . . .<\/p>\n IMO, the worst scenario is one which today is thankfully rare.\u00a0 However, during some past conflicts it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n During some past conflicts \u2013 in particular, during World War II \u2013 casualty notification was handled differently than it is today.\u00a0 Because of the vastly larger number of casualties, telegrams were typically used to notify the next-of-kin vice a personal visit by someone in uniform.<\/p>\n Telegrams were used to notify families of loved ones known to have been KIA.\u00a0 But those weren\u2019t the worst casualty telegrams.<\/p>\n The worst such telegrams were those that began thusly: \u00a0\u201cWe regret to inform you that your son, Firstname MI Lastname, is missing and presumed dead<\/em> . . . .<\/p>\n Telegrams of this sort are not<\/span> a myth or urban legend.\u00a0 They were indeed used during World War II \u2013 both for those KIA, and for those MIA and presumed dead.\u00a0 I know this because at different times, different branches of my family received each type of telegram during that conflict.<\/p>\n An uncle by marriage I never knew didn’t make it home from that war.\u00a0 His family was notified by telegram that he had been killed.\u00a0 He\u2019s buried today at the National Cemetery at Gettysburg.<\/p>\n