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One of our ninjas sends us this link to an article in The Citizen, about an issue we are all familiar with- Stolen Valor- and how it isn’t just we military types who are sensitive to it. The story as told by David Epps, a Sky Pilot (which denomination is left unsaid, not that it matters much) who was welcoming a young warrior home, and his encounter with a Valor Thief.<\/p>\n
David Epps:<\/strong><\/p>\n I was about to meet with a young man, recently discharged from the United States Air Force, for breakfast at a local restaurant. I was going to welcome him back to the community and buy his breakfast.<\/p>\n I was the first to arrive and stood in line at the hostess desk. In front of me was a young man I judged to be about 18. He had a short haircut and sported a Marine Corps T-shirt that featured the famous \u201cyellow footprints\u201d known by every Marine who passed through Parris Island or San Diego and the name of a certain unit. The shirt also bore other Marine Corps symbols. He was with another man, a bit older, and I decided I was going to buy this young Marine\u2019s breakfast as well.<\/p>\n When he looked at me briefly, I said, \u201cSemper fi!\u201d He didn\u2019t respond so I assumed he hadn\u2019t heard me. I moved closer and said, \u201cWhere are you stationed?\u201d There was a pause, an awkward silence, and then he said, \u201cI\u2019m not stationed anywhere. I almost enlisted\u2026\u201d Whatever he said after that wasn\u2019t important.<\/p>\n It turns out that, according to him, he did physical training with a group of recruits for six months but was leaving for college that very afternoon. He didn\u2019t enlist. He wasn\u2019t a Marine. He wasn\u2019t even a Marine recruit yet here he was with a military haircut wearing a shirt that led me, and everyone else who saw it, to believe that he was a Marine. He wasn\u2019t. I didn\u2019t buy him breakfast. Because I had my church polo shirt on, I was polite. But, inside, I was cold.<\/p>\n Perhaps the same is true with the other military branches, but those of us who actually earned the title of \u201cUnited States Marine,\u201d take this stuff very seriously. He was actually lucky I was the one behind him in line. I know plenty of Marines and Marine veterans who would have made a public issue of it right there in the restaurant. Some might even have ripped it off, risking an assault charge.<\/p>\n Wearing a military shirt isn\u2019t the same as a college shirt or sweat shirt. I have a University of Tennessee shirt although, except for continuing education classes taken when I worked for the Tennessee Department of Human Services, I took no classes at UT.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As a former Marine, this Padre gets it; I’d donate when they pass the hat after his sermon. Read the rest of the article here: The Citizen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"