In case you didn’t know it, there was a Veterans’ Homecoming in Branson, Missouri on Veterans’ Day Weekend, and some friends of ours were honored as well as doing the honoring, according to the Tri-Lake News;
This year, four individuals were recipients of The Capt. John Koutrakos Patriotism Award.
“We’re always looking for someone who is going above and beyond,” Schantag said of the award. “Our recipients are some of the best and brightest this country has to offer.”
Steve Robinson, a retired Navy SEAL, and his wife, Sharon, shared the award with Don, also a retired Navy SEAL, and Diane Shipley.
The couples were honored and recognized for their efforts in sniffing out impostors posing as special forces veterans.
“They are leaders in the work that we do with the frauds and phonies and the huge epidemic we have in this country,” Schantag said. “They’re pioneers of the methodology. They don’t leave a stone unturned, they don’t wrongly accuse an individual.”
Steve Robinson had been exposing false claims for 12 years before he passed the torch to Don Shipley, who has continued the efforts for the past few years.
Don Shipley was deemed a phony’s worst nightmare by Schantag, citing his hit YouTube series “Phony Navy SEAL of the Week.”
Here’s a close up of the plaque;
I’ve talked with Don on the phone, and he’s one of the friendliest and most generous guys you’d ever want to meet – unless you’re a phony, of course. His wife adds a certain dimension and touch of class to his videos. They certainly deserve this honor together. And it’s only fitting that Mary got to present it to them.
Comments
22 responses to “Shipleys honored at Veterans’ Homecoming”
Was this before or after Dallas parachuted in and had the dance with Mary? Because he totally said he was going to do that, and when a LARP trail assassin says stuff, it fucking happens.
teddy996: LARP? New one on me. Does that stand for Lame-Azz Royal Prick? (smile)
Hondo–nah, DullASS was too busy with his latest court case.
E-mail me if you want the details. Not all good, but certainly not “expunged” either.
This is great. I am happy for the Shipleys and Robinsons but there is a question that begs to be asked, so I’ll ask it: What about The Hair? They did not award The Hair anything? I am incredulous. I am baffled. They had better hope that The Hair takes it well. I don’t want to be around if it doesn’t. The only reason Congreve wrote that ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’ is because he never imagined The Hair (and you should check Congreve’s out) would ever be dissed.
This is nice to see.
It’s a pity that it is even remotely necessary for anyone to spend time routing out the liars and thieves. It never used to even be thought of as a problem.
Still, I’m quite glad that people who are doing this, prying the truth out of the phonies, are recognized for what they do.
It is great to see a fellow SEAL honored
That had better be somebody’s idea of a joke in comment 6.
Great people … Great award!
Well done!
My guess is it’s ALWAYS been a big problem, Ex-PH2. We just never realized how big a problem it was until recently.
However, recently it’s also become much easier to catch and expose such a-hole liars. That IMO is a damn good thing.
2/17 Air Cav: yeah, that’s a joke (I checked).
Congrats to both Senior Chief Shipley and his CINC-Home.
Well done Don! Keep up your great work, please.
FANTASTIC!!! It’s heart warming and refreshing to see that deserving folks get recognition like this.
I would like to see the Senior Chief and Mrs. Shipley get their own reality TV show.
I’m serious. I know people.
Unfortunately, nobody in show business…
Congratulations to the Shipleys.
@2- Live Action Role Player = LARP.
You know those guys who dress up and pretend to be wizards and vampires and shit? LARPers.
Dallas insists he’s a LRRP assassin. I am merely correcting him.
@4- The Hair won a trophy for its best supporting role at the YouTube Video Awards.
teddy996: well, OK. But for Dullazz, IMO my breakout for the acronym just works better.
Very well done, Robinson’s & Shipley’s! Don, that one HAIR left of center is out of order, sailor. 😉
NHSparky, could you drop me a line please? Question for you.
Happy to say there were no Dull-Ass sightings at the event. Even happier that Mary had us sitting at Steve & Sharon Robinson’s table. Mary pulled off a great double-whammy by convincing both Steve and Don that they would be helping present the award to the other. Steve gave a great off-the-cuff acceptance speech about what it means to be a Patriot. Aside from her year-round work exposing phonies, Mary puts on a great event with the gala. I encourage everyone to clear your Veterans week schedules next year and see if you can make it down to Branson. We had great time in a beautiful community that really knows how to put out the red carpet for vets. The only bad thing that happened was that I missed TSO by one day, as he left the Ozarks to soak up the sun in Cabo. Even TSO remarked on how friendly everyone was; although I think he would hope for a bagpipe themed show on the strip next year. I’m not sure the Dropkick Murphys would be a huge draw in Branson however.
@10, Hondo, I don’t recall seeing it in the 1980s or 1990s, not even after Chicago had its own ‘welcome home’ event, which I think was the first one of its kind.
If it did exist, it wasn’t on quite such a wholesale spread, but you’re right — it has probably always existed since men went off to war somewhere and managed to come straggling back afterwards.