Patterico's Pontifications

11/2/2007

Fake Military Hero sentenced to Prison

Filed under: Crime,War — DRJ @ 11:42 am



[Guest post by DRJ]

The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 establishes criminal penalties for distributors of phony medals and those who fraudulently claim to be decorated veterans. As a result of this legislation, one fake hero has gotten a real penalty:

“His resume read like a military awards manual. The Purple Heart is given to soldiers wounded or killed in battle. Richard David McClanahan claimed to have three of them. Then there were the Silver Stars. He boasted to have three of those too, more than military legend Audie Murphy. But it was all a lie.

Now, McClanahan will have to spend 34 months in federal prison. McClanahan, 29, of Fort Worth, is one in a small-but-growing list of fake military heroes prosecuted nationally under the Stolen Valor Act of 2005. The measure seeks to penalize people who either distribute phony medals or fraudulently claim to be decorated veterans.

At a sentencing hearing Thursday in Amarillo, McClanahan conceded he made “terrible choices” and acknowledged that he “disrespected this nation and the uniform I wore. I take full responsibility. It was wrong, and I knew it was wrong when I did it,” he told U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson. “I have no right to ask for forgiveness. I tainted this country with my irresponsible actions and for that I’m sorry.”

He was later led out of the courtroom and placed in immediate custody.”

The Judge noted at sentencing that McClanahan’s life revealed a pattern of lying (his sentence also covered a charge for fraud in connection with a car loan) that impacted his punishment:

“Military records show McClanahan served nearly 2½ years in the Navy, and nearly four years in the Army. His service ended in April 2005. After that, McClanahan began taking license with his service record, prosecutors argued.

McClanahan made false claims that he received the Medal of Honor, three Silver Stars, three Purple Hearts and the Legion of Merit, court records show. He boasted to have collected more honors than Murphy, the son of Celeste sharecroppers who received 33 medals during World War II. An investigation determined McClanahan, a 1997 graduate of Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch High School, did not receive any of those medals. He bought medals and certificates on eBay and passed them off as his own.

McClanahan also was given five years’ probation on each count. [Judge] Robinson admonished McClanahan for “a consistent pattern of lying. You lived a completely fictitious life for this period of time,” she said. “You have a long course of behavior that has hurt other people.”

McClanahan faced a maximum of up to 31 years in prison and $1.1 million in fines.”

McClanahan made terrible choices and it’s a shame, especially since he’s a Cal Farley boy. But choices have consequences – in this case, 34 months of consequences.

— DRJ

34 Responses to “Fake Military Hero sentenced to Prison”

  1. “I have no right to ask for forgiveness. I tainted this country with my irresponsible actions and for that I’m sorry.”

    Sounds like he had a little Come-to-Jesus…

    Scott Jacobs (425810)

  2. I hope so, Scott. He said all the right things but many con men do.

    DRJ (5c60fb)

  3. Glad to see the law has some teeth and the judge was willing to punish him.
    It would be nice to see E-bay refuse to allow these types of things to be sold.

    Voice of Reason (10af7e)

  4. Now, let’s get some of the Dems favorite Phony Soldiers to justice. Or does this law have teeth only in Texas?

    Don’t mess with Texas, or Don’t Tread on Me?

    ManlyDad (22e85d)

  5. If he did not use the phony medals and phony military record to defraud anyone out of anything of value, it should not be punishable. I think I can prove my claim that I am a direct descendant of Helen of Troy with my mother’s picture as Exhibit A and my daughter as Exhibit B but what harm does my braggadocio do to anyone even if I could not?

    And as for disrespecting the nation and the uniform he wore, about fifty miilion people voted for another guy who did that, for President.

    nk (7aed24)

  6. Manly Dad,
    The act reads in part
    “False Claims About Receipt of Military Medals- Whoever falsely represents himself or herself, verbally or in writing, to have been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces, or the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such badge, decoration or medal, or any colorable imitation thereof shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.’; and

    (5) by adding at the end the following:

    `(d) Other Medals- If a decoration or medal involved in an offense under subsection (a) or (b) is a Distinguished Service Cross awarded under Section 3742 of title 10, an Air Force Cross awarded under section 8742 of section 10, a Navy cross awarded under section 6242 of title 10, a silver star awarded under section 3746, 6244, or 8746 of title 10, or a Purple Heart awarded under section 1129 of title 10, or any replacement or duplicate medal as authorized by statute, in lieu of the punishment provided in that subsection, the offender shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.’.”

    http://www.homeofheroes.com/herobill/hr3352.html

    I’m not sure which “phony soldiers” you are referring to but if their actions don’t fit the act they are not subject to prosecution. If you and are in agreement that a vet who served honorably and decides to protest the war after leaving the service has that right we are on the same page.

    NK,
    Kerry’s actions after returning from Viet Nam were despicable but he didn’t claim anything he was not legitimately awarded. I know there are questions about his decorations but till proven otherwise benefit of the doubt is in order, IMHO.

    Voice of Reason (10af7e)

  7. Ebay should ban the sale? Why is it that everything that is used improperly must be banned? Can we no longer trust ourselves to do the right thing? Sometimes guns are stolen, so lets just ban guns. Sometimes people say unkind words. Ban hate speech!

    JD (49efd3)

  8. but he didn’t claim anything he was not legitimately awarded.

    Well, some might debate about how legit they were, but he was, at least, awarded them by the military.

    Scott Jacobs (425810)

  9. Scott – RACIST !!!

    VOR – It is clear that phony soldiers refers to the Jesse MacBeth’s of the world.

    JD (49efd3)

  10. Kerry ain’t black or an illegal. Thus I can’t be a racist.

    Had he been a female black illegal immigrant, however, I would currently be running from a mob carrying torches and pitchforks. 🙂

    Scott Jacobs (425810)

  11. Scott – I was just saving VOR the time and effort.
    😉

    JD (49efd3)

  12. Shouldn’t a fake military hero be sent to fake military prison?

    Fritz (d62210)

  13. JD,
    The bill amended Title 18 to read in part
    “(a) In General.— Whoever knowingly wears purchases, attempts to purchase, solicits for purchase, mails, ships, imports, exports, produces blank certificates of receipt , manufactures, or sells, attempts to sell, advertises for sale, trades, barters or exchanges for anything of value any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces, or the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such badge, decoration or medal, or any colorable imitation thereof, except when authorized under regulations made pursuant to law, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both”

    E-bay could be held accountable for selling medals so it would be in its best interest not to do it again.

    You must know ManlyDad or had other conversations with him to be able to deduce he was referring to the “Jesse MacBeths of the world”

    Voice of Reason (10af7e)

  14. Good, I guess. I’m not sure how prison is going to help him, and he seems in need of it.

    htom (412a17)

  15. Scott,
    As I said in #6
    “I know there are questions about his decorations but till proven otherwise benefit of the doubt is in order, IMHO.”

    Voice of Reason (10af7e)

  16. Ebay could be held accountable? Really. What does Ebay sell? Why the rush to hold someone or something else responsible. The people responsible are those that choose to sell these items. Ebay is a forum. People are responsible for their own choices, not Ebay.

    Why is it that it is criminally wrong to falsely lay claim to medals, but not wrong to do what the MacBeth’s of the world have done?

    JD (49efd3)

  17. E-bay could be held accountable for selling medals so it would be in its best interest not to do it again.

    Ebay isn’t the seller, though they generally do pull down questionable auctions when they’re brought to their attention.

    Pablo (99243e)

  18. I haven’t read the Stolen Valor Act closely enough to decide whether eBay could be liable. It would make sense that it might be liable but I doubt prosecutors would go after eBay unless it intentionally offered prohibited medals. It seems to me the intent of the legislation is to get the seller who offers the medal, not the middleman.

    It seems similar to YouTube, which could theoretically be liable for copyright violations but probably won’t be a target as long as it cooperates with the copyright holder and law enforcement.

    DRJ (5c60fb)

  19. And as for disrespecting the nation and the uniform he wore, about fifty miilion people voted for another guy who did that, for President.

    BDS is so widespread on the left that it appears even in comments about subjects far afield. NK is probably one of those people who post on DailyKos about how their lives have been ruined — just ruined — by the Bush presidency.

    Banjo (b5278d)

  20. NK is a pretty conservative guy but he doesn’t like laws that infringe on individual autonomy. I think this is one of those times.

    DRJ (5c60fb)

  21. DRJ,
    You are probably right that they wouldn’t go after the company, nor am I really a fan of that approach.

    Phony certificates are required for the vets to make claims and fall into the document fraud arena I suppose which might be a different matter altogether.

    voiceofreason (86ae15)

  22. Banjo – You are dead wrong about NK.

    JD (49efd3)

  23. Thanks, DRJ. Banjo, I was talking about Kerry. VOR, I do believe that Kerry was “medal-scavenger” a la Captain Stransky in Cross of Iron but I was talking more about his “atrocities reminiscent of Genghis Khan” and other anti-VietNam war activities. I am not all that much on the “he didn’t deserve them” choir.

    nk (7aed24)

  24. nk – I suspect his meeting with the North Vietnamese would be included on your list, no?

    JD (49efd3)

  25. NK,
    As I stated earlier
    “Kerry’s actions after returning from Viet Nam were despicable but he didn’t claim anything he was not legitimately awarded. I know there are questions about his decorations but till proven otherwise benefit of the doubt is in order, IMHO.”

    I think we are in agreement on this.

    voiceofreason (86ae15)

  26. Why is it that selling medals, or claiming medals, appears to be a bigger crime than claiming a veteran status for purposes of pushing an ideological agenda?

    JD (49efd3)

  27. JD,
    Pushing an ideological agenda is not a crime. Fradulently claiming military service or decorations for unearned benefits is a crime.

    But i think you knew that already.

    voiceofreason (86ae15)

  28. VOR – According to you, I am a racist. Therefore, I shant be speaking to you.

    Personally, buying or selling medals should not be as big of a crime as impersonating a veteran.

    JD (49efd3)

  29. JD #29,

    The primary sponsor of the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 is Cong. Salazar of Colorado, who acted in part at the instigation of a Colorado State student who did her senior thesis on the subject. Cong. Salazar is also trying to pass legislation entitled the Military Valor Roll of Honor which “will create a database containing the names and citations of individuals who have been awarded the Medal of Honor or any other medal authorized by the United States Congress.” The goal is to know who rightfully has certain medals and be able to prosecute those who falsely claim to have them. According to Cong. Salazar’s website, this was intended to be two-part legislation to prohibit people from claiming hero status and from buying/selling medals.

    DRJ (5c60fb)

  30. “I’m not sure how prison is going to help him”

    He will legitimately earn awards, such as the Time Served Medal, the Clean Cell Award, Woodshop Star and the Purple Butt.

    Teflon Dad (37c74d)

  31. Don’t forget the ever popular Tossed Salad, Teflon Dad.

    daleyrocks (906622)

  32. I know of a person (male) that was never in the Armed Services and has been seen in the USMC full dress blue uniform and wears the purple heart! I would like to know how to go about reporting this to the proper authorities. I have photos of him in uniform!

    Jack Griswold (c36902)

  33. you know, having been stationed with this prick really ticks me off because he brought discredit to the military by making such claims, while the unit he was kicked out of has served in combat and suffered losses. He’s a disgrace to the 4th Infantry Division and the United States Military as a whole.

    amy (5eaad8)


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