@@johnmellor932 I didn't need that explained, I'm already well aware. The point is he was claiming to be a royal marine, he even said so himself in the interview. But my point is he never completed the commando course, and never received a green beret. Therefore, he was never, at any point even through training a royal marine commando...
I’m American and I heard him make his case but it just sounded like a bunch of bullshit. I’m a US Army Veteran and we hear the same thing from wanna be military people who didn’t make it past basic training. A bunch of quitters.
That would depend why he didn't pass out. My mate was medically discharged, he sustained his injury 3 days before passing out of phase 2.... he is a soldier. He isn't a veteran of any conflicts.
WackyVeteran Hi there.. Oddly the video has come up in my suggested videos on RU-vid... I was the reporter. The Richard Lee case revolved around the use of the term Royal Marine Officer. I spoke extensively to MoD sources and looked at this in detail, including at pay slips and so fourth. I understand, respect and acknowledge the points your raise entirely. In terms of using the term Royal Marine Officer, he was, according to an RN Commodore definitely a Royal Marine Officer. Unlike RMAS, they commission on day one. It doesn’t mean that people won’t be genuinely aggrieved at the notion of using the title not having been in any conflicts (which I haven’t either btw) particularly as the term was used in marketing... but all that is clear is that in his case, it wasn’t black and white. If people said, he’s bang out of order to trade off it, that would be a valid argument, but I did investigate this very thoroughally using extemely well placed and official sources. He was a Royal Marine Officer... he served for 11 months and was medically discharged, I believe he broke a bone in his leg if memory serves. He didn’t get a Green Beret as he didn’t pass out of the CTC.
@@DdraigGoch84 surely an 'underlying' health problem would've been picked up by your GP before even getting to PSAC stage? If not, then psac would've picked up on it.
600 men took part in the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854. Nearly half of them were killed. 25 years later over 1,000 turned up for the reunion! So this isn’t anything new. I think it is more amusing than criminal.
I served with the Royal army in the Falklands war , when we flew out on the task force and landed on the islands in Norway , we had to march from there through the Norwegian desert to fight the Spanish who invaded the embassy on the islands. I was recruited by the SAS after they saw how I shot down an Exocet missile with a 9 mill, and the CO of the SAS Lewis Collins gave me a solid gold mess tin with " who dares wins" on it.
I spent 10 years in the Royal Engineers (1969-79) and the closest I came to conflict was being shot at a few times during numerous tours of duty in Northern Ireland. I earned my GSM though I can't honestly say I worked hard for it. Not a hero but, definitely more deserving than tossers who have only fought on a PS2 / XBox.
It's an alright pastime, but I'm not claiming ex service status for being the old Call of Duty, let ALONE putting a uniform on for it!! I'll leave that for the dossers who claim they're professionals and dont need phase 1 training
For someone who suffers from a severe case of imposter syndrome (look it up if your not familiar with it) and PTSD, I get people who come just shy of calling me out on stolen valor because of my uncomfortable and shaky demeanor when talking about my service. Some of the vets asking me havent done anything outside wearing the uniform. From this experience, I have found that most of the vets who call out stolen valor and our vindictive about it are insecure bully's. I reach a boiling point where my insecurity and inhibition get thrown out the window and I start calling these same guys out only to find that most of them were POGS or grunts that never served in combat
This bloke wasn't a marine, it's as simple as that, he never passed out. So in the eyes of those who served, he never possessed what it takes to pass out. But when these people start dressing up?
As a British Army veteran myself, I think wearing military uniform is fine, people wear it for work etc & people have done it for generations, what I do have an issue with is some of those impersonating a veteran or serving member, by wearing medals they haven’t earned. This is where the law needs to be changed. It makes a mockery of those who didn’t come home and those who’s lives were changed forever due to war. It has got to the point now, where genuine veterans are having to prove themselves rather than the fake ones. It happens every Remembrance Day & shouldn’t.
I have issue with people impersonating higher ranking ncos and commissioned officers as a way to harass and extort military servicemembers. It's illegal to impersonate law enforcement, it needs to be more illegal to impersonate military, they do that to scam people and especially scam the VA out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Do they deserve to be humiliated publicly?" Abso-freaking-lutely, they do. If someone makes the choice to do this, they make the choice to suffer the consequences. I'm not the sort to take my anger at such people out on them in a violent way, or even in a property damaging way. Talking about them publicly serves the purpose just fine **without** the legal consequences. Of course, I'm also an American and a veteran of the US Army, fully loaded with US's baggage about veterans and patriotism. That obviously colors my view. I do wonder how it would shake out if someone faking it were caught and outed and then publicly apologized. That might be interesting to watch.
@Ghent Purdue Certainly, we do. I try very hard to avoid it, but it's hard to escape a certain 'MURCA!' attitude nonsense every now and again. The British have a similar, if quieter, conceit... that very subtle 'Imperial' attitude they get. The French have their ingrained 'Napoleonic' finicky Gallic pride. I think everybody carries a certain 'national attitude' with them that is an essential [but not necessarily complimentary] part of their character.
This happens everywhere - we've been dealing with this crap since Vietnam. There are still people getting around claiming to be things they weren't. The legal definition of fraud is 'gaining a benefit by deception'. The term in Australia is 'Valour Thieves'. Sadly they are everywhere.
I worked with a guy who claimed he was a reservist for 10 years, as a sergeant. The questions he asked me made me wonder how these guys were being trained. Then it hit me, a phony who bought his uniforms online and at Army Navy stores.
The problem is that a lot of the people who pretend to be ex-military have some pretty complex mental health issues, to say nothing of their delusion, perhaps those exposing them might be better spending their time campaigning for proper funding of NHS Mental Health services. I don't think that public humiliation of someone who is experiencing a mental health crisis will do anything to help them, possibly quite the opposite.
The greatest marvel of Victorian engineering is the balcony at Princes Gate South Kensington. It held the weight of over 300 SAS troopers...I was there, I'm the one in the balaclava.
To ALL of us WHO DID serve, to see and hear somebody pretend they did, is an insult to the memory of the heroes who gave all, and their families! As far as I am concerned, it should be treated the same as any other form of theft by deceit!
As a veteran I am not upset by 'walts', leave them be. I would rather hunt down veterans 'rough sleeping' or in other troubled situations; now they are people worthy of vigilante interest and help.
THOSE BASTERDS! WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS FAKE SERVICE? The penalty for this is actual military service. But your rank and achievements are wiped at the end of the sentence.
I dont think the military should take that risk deploying and training people who are mentally ill and maybe straight up sociopaths. They'd be in there for the wrong reason
Hello readers. I met a man today (Sat 16th March 2019 @ 16:00 hrs this afternoon) in Surbiton and he was asking for money. He was on the corner of the street directly opposite the railway station, just up from Nero's Coffee Bar. He was dressed in combats and with a dog at his feet. A Rottweiler pup about a year old. The man had a ring on his left pinky with an SAS emblem on it. This also caught my eye as well as the combats. I genuinely did not have any change on me. As an ex serviceman myself I asked him if he was ex-military. He said yes SAS. I asked him when he served and he said in the '70s. He told me he was destitute. I asked him his name. He would not give his name. I asked him if he was getting any assistance from the Regiment and or MOD. He said the Poppy Appeal was giving him dog food for his dog. Does anyone know this man? Aged about 60 years. Heavily built with a beard. I am not knocking him for if he is ex-job he needs help. If not though he is clearly spinning a yarn and attempting to con all that passes him by with his ploy as an ex-serviceman? Only God knows the truth at this time unless someone adds to this to clarify and or not, either way, though thanks for any advice. Please, I am not judging I am just highlighting. Blessings. James (Ex NCO Irish Guards). Quis Separabit!
In another life I was a Horse Handler during the American Civil War and had twelve horses shot out from under me. That does not include all the times I was wounded.
The Uniforms Act 1894 states: (1)It shall not be lawful for any person not serving in Her Majesty’s Military Forces to wear without Her Majesty’s permission the uniform of any of those forces, or any dress having the appearance or bearing any of the regimental or other distinctive marks of any such uniform.
I do not particularly mind the ones that dress in a mish-mash of uniforms. Or that they decorate those uniforms with a wide assortment of medals, ribbons, fourragere all while boasting of impossible deeds that are always top secret. It is clear they are detached from reality. I feel they are more to be pitied than attacked.
Yes, the retards and fantasisers are ill, and deserve pity more than anything. Cause no one believes them. Some asshats do it to get discounts, or free hunting for vets, or something. That is deliberate fraud, and an offence. Lying in a bar with fake medals is not illegal in the US, but looked down on. The Supreme Court says it’s free speech. So real vets do some free speech of their own on their lying butts. Hey, everyone has free speech!
As long as they aren't scamming people out of money or valuable goods and services, I don't care. But if I see someone claim a purple heart and used that to get me to buy them dinner and I later find out they never even served, I'm going to be pissed.
There's an important principle at stake. Some people build their lives around a lie and gain public office etc though deception. The remedy is simple. Call it out for what it is - fraud. Free speech my hat.
I'm a civilian, never been in the armed forces, never even applied to the armed forces, but even I cannot understand the mentality of these very sad individuals pretending to be something that they're not. It must be so infuriating for genuine veterans who encounter these people.
I bought a US Flying suit at an air show many years ago. Put a few basic badges on (no name tags to maintain my respect for the military) and have worn it to fancy dress. Always goes down a treat.
Its wrong to pretend to be a war hero I 100% agree. However leave the mentally ill alone. Yes they believe they are a war hero and also think they are Superman. So they aren't intending to hurt any one.
Oliver Stone served in Vietnam and made a film called Platoon - perhaps more servicemen and women should write about their own experiences - a particularly good book is 'Excursion to Hell'.
The commentator asks a question, should those guilty of Stolen Valor receive such harsh public ridicule? I think they should receive every bit of the public humiliation and ousting plus 12 weeks in Marine boot camp and SEAR five times in a row. (That's the US Marine boot camp... with NO chance of ever getting in.)
THe oldest trick in the book by these poodles fakers is to claim that what they did was classified. The ones that claim to be Special Forces are easy pickings.
Met a guy just yesterday who said he was 7 years British Army. I saked him what regiment he replied Catterick 😅. I then asked his service number he flapped 😅 Yeah walter mitty s deserve everything they get. And we need a stolen valour act here in the U.K
If these “Walts” were the last line of defence, then I may have an issue. Or they were gaining some monetary benefits at the expense of a genuine veteran, then I may have a different view. But no they are sad, not bad. These vigilantes are worse, who appoints them as the arbiters of right and wrong...
I can understand veterans being angry about fraudsters. My younger brother is a decorated officer and I know it would anger him. But vigilantism can also be reckless. I don't think Richard Lee is by any means the worst example - it's not like he had never had anything to do with the Army. Changing the law in this regard seems reasonable because it isn't just disrespectful to veterans but also misleads well-meaning members of the public
I'm British army veteran and these Walter mittys make me sick to my stomach, but some the misguided hunters targeted me as I don't speak military jargon bs like full your boots etc. I served in Royal signals and did one tour of Iraq on op telic 3 but was attached to the Queens royal hussars for a while whilst there as they was part of same bde 20 armd based out of paderborn area Germany. Then when I left was left homeless out in streets after being in woods with hexi cooker and poncho etc near Keswick can't complain lovely area of the country then rejoined In The Rifles got to month 5 and snapped my right tibia very frustrating as loved my military service and waited so long to get back in since then been homeless many times and the amount of people at some these places lived at who embellish their service or flat out lie is truly disgusting latest one being cushty the army intelligence officer with wrong colour beret he was wearing the royal marine green one and he gave speech at house of Lords and then met rishi sunak the prime minister thankfully the Walter mittys club exposed this sad saps who was claiming he served in Falklands and had lost comrades etc it really boils my.... People who lie about their service and takes valour away from others like my grandfather who served In Malaya and no longer with us and my pals from training who died or severely injured on tour in 2009 ish
Meant to add, the guy claimed to be in the same places as me at the same time, and yet I couldn't place him. I thought that was very odd. Maybe he was the Walter. Seemed odd to me we were in Blackdown at the same time, and in Germany at the same time.
There’s an English family of imposters (German heritage) which appear at every remembrance celebration. They all have honorary military titles, and the most spectacular uniforms and collection of medals. Reminds me of a previous US commander in chief who dodged the draft for the vietnam war on the pretext that he had bone spurs, another ‘Walter Mitty’ and coincidentally he is also of German heritage.
I hate stolen valor, especially as a American civil war vet. In all seriousness this a joke. Btw people who do this should be charged with a felony. They know dam well what they are doing.
Anyone who lies about doing anything that requires effort and keeps doing it should be exposed. Its pretty insulting to people who make an effort to do anything in life and then some lazy person turns up and goes yeah I do that too.
Various things depends on what someone’s motive is. To give an example of that I know of, I have a Bengali friend whose uncle served in Britain’s Indian colonial army back in ww2 including fighting the battle of Imphal in Burma. When he came to the UK in the 70s he ran a small convenience shop in east London. When a drunk man came in and tried asking to pay next week. He refused The drunk man spat in his face trying to steal a bottle of whiskey telling him and later the police who arrested him he was a WW2 veteran who had fought in every battle the British army took part in from 1939-1945 and it was a disgrace to refuse veteran credit especially when the shops run by an immigrant. A week later a lady who was in the shop at the time told my friends dad the “veteran” drunk was a local resident who served a grand total of 2 weeks basic training after which he deserted and lived on a remote farm in Lancashire working for his girlfriend dad almost for free telling anyone who asked he was injured and medically discharged from the army after Dunkirk. He only came back to London out of hiding after many years after the war ended and the government decided to stop going after ww2 deserters/draft dodgers. Miraculously he still somehow managed to convince the government to give him a war pension for the two weeks training he did !
The walts never learn. Add to list the clown of a chief constable from Northampton police who served for 30 odd years in the police , having lied about his Royal Navy career. Dismissed.
Happens here in the US all the time... I don't go out of my way to call them out, but it's usually if the start a conversation and talk about it that I call them out on it. They won't know basic things about the military. Have yet to see one in a uniform. I just think, how sad is their life to ha e to pretend to be something they're not.
I served in the SAS . Salvation Army Service got medals for best chicken soup and I was good at making hot dogs ...WTF I never got any medals for killing anyone . It's not fair lol
I’ve been questioned at Home Depot ( military discount) even after showing my drivers license to the naive cashier . In Ohio it shows as vet after sending copy of DD 214 on application. 🤔🥴
Since it isn't a crime to be a fake solider. It will be a great idea if anyone was caught being a fake solider. He has to do service in the country for a period of time. A cook would even work
Totally agree, my boy (although he doesn't like me calling him that) is in the army. I would hate anyone who took credit for what he does when they have never served. Keep up the good work to make this law!