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Tag: veteran

  • Fake Army Ranger Exposed; Video Goes Viral On YouTube

    Fake Army Ranger Exposed; Video Goes Viral On YouTube

    On Black Friday, Afghanistan veteran Ryan Berk spotted a man dressed in camouflage fatigues while shopping at a mall in Pennsylvania. While it is common for veterans to don their uniforms when they’re out and about, Berk noticed something different about the parading soldier. Aside from having the American flag patch in the wrong spot, Berk saw three Combat Infantryman Badges (CIBs) on the soldier’s outfit, a rare feat for most men in service.

    Berk, a recipient of the Purple Heart for his service as a soldier of the 101st Airborne Division, noted how rare it is for soldiers of his age to receive three CIBs. Wanting to know more about the man, he started questioning the “soldier,” who identified himself as Sean Yetman.

    Armed with his phone, Berk started questioning Yetman about his experiences. When Berk asked him where he got his three CIBs, Yetman replied that he got all three in Afghanistan. Soldiers are only given one CIB for every campaign that they go through, making it impossible for Yetman to achieve such a feat.

    Berk then accused Yetman of being a phony and impersonating a soldier, prompting the soldier to walk away. In the video, Berk was heard shouting: “Here it is, stolen valor at its finest. Why don’t you just admit you’re a phony?”

    The confrontation quickly became viral after being posted on YouTube. To date, it has received more than two million views. Now the government is getting involved as Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger about the possibility of a federal crime as shown in the video.

    According to The Stolen Valor Act of 2013, it is a crime for anyone to falsely claim to have received any decorations from the military especially if the intention is to obtain tangible benefit, money, or properties.

    Recently, there has been a rise in the number of individuals who are using the uniform to receive recognition and military discount perks from stores and restaurants.

  • High School Diploma Finally Given To 87-year-old

    A high school diploma was awarded last Thursday, but this was no normal graduation ceremony. The honored recipient of this particular high school diploma was 87-year-old veteran George Bush.

    Bush was set to graduate, for the first time, in June of 1945. However, fate had other plans. Instead of earning his high school diploma on schedule, he was drafted that January and never received that diploma.

    “He never really talked about it, but I think he always wanted it,” said Bush’s daughter, Diane Knowles.

    Back in November, Bush happened to be watching a news program about certain veterans from the Scranton area who were receiving their high school diplomas in a special ceremony.

    “He looked at my mom and said, ‘Do you think I can get mine?’” Knowles said.

    Knowles then asked the school about her aging father being able to receive his high school diploma. Well, about a month ago, George Bush received news that he would be awarded his high school diploma at the following special school assembly.

    “I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” Bush joked about getting the news.

    George and Emma Bush, who have five children that are all graduates from the same high school, celebrated their 65th anniversary last Wednesday. He never thought he’d see his high school diploma, but he wasn’t bitter about being pulled out of the last months of high school to go to war. Like so many kids his age, it was just a part of life back then.

    “When I was 18, I knew it was going to happen,” Bush said.

    After serving in Vietnam, he returned to his hometown of Stroudsburg, Delaware and worked for Instrument Specialties in Delaware Water Gap for 56 years.

    What a great story! See kids, it just goes to show that you’re never too old to reach your goals.

    Image via YouTube

  • Mike Rowe of ‘Dirty Jobs’ Inspired by Wounded War Vet

    Mike Rowe has a new hero. The Dirty Jobs star met Travis Mills recently–a wounded war veteran who served three tours in Afghanistan during which he lost both arms and both legs when a bomb blew up beneath him. The quadruple amputee, who didn’t believe he would survive, spent several months recovering at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The retired United States Army staff sergeant now maneuvers successfully with the help of prosthetics, and doesn’t consider himself a wounded veteran.

    “I’m not wounded any more,” he said. “I’m just a guy living life.”

    Travis’s true passion now lies in inspiring other wounded war veterans. During his recovery he constantly made his way through the hospital and encouraged others with war injuries. Once released, he created the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit that was “formed to benefit and assist wounded and injured veterans and their families.”

    Travis Mills’ motto is “Never give up. Never quit.” It really struck a cord with Mike Rowe. On Memorial Day the TV personality, whose new show Somebody’s Gotta Do It began filming for CNN last week, was so taken by Mills and his amazing attitude that he wrote a message of gratitude on Facebook that he posted on Memorial Day.

    Post by Mike Rowe.

    This is humbling–not just the attitude that Travis Mills has but also the fact that a TV personality with the clout that Mike Rowe has would take the time to acknowledge the amazing challenges this war veteran has overcome. Some celebrities spend loads of time touting their own merits. Not often do you seen one use their name and their fame to tout others.

    Travis Mills is amazingly inspirational. His attitude should humble everyone who reads about him and should make each and every one of us grateful for those gifts we take for granted every day. Mike Rowe is pretty cool, too, for bringing Travis to everyone’s attention.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Troy Polamalu Cuts Locks In Support Of Veterans

    The last time Troy Polamalu’s hair touched a Barber’s tool was more than 11 years ago, but Troy was ready to let go of his treasured hair (at least a little bit) to support the veterans.  USA today reported that the footballer will have his wife Theodora trim off one lock of his hair which will be auctioned to support the 7 week cause aimed at raising awareness for veterans’ issues.

    “I understand the issues that veterans and their families face while serving our country, and I am honored to join the Veterans of Foreign Wars Mane Event, encouraging the nation to unite for veterans for a second year,” said Polamalu. “By getting my hair cut on Veterans Day, I am showing my commitment to the men and women who served our country – the real heroes.”

    http://youtu.be/HsSAlVki6hw

    Polamalu and his wife Theodora founded the Harry Panos Fund for veterans to support charities that support the military. “I started working with the VFW a couple years ago and have always had a lot of compassion for what veterans go through because of my wife’s grandfather, who I was close with.” Polamalu said.  Polamalu has been a longtime supporter of the veterans but he became a VFW ambassador last year.

    2013 VFW Year in Review

    (main image via YouTube.com)

  • SpongeBob Headstone for Iraq Vet Banned by Cemetery

    A family is battling a cemetery after they were forced to remove a previously approved headstone for Kimberly Walker, an Iraq War veteran. The headstone, which is 7 feet high, is a smiling SpongeBob in an Army uniform. Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati said that they decided the headstone was inappropriate. The family of Kimberly Walker also had to remove a near-duplicate headstone that was set up for Walker’s living sister.

    “We’ve decided that [the headstones] aren’t appropriate for our historic cemetery and they can’t be displayed here,” cemetery President Gary Freytag said. Freytag also said that the SpongeBob headstones were approved in error and that they didn’t fit in with the cemetery’s stately appearance.

    Walker’s family is furious with the cemetery’s decision to remove the SpongeBob headstones. “They had no compassion for what we were going through,” said Walker’s mother, Deborah Walker. Kimberly Walker served two tours in Iraq and was found strangled and beaten to death this past February. The family had just gotten the headstones erected earlier this month when they were told they had to be removed.

    Do you think the cemetery was right to remove the headstones? Respond below.

    The cemetery has offered to reimburse the family, who prepaid $29,000 for their six plots in Spring Grove Cemetery, for each of the headstones as well as pay for new ones.

    “I feel terrible that it got to this point but I’m hoping we can come out at the other end of the tunnel with a solution,” Freytag said. Freytag said a possible solution to the issue may include using a more traditional gravestone with a small likeness of SpongeBob.

    The family doesn’t want new headstones, though–they want the other SpongeBob headstones back. Walker’s twin sister Kara Walker says that the lack of respect the cemetery showed by forcing them to take down the SpongeBob headstones is very frustrating.

    “They already brought enough grief and pain to the family,” she said. “We want what we paid for and what I know my sister would have wanted.” SpongeBob was Kimberly Walker’s favorite cartoon. “For them not to accommodate and respect what my sister sacrificed, not only for my family, but for everyone else in this country, really bothers me,” Kara added.

    Images via YouTube and Hulu