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the Wannabees...but NeverWillBees

Leatherneck75Leatherneck75 Member Posts: 19 ✭✭
Note: I meant to post this to the "Fake Ranger" thread...not sure what happened. No Bill Gates am I.

So many of these clowns have been busted wearing medals for valor. It used the be the Medal of Honor, but in an effort to fly under the radar, they have downsized to Navy Crosses, Silver Stars, DSCs, etc.

While on recruiting duty in the Marine Corps, I was amazed at the ones who would tell me Vietnam stories. I would ask their units and they would give me some unit that never left the States...like they didn't think I would know (and I wasn't even in Vietnam--that ended the month I graduated high school). Of course, as long as they bought they drinks, I would patiently nod and smile...

There is something wrong with these folks, something missing in their lives. When the Vietnam Wall was erected, you would have thought that everyone who served there was Ranger, SF, SEALS, Force Recon, etc. Where were the guys who drove trucks, cooked the chow, etc.? I recently heard someone say, "There were about 30,000 SEALS in Vietnam, and I have met all 300,000 of them."

Every job is important, as long as it is honest work. The infantryman can't do without the supply guy, the tanker can't do without the refueler, etc. Anyhow, they are pathetic and to be pitied.

Comments

  • rawhide54rawhide54 Member Posts: 432 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If I remember correctly, the ratio is 13 to 1 for support troops for every combat soldier/Marine. Kind of skews the odds against all of those claiming to be combat arms let alone having served in elite units.

    I think part of this "wannabe' stuff has to do with the military being popular right now. When I first came home on leave from Marine Corps OCS and Basic School in '80 it seemed like everyone but the WWII vets thought I had leprosy. Now everyone wants to be "Rambo."

    Just human nature I guess. I've heard the same kind of BS stories from guys who found out I was a volunteer firefighter after I retired, too. Everyone wants to be John Wayne but damn few are willing to pay the price.

    Maybe a good way to shut them up is to ask what their VA disabilty rating is. I don't think I know anyone who served in combat arms for more than 10 years that isn't carrying around some level of disability from it.
  • SNAKEBIT1522SNAKEBIT1522 Member Posts: 12 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I think part of this "wannabe' stuff has to do with the military being popular right now. When I first came home on leave from Marine Corps OCS and Basic School in '80 it seemed like everyone but the WWII vets thought I had leprosy. Now everyone wants to be "Rambo."

    You are correct that folks thought we were leppers back then. I was USMC from 1980 - 84 and it was a totally diffrent world back then. I never was Force Recon (or 2nd Recon in my case) but the guys who were were all my friends and they were the ones I would hang out with and hunt and fish with etc. Seemed like we had a little bit in common compared to all the others. Some of us stil keep in touch and STILL hunt and fish together after all these years and travel great distances to do it.

    When I got out in '84 I was nearly deaf but I never checked in with the VA. I got on with my life and became a cop in metro Atlanta. It worked fine until I got so deaf I could hadly do my job so I went to the VA to see if I could get any kind of deal on a hearing aid. They had me listed in the "possibly deceased & unknown" file. According to them I was supposed to be getting a disability check since 1984 because of my hearing loss. I get that check now and NO they did not make it retroactive from 1984 either. I told them I would rather have a hearing aid and they said it wouldnt do me any good. I froze my retirement with the police department and let it go. Cops retire at 50 here so at least I have my pension I start getting next year.

    I never really wanted any thing from the military or the police department. I always thought it was a privelidge to serve my country. Medals were the last thing on my mind while I was in there. I think thats the difference between us and them. They want a free ride and we were just happy to not be walking.
  • SGMBalzSGMBalz Member Posts: 219 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Want to know more, read Buddy Burkett's book Stolen Valor
  • nards444nards444 Member Posts: 3,994 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I was supply officer who was in charge of 55 Pog's at one time and we went out on as many missions if not more than the grunts
  • JTacticalFirearmsJTacticalFirearms Member Posts: 11 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The Stolen Valor Act was repealed by the supreme court so now its not illegal to lie about your service. If you didn't have the courage to sign up and do the job then don't degrade the service of the guys that actually went out and gave 150% most of the time above and beyond. Be content with contributing to your piece of the pie. I had a Vietnam veteran and fellow member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, CPT(Ret.) Bill "Tigerman" Allen, Infantry his first tour and a Cobra pilot his second tour because he "needed bigger guns with more bullets to kill more of the enemy", he was dying from cirrhosis of the liver from drinking because of his service. He came to my Purple Heart ceremony on his deathbed having to be held up by other Purple Heart members and he grabbed me by the arm and told me how we needed to crack down on the liars that were demeaning everyone elses hard work. At that time the Stolen Valor Act had just been passed. he is probably rolling in his grave since the supreme court has ruled otherwise. RIP CPT(Ret.) Bill "Tigerman" Allen, MOPH Reds Stick Chapter 177. Bottom line is that if you did the job you probably lost friends along the way and wouldn't think too highly of someone tarnishing the ultimate sacrifice that some of our buddies have made. Show some respect.
  • braonanbraonan Member Posts: 9 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I think it all can be blamed on Hollywood, not too many movies about support branches in movies and TV, it's all Special Ops, infantry and pilots for the most part... With the WW2 movies you have a lot of Navy but not so much recently. Support has a vital role, the infantry and special ops can't do the job without them. However, combat troops (including all the ground combat MOS's) and MPs take the lions share of risk.

    Our support teams did a lot of missions during my tours and they were certainly exposed to attacks but they didn't go out looking for fights daily. They got hit moving from point A to B, we sought out the enemy to destroy him. Because of that combat units see much more combat than a non combat soldier would and it is more intense combat. Don't get me wrong, an ambush is tense it's not the same kind of combat as kicking in doors, dismounted firefights that last hours or chasing the enemy up mountains.

    That is why these fakers pick Rangers, Seals, SF, Recon and infantry. When people hear that's what you did, they know what you faced and risked daily. Also, those are the branches were the pretty specialty badges are common to see. A finance clerk with a Ranger tab stands out but it's common to see Ranger tabs all over every infantry unit.
  • kdixonkdixon Member Posts: 62 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I joined in 76 out 98. it is cool right now. when I got out ( 80 for short break) others that I knew were in would not even talk about it except with other vets , because some peace loving do nothing would smart off and next thing you know the police want to know why you busted his head for no reason? that changed during the first gulf war from what I could see. It was sometime after that I had my first experience with someone thanking me for my service, it surprised me so much that I thought it was another smart * or a joke. After all those years of being looked down on I still find it hard to deal with. Just an example, I got a DWI at Bragg once and had not even had a drink. I will never understand those that lie or change their record.
  • CoolhandLukeCoolhandLuke Member Posts: 7,825 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Get over it. Thare is 50,000 navy seals in bars across America any Friday night. If I where you I would take it as a complement [;)]
    We have to fight so we can run away.
    Capt. Jack Sparrow.
  • CbtEngr01CbtEngr01 Member Posts: 4,340
    edited November -1
    I remember listening to a 2 star and he said-and this is not an exact quote- when you go home tell your stories, tell people what youve done, but stay in your own damn lane
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