The Military Imposter Walts fakes etc thread

If he is an imposter, let's hope he get what he deserves, a bit like this idiot from 2010:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/6974786/War-medals-impostor-given-community-service.html

 

There is a rather amusing but also sad FB page about the matter. It has quite a following

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Walter-Mitty-Hunters-Club-HQ/501261976579581

 

good day rav4,sm,yesterday.07:17pm.re:remembrance day inposter.if they are so keen to wear the uniform,sign up,and do it right.not that the forces want fonneys like that in there midst.thank you for posting.regards bernard85

 

This from today,s C.B.C. news

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/franck-gervais-remembrance-day-sergeant-now-receiving-threats-1.2833979

Looks as though there will be repercussions.

.

 

We had one for the 70th Anniversary commemorations at Arnhem in September. Claimed to have served with the LRDG then the 22nd Independent Company in Normandy winning the MC. He then apparently served with the 21st Independent Company during Market Garden where he won his Bar to the MC. It's disgusting really.

 

It really Looks like he is in the poo.

Regards
Tom

 

These imposters nearly always overdo the medals, and that's a dead giveaway. Quite a few have been found out by the medal collecting fraternity.

I know there is the Stolen Valour Act in the US, which makes it a crime to fraudulently claim to have been awarded certain medals (including the purple heart), but I must admit I do not know if there is any such law in the UK or Canada.

 

If there isn't such a law already, there should be one.

 

To be honest I'm in two minds whether there should such a law in England. Of course it is morally wrong to fraudulently claim to have served in the military when you haven't, but is it worth spending time and money drafting a law and prosecuting these idiots? I don't think there have been too many convictions under the Stolen Valor Act because it is difficult to enforce and costs money to do so. It's a classic case of a law with good intentions that hasn't been thought through properly. The law has also had an unintentional knock-on effect by penalizing genuine medal collectors who now can't buy purple hearts and gallantry awards.

Better just to highlight fakers on social media and in the press and socially stigmatize them in my opinion.

 

It's a mental condition,a psychological need of the inflicted individal to portray themselves in another dimension.Of course it's a criminal offence to impersonate any "office" held under The Crown be it the armed forces,civil service or any other post within the goverment administrative.

It's no different to the falsifing of CVs for a path to an enhanced career with power,influence and financial income that may stem from it.It's a criminal offence where an advantage has been gained from such CV embellishment. Cases of embellishers rise from time to time which in addition to the individual being dismissed,the more serious cases lead to prosecution.

 

But the bloke at Arnhem mentioned above wasn't impersonating a serving soldier, he was impersonating a former soldier. And he was doing it in the Netherlands - which complicates things further! What about re-enactors - should they be prosecuted also? It's a difficult area. Better just to show these people up for what they are on forums like this.

 

If whatever is done is not intended to mislead then surely it's basically ok. No need to mix up re enactors with all this provided they keep to exactly that and it's obvious to everyone else. I was in Normandy in June and went to an official commemoration event in Tilly sur Seulles which included re enactors: they were exactly that, did not digress from that, and their input was appreciated by all, including many veterans, present.

The problem arises when it becomes an intent to misrepresent or deceive others, whether out of some sort of perceived self-importance or maliciousness. Either way, that is the lowest of the low.

It can also work the other way. I once saw a genuine veteran being sort-of told off for being a somewhat spurious reenactor. He was simply a chap in his 80's who had somehow managed to keep his WW2 uniform and decided to wear it again as a bit of fun and as a personal tribute to his old mates.

 

Mind over matter chaps, Mind over matter......I don't mind, because he doesn't matter.

 

There I was in bicorne hat, hand tucked in my jacket, white breeches and a filthy temper.
No-one asked me to remove my Grand Eagle of the Légion d’Honneur.

 

Nelson or Napoleon Bonaparte?

 

To me more than anything it is disrespectful to those who did serve, to those they are trying to impersonate but never can be because they have not lived that life. Brian

 

This chap is the latest in a long line of characters to wear medals and paraphernalia and falsely claim a distinguished service record. They are claiming to have done something they have never achieved. If nothing else it is disrespectful to others.

I know the Parachute Regiment has had more than its fair share of imposters, some examples are given here:

http://www.parachuteregiment-hsf.org/Walter%20Mitty.htm

 

Nelson who? Mandela?
I’m not allowed to black up anymore, my homage to Stevie Wonder-Woman wasn’t received well.

I hope this doesn’t turn into an internet trial and persecution thread like the walt hunter threads on other sites. Mildly amusing at first but then you see the lengths these “hunters” go to to out people, seeing it as their civic duty to publicly humiliate them.
As Harry said, it’s a sickness and It’s pretty obvious some of these fantasists have psychological problems of varying degrees. It’ll all end in tears one day soon I fear.

 

It's nothing new. My primary school headmaster never tired of telling a packed school assembly or the parent Teacher Association about his time with the RAF, shooting down Zeros over Burma...and my Dad who was a contemporary always insisted that his age and the timings didn't fit. I suspect that I inherited my bullshit detector from Dad but it was always obvious that ninety percent of the audience lapped it up.

If only the internet had been available in 1967...I could have outed him as a walt and paid him back for belittling me on the sports field.

What are the requirements for applying for RAF service records ???? :indexCA7C9VES:

 

A collective 'flush' is in order for this piece of excrement.