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VETERAN PROMOTES DATABASE FOR MILITARY HONORS
--
Doug Sterner has been working for the past few
years on
building his database of military decorations,
a job he
thinks the federal government should be doing.
Doug Sterner
For more on phony or "wannabe" vets, use the VA
Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/
sessearch.php?q=phony
+wannabe&op=or
For a video about "Operation Stolen Valor,"
click here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/
nf07/nfSEP07/nf092507-10.htm
Story here...
http://www.chieftain
.com/metro/1190700074/2
Story below:
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Veteran promotes database for military honors
By PETER ROPER
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
It was inevitable but not unavoidable.
When the Library of Congress began its Veterans History Project seven
years ago - encouraging veterans or their families to compile oral,
video or written histories about their time in service - it was
inevitable that some would inflate their accomplishments, would award
themselves medals they didn't really receive.
After all, who would ever check the record?
Unfortunately for those wannabe heroes, Doug Sterner checks the record.
The Pueblo man has compiled a massive database on Medal of Honor
recipients as well as those who have received the Navy Cross,
Distinguished Service Cross and Air Force Cross, the nation's
second-highest military decorations for bravery in combat.
In fact, Sterner's wife, Pam, wrote a college term paper that became the
Stolen Valor Act of 2006, which makes it a federal crime to falsely
claim to have received military decorations. The couple started the
effort after Sterner compiled his Home of Heroes Web site, which is
devoted to the Medal of Honor. In the process, they learned about the
many men who brazenly pretend to have been awarded the nation's highest
medal.
Veterans groups, FBI agents and others use Sterner's database when they
suspect someone is posing as a hero and, as a result, dozens of
imposters have been caught - and now face punishment under federal law.
That is why Sterner began scanning the Library of Congress veterans'
project Web site more than a year ago. Experience told him that military
histories submitted by veterans themselves would probably include many
imposters. Very quickly he found three men who falsely claimed to have
received the Medal of Honor.
"I contacted the Library of Congress at the time to let them know,"
Sterner explained. "Their response was essentially, ‘Don't bother us.’ ”
That wasn't very likely because Sterner has been working for the past
few years on building his database of military decorations - a job he
thinks the federal government should be doing.
Given the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime to falsely claim to
have received the Medal of Honor, any of the military crosses or the
Purple Heart, Sterner said the Library of Congress ought to have been
more sensitive to the problem that only was going to grow unless
checked.
That problem came to a head recently when reporters for the Marine Times
newspaper wrote that 24 veterans who had filed histories with the
Library of Congress wrongly claimed to have received the Medal of Honor.
Making it worse, the reporters found more than 30 false claims for
Distinguished Service Crosses and 14 false reports of being awarded the
Navy Cross.
The reporters used Sterner's database to cement their findings.
Last week, the Library of Congress issued a statement defending the
Veterans Project as a congressionally mandated effort that is not a
historical archive - meaning factual - but a collection of personal
wartime reflections.
"As such, the (Veterans History Project) does not verify the accuracy of
the accounts that are provided to the project," the statement said.
Even so, library officials confirmed they would remove false medal
claims when those are discovered.
Sterner said that answer falls short for the veterans who have
legitimately been awarded their medals.
"When you put the Library of Congress stamp on the project, people will
take it as factual history," Sterner said. "If they are not going to
care about the facts, then they should rename the project, ‘War Stories,
Including Some That Are True.’ ”
Sterner wants Congress to take the next step and authorize a single,
public database on all military decorations, especially the top
decorations for bravery in combat.
An Army veteran of Vietnam and a holder of the Bronze Star himself,
Sterner believes public access to that important information would be a
great service to veterans and their families - and quickly chase off the
imposters who pretend to be heroes.
The project, which Sterner guesses would cost about $8 million to
create, would quickly pay for itself in stopping fraud in the Veterans
Administration. Sterner pointed to five recent arrests in the Seattle
area where military imposters were caught, several of whom had received
a total of $1.4 million in unearned veterans benefits.
"We need to get some congressional hearings on this and then the public
would recognize the extent of the problem and the benefits of correcting
it," he said.
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Larry Scott --
