Cop Publicly Shames Elderly Man In Uniform For 'Stealing Valor,' Turns Out He's A Real Vet

No evidence? No problem!
Chris | InformationLiberation
Jun. 05, 2015

It's a trend of late to videotape yourself "busting" someone for "stealing valor" because they're dressing in a military uniform despite not actually having been in the military. In this latest case out of Pennsylvania, a police officer joining in on the fad accused an elderly 75-year-old man of being a fraud and publicly humiliated him in front of a crowd at a Memorial Day arts festival. There's just one problem, the man was a veteran, and the cop was entirely in the wrong.

From PennLive:

An Army soldier attending Artsfest on Memorial Day thought something was fishy with the Marine uniform worn by 75-year-old Robert Ford, who was strolling along Front Street.

Ford's hat bore some wrinkles, according to the soldier's assessment, and his belt buckle looked too ornate for his rank.

The soldier enlisted the help of a Harrisburg police officer working at the event, who was a Marine, and together, they accused Ford of being a fraud.

"He's not a real Marine!" the officer shouted to the crowd gathered for the PennLive/Patriot-News Artsfest of Greater Harrisburg. "Stolen valor!"

"I was humiliated," said Ford, of Marysville.

The only problem is Ford did serve in the Marines from 1958 to 1964. He earned the rank of lance corporal.

"He's as legit as you can get," said Doug Sterner, a Vietnam veteran and archivist from Pueblo, Colo., who is nationally recognized for detecting military fraud. Sterner confirmed Ford's military service this week through Headquarters Marine Corps.

I remember when I was 18-years-old I received a recruitment letter in the mail asking if I wanted to join the military. One of the sales points on the brochure was to ask, "Do you want the respect of people you don't even know?"

I had a good laugh at the time thinking what type of weak-minded person would actually be swayed by such garbage? Well, I guess we've found out who, it's people like this idiot cop.

Here's a news flash: valor is earned through brave and courageous actions, merely donning a uniform doesn't bestow it on anyone -- even if the government claims otherwise.