Walter

[Rob Parry]

I don't know what our American colleagues call these people, but in the RM we refer to people who create a fictitious past and awards of gallantry medals, "Walters, or Walts" for short. Named after the film "The secret life of Walter Mitty" a clerk who dreamed he had "been there and done that."

Last week our local paper, The West Briton, contained a story about an Australian couple who had been befriended during a train journey by a 'refined man', who told them about his past, then on leaving the train he handed them a Military Cross, on the back it is inscribed J Davies D175796N RM. There is no rank indicated, the number is possibly from the RN, period late 70s, the RM is totally incorrect due to the number. Are your antennae popping the way mine did? The Military Cross is not earned or awarded easily.

Here's the story from the paper.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/Robiz/img167.jpg



So I did some secret squirrelling and discovered the following. Nobody named J Davies or J Davis has been awarded the MC for service in Iraq. There is no mention of his name in the London Gazette, where all gallantry awards and citations are 'Gazetted' ie published. The cross in the photo has the GR cypher from King George, Queen Elizabeth's father. It was changed to EIIR when Queen Elizabeth succeeded to the throne in 1953. Davies claims not to understand how this happened as it is a replacement. It certainly is a replacement, unfortunately you can purchase them on EBay for £15 about $20.

Davies was contacted by the paper; he told the reporter he had in fact concealed his true past. He joined the Royal Navy in 1976 as a submariner, he then transferred to the Royal Marines in 1979, serving immediately with the SBS (Think SEALS, but the originals :D) undercover in Northern Ireland. That's when I started laughing at the poor reporter. She waited ten minutes while I phoned around. The SBS training SNCOs from that period have no record or knowledge of anybody transferring from the RN, especially an 18 year old submariner; neither was anybody named Davies awarded an MC.

I was given his mobile number and left a message explaining who I am and I would ring later to have a discussion, although it was likely to be a unidirectional soliloquy. I called on seven more occasions. Each time the phone was opened, I heard a grunt and the line went dead.

Davies is to be exposed by the paper next week. I'm looking forward to it.
Don't get mad, get even. As I said to the reporter, "The MC is awarded for Gallantry, not perjury."

[Danny C Smith]

Outstanding Rob!!!

Nail his lying azz to the bulkhead.

Semper Fi Brother.

[hbharrison]

Great job Rob and you did nail this jackwad polecats azz to the bulkhead:thumbup::thumbup::beer:

[Zulu 36]

Good job, Rob. We call them "Posers" and hate them as much as you do.

[Rob Parry]

I was still so hacked off this morning that I sent this to the reporter. Poor girl will be wishing she had never heard of me. (Wootton Basset is a small town near to RAF Lyneham. The coffins of repatriated fallen are taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford for post mortem examinations, as the inquests are held under the auspices of the Oxford Coroner.)



Hello Josie, if you are going to write about Davies next week I wonder if you would include the following thought.
Royal Marines from 40 Commando RM are being repatriated to the UK in coffins and pass through Wootton Basset in funeral corteges. Many of their colleagues also return to the UK, horribly maimed, missing limbs. They are the real heroes. The Davies of this world detract from their honour by his actions.

I don't think it is feasible to understand the anger and frustration of the service community towards somebody who ascribes to himself the status of heroism which is unearned.

Sorry, got to get that off my chest. Regards, Rob

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10456010

[Zulu 36]

Here the the US, we don't go through official Coroner's Inquests as in the UK for combat dead. All of our repatriated fallen go through Dover AFB, Delaware, where they have postmortems, are embalmed, and dressed in the appropriate dress uniforms for their branch of service along with their appropriate awards.

If there is some suspicion of criminal misconduct or wrong doing in their death, the appropriate military law enforcement agency will conduct an investigation.

Otherwise, the unit of the fallen conducts a "Line of Duty/Misconduct" investigation as required by military regulations. A Line of Duty determination results in full honors and payment of all insurance and death gratuities to the serviceman's beneficiaries.

A Misconduct determination (say, death caused by the drunken driving of the decedent) can cause loss of some benefits to the beneficiaries. A service member who dies as the innocent victim of someone else's misconduct will receive a Line of Duty determination.

Afterward, they are transported as close as possible to their homes by commercial aircraft, but have a designated escort from their branch of service who travels with the fallen until the funeral services are ended. More often than not, the airline ground staff, airport police, and fire departments, will form a Guard of Honor at the aircraft (frequently representatives of other local police departments, military reserve, and National Guard units will also attend). No passengers are usually allowed to deplane until the body has been transferred to the hearse except for the escort.

If you ever get the opportunity to see the movie, "Taking Chance," watch it. It shows exactly how the US military repatriates our combat dead. It is based on a true story and is pretty faithful to the actual events. It involves a young Marine killed in action in Iraq early in the war.