Phony paratrooper to be feted by French

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/...ticleid=1177122

This was sent to my by a few of my European friends who run WWII sites.

Make sure to read the continuing article regarding all his stories beginning in 1994.

http://bh.heraldinteractive.com/news/regio...p;position=also

This is big talk on the other Airborne websites I frequent. Sadly, he isn't the only one. There are many out there!

It's sad.

Why would one be ashamed of his unit or what he did in WWII?

A lot of soldiers aren't from the "sexy" units, but they all did their part to get the world free from Axis tiranny.

Erwin

Ya, that's the truth. You can almost see why someone might do something like that though. How many times do we hear about the 82nd and 101st, but how many times do you hear about a chemical unit or an engineer regiment, or... you get the drift. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT condoning what he did. NOT AT ALL!

And it's not as though the 82nd didn't keep records of the men. How did he think he would get away with it. I could understand bullshitting a neighbor, but once it got out. It's so easy to research! Blows me away!!!

It amazes me that nobody took it upon him to do some research on this guy before.

Especially when he changed his story so much each time he told it.

It's a hit in the face for those who served (and didn't lie about it).

He might be a Veteran, but in my eyes he's a liar first.

Unfortunately, he is not the only case.

Believe you me, I'm having a hard time convincing some people there were more than just Rangers and Paratroopers.

And that The Bulge wasn't about Bastogne only.

Don't get me wrong, I have the highest respect for those Paratroopers ..... but I'm getting pretty tired (and upset) hearing about them all the time.

They were NO supermen, just plain Joes like any other soldier.

What about Glidermen, Engineers, Ordnance, Truck Companies, Armor, TD, Infantry (Ow yes, there were much more Infantry than the 1st ID or 29th ID in the war!), USAAF Pilots, Naval Beach Battalions, etc, etc.

All these men should deserve the credit they're entitled to.

And final rant (sorry) .... the Pacific War wasn't only one by Marines!

Surprise!

Erwin (off his soapbox)

Well spoken my European friend. Some people are afraid to say what you did. Thanks for having the guts to do so.

You probably would have been banned from some AIRBORNE forums.

And that's exactly why we have a forum like ours. We root for all, and we root for the "little guys" who never get mentioned, but whose scope, depth (sounds like a sub forum ) and contributions to the war were equal in value.

Hey while we're on a SOAPBOX, it's the reason I rarely go to CERTAIN forums anymore, for they treated me like the little kid down the road with snot on his face, who nobody wants to play with. I would excitedly deliver news about my dad, etc., and no one would ever respond. And dammit, another person would write almost exactly the same thing, and the post would go on for two weeks. Don't tell me I wasn't shunned. You wanna know why? It's because my daddy and his boys weren't FAMOUS!

I told a few people one time, if my documentary ever aired, or someone made a movie about the VI Corps Engineers, then the people who continued to ignore me would suddenly come out of the woodwork and want to to know the daughter of WALTER (MONDAY) PONIEDZIALEK! Everyone here knows that to be gospel. Sad but true...

Okay, Marion will now step down and sit at Erwin's side. Next!!

You should see the eyes of some AB-fans when I explain to them that the 4th Armored actually DROVE to break the encirclement of Bastogne and that their tanks did not fall down out of the sky on parachutes .....

ARMOR!

Sometimes it is amusing to ruffle their feathers a bit, hehe.

Erwin

Oh ya, that's not beneath me either!

I totally agree with you guys! Real heroism was happening LONG before D-day and LONG after. The obsession with D Day in Normandy to the exclusion of all other D-days makes me angry.

Maybe people think it's more glamorous to have been a paratrooper or a fighter pilot, but sacrifice is sacrifice and dead is dead.

"Our" VI Corps guys fought and died too.

As Erwin said:"What about glidermen, engineers, ordnance, truck companies..."

Were THEIR sacrifices any less????

Just take for example 6 Corps' 52nd Medical Battalion. These men lost their lives in the Italian Campaign and are buried in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery. They too had people who loved them, people who mourned for them.

They never came home. Was their sacrifice any less?

PVT Albert I Osbow from MA died 10/17/43

PFC Glen H Roney from KY died 11/13/43

PVT John J. Zumbo from MD died 11/13/43

PFC Lewis H. Mullaney from MA died 11/13/1943

PVT John P Finnega, from NY died 1/11/1944

SSGT John M. Harcola from NY died 1/30/44

Pvt Aime Gendron from NH died 2/8/44

or how about our VI Corps MPs - my Dad's 206th MP Co and "A" Company, 504th Military Police Battalion. These men fought & died at on the Anzio Beachhead and now rest in Italy:

504th MP BN:

PFC Howell H Barnes from GA died 1/22/1944

PVT Edward Leto from NY died 1/26/1944

PFC James H Lease from OH died 2/23/1944

PVT Lloyd A Quick from MI died 3/5/1944

PVT Ralph S. Smith from OH died 3/25/1944

or how about our guys in the 57th Signal Battalion?

1LT John J Heitzenrater from PA died 9/17/1943

PFC Ivan O. Bustad from ND died 2/4/1944

PFC William R. Clark from VA died 2/29/1944

PVT John Makely from NJ died 2/29/1944

PFC Walter F. Reinhardt from PA died 3/9/1944

People should look at these names and realize that these brave men never had another birthday, another Christmas, Easter, or Hannukah, another family barbecue, or reunion. Their loved ones could never see them again.

These fellows all lost their lives far away from home & far away from home their bodies lie to this day.

My father noted the death of one of his friends in his diary:

"Vincent Rogers KIA". He was SSgt Vincent J. Rogers Jr, 38th Bomber Squadron & died 1/21/1944, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with oakleaf cluster, and Purple Heart. His name is on the Tablets Of The Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Many battlefields, many heroes - in AAA brigades, QM gas supply battalions, Signal Co, Engineers, Tank Destroyer BN etc etc. The war was NOT fought JUST on the Normandy Beaches, but it WAS won by men doing their best with whatever they were given to do & wherever they were sent.

m2

I think the 34th RED BULL I.D. wuz there a little before

Normandy But there wuz no Media coverage there. Come

to think about it. I wuz there also. Don't need no accullades,(cheers)

We just did our tete a tetes,hmmm olddogface