Fräulein Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) YES!! ANOTHER PHONY EXPOSED!! This guy is the current owner of a small coffee shop. I used to visit this shop after my morning runs, when it was the previous owner. I gave the shop a try after ownership changed hands and eventually I stopped going because it seemed as if every time I went when it was this guy, he would try to talk about his service days and Navy SEAL blah blah blah... Growing up in the PI, and those of you who were in the PI, we all knew people who would "slip into the jungle". You just knew them, and what they did. They rarely if ever talked about what they did, when they did, they talked about it as if it was just any other ordinary job. The only thing I ever took away from any conversation was just how versatile a ketchup packet is. So this guy was just rubbing me the wrong way with his yammering. I like to get my coffee and leave. And something just seemed too glorified. I just dicounted him as a blowhard and I stopped getting my coffee. And in turn saved myself maybe fifty bucks a week and learned to make the perfect cup myself. So the other month there was an art show. It was covered by the Journal Http://imageshack.us/f/259/abqbutch1.jpg/ Other forums were already on it http://www.socnet.com/showthread.php?t=107450 http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=759975 The good stuff Photographer: I Was Never a SEAL By Charles D. Brunt / Journal Staff Writer on Sat, Feb 11, 2012 A Cedar Crest man whose photos of Vietnam were recently displayed at a local gallery was never a Navy SEAL, as he has claimed. William H. “Butch†Chesterfield, 68, was featured in the Journal’s Arts section on Jan. 22 in a story about an exhibit of photos he said he shot as a Navy SEAL during the Vietnam War. Chesterfield did serve in the military, but he was never a member of the Navy’s elite special forces teams. Senior Chief Petty Officer Michael A. Raney of the Naval Special Warfare Command’s public affairs office near San Diego said Chesterfield never attended the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL course – a rigorous six-month course that every prospective SEAL must complete before advancing their SEAL training. “There’s nobody with the last name Chesterfield in our database at all,†Raney said. The Navy Special Warfare Command maintains a database of everyone who has attended the course – known by its acronym, BUD/S. The database goes back as far as 1943, when the Navy was training “frogmen†for underwater demolition. Anyone who is not in the database was never a SEAL, Raney said. “SEAL†is an acronym for Sea, Air and Land Teams. The Journal received several emails questioning the veracity of Chesterfield’s SEAL claim. When questioned about it recently, Chesterfield initially said the Navy’s records were wrong, but he later acknowledged that he has never been a SEAL. “During my last tour in Vietnam, I lived, ate, slept and fought with SEALs. I was wounded while I was with them, and we saw guys die,†Chesterfield said. “I never went to BUD/S, but I did everything they (SEALs) did. I feel like I was part of them,†he said. After returning from Vietnam, Chesterfield said, he told people he was a SEAL because, “That was the easiest way to explain what I did over there.†Terry Breedlove, owner of The Watermelon Gallery in Cedar Crest, which hosted Chesterfield’s exhibit Jan. 7 through Feb. 3, said he was stunned when he learned Chesterfield was never a SEAL. “It’s unbelievable to me,†Breedlove said. “I’m a veteran … so this is like a kick in the stomach to me.†Proceeds from the exhibit were to be donated to the local chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. The exhibit included a framed collection of Chesterfield’s military ribbons and the famed SEAL Trident, a silver metal badge awarded only to full-fledged SEALs. On the flier announcing the exhibit, a quote attributed to Chesterfield states, “My pride and joy … is my Trident.†Don Shipley, a former Navy SEAL and official “SEAL verifier†for the P.O.W. Network, said he has investigated hundreds of such claims. “These imposters are stealing the valor earned by real SEALs who made incredible sacrifices, and who are still making those sacrifices, to carry the title of Navy SEAL,†Shipley said. “In my book, that’s intolerable.†Pete Comstock, former commander of the New Mexico Department of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, said Chesterfield – who has claimed to have earned three Purple Heart medals for wounds suffered in combat – resigned from the organization last week. The organization requires prospective members to provide a copy of their Report of Separation From Active Duty – commonly known as a DD-214 – to prove that they were awarded a Purple Heart. The DD-214 lists dates of service, units, type of discharge, medals awarded and other information. Comstock said the DD-214 Chesterfield provided shows he received a Purple Heart while serving four years in the Air Force. Chesterfield has said his Air Force service was followed by 19 years in the Navy. Comstock said he, too, was shocked to hear Chesterfield was not a SEAL. “I believe he served with (SEALs) in some capacity in Vietnam, but to take on that persona and decide he was a SEAL, and promote that all these years … I just don’t get it,†Comstock said. — This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal SCORE! And if Matchanu might be reading this Good Job! I'd like to shake your hand for keeping on this and exposing the guy, I'll buy you a cup of coffee at Fat Boys. I'm pretty sure they aren't SEALs. Edited February 16, 2012 by Fräulein Correcting image tags -failing at correcting imag tags :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinwhistle Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 One thing I've learned over the years: if the guy talks too much about it he probably didn't do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 I agree with you. It takes a special kind of lowlife to claim something he isnt. There have been imposters throughout history and it is unfortunate these guys stories are taken at face value. Trust but verify ! If a story sounds too good to be true.......you know the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Wilson Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Individuals like this make me really want to help them out, say with a nice, soothing, relaxing, ice pick lobotomy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizzard Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 An acquaintance of mine, a Nam Vet Marine, once said that there were maybe 400 hundred seals altogether in Viet Nam and he had met all 6,000 of them. It pisses me off that somebody has to pull crap like this. Many of you on this board experienced a whole lot more things than I did, but I would NEVER consider claiming your experiences as my own. I once listened to a guy decribe this rather, shall I call it, tense fire call and was braggin' about what he had done, and I realized that, number one, he wasn't even on the call, and number two, he was tellin' stuff that it was ME who did it. I walked up to him and said You are a F******* liar". and walked off. I'm glad this wannabe got caught up in his lies, but what penalty will be pay, and what damage has he done to the image of others. I hope he rots in Hell...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C130Hcc Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 The Stolen Valor Act is before the Supreme Court now, but with all the libs on there they will probably rule for free speech Kegan has related the SVA to an adulterer lying to his wife. Nothing here move along...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I think I'll pretend to be a supreme court justice. How long do you think it would take for that lie to get shut down? Maybe, I can claim to be a secret service agent, a doctor, a lawyer. Just free speech Right ? The stolen valor act needs to be passed and stiff penalties enforced. Just my opinion....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizzard Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Good morning, your Honor!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Giz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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