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Summary: Must Read
Review: Outstanding Book on the Viet Nam Conflict and a must read for those wanting to know the real story and how individuals passing themselves off as the "Real Deal" give our unsung heros a black eye. Pointing out that some of the books out there are not total true or out and out false and the studies published as facts are not supported by the facts. This conflict was similar to others our fathers, uncles, grandfathers, brothers, moms, sisters, and friends fought for what they believed in but the press and public figures aided our enemies and got away with it! Tet 1968 was a dramatic defeat for the NVA and Viet Cong and yet our press gave them the victory they did not earn on the battle field. Interesting how stats are discussed today that are not true costing all of us tax payers money and this book brings this and more to light. It took me only five days to read this excellent book and I had to force myself to put it down to get done things I needed to. It reinforced the old adage "If it appears to be too good to be true it most likely is." It pointed out that the American public was robbed of its hero, men like Bud Day and all the POWs, Lance Sijan, Roy Benavidez, and others because we have to think is that individual really entitled to wear the decorations he or she has on their chest. This list does include the ever growing small list of those still serving our country, men and women, I have had the honor to sevice with.
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Summary: Myth shattering
Review: This is an excellent book. It will shatter every myth about Vietnam veterans that you formed from the last 25 years of media stories. One of the authors is the most frequent user of the Freedom of Information Act in the United States. He doubted veteran's claims of being ordered to kill civilians and their excessive bragging about winning medals, escaping from POW camps, belonging to elite units (Rangers, Seals) participating in secret, dangerous missions, so he searched for the truth by obtaining their military records. He exposed many fakes, causing some to go to prison, toppling some politicans, skewering the national media for failing to print retractions/corrections and apologies even when furnished with irrefutable evidence. They even had to set up their own publishing firm to get it in print because their book contradicts the mainstream view of Vietnam Veterans. Major publishing house have been fooled by tall tales spun by fake veterans or veterans who were never in the battles they relate or ever did the things they claim. No one to my knowledge had refuted the information in this book because it is exhaustively researched. Filled with footnotes, documentation everywhere. So much so, you can retrace their sleuthing. You want to learn about how easy it is to get a Post Tramatic Stress Disorder diagnosis? Whether Agent Orange causes cancer? How to trick the VA and get 100% service-connected disability - (that's worth 41,000/yr)? Read the book. Want to be shocked at how fake veterans are bilking the taxpayers and how the VA perpetuates this practice to maintain/expand their programs and funding? Read the book. Want to pretty accurately determine whether that slovenly dressed guy in a field uniform at the rally or raising money is genuine? Read the book. Someone claims he won the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross or Distinguished Service Medal, check the appendix for the only know comprehensive listing of the recipients from the Vietnam War. The vast majority of Americans did not support the war. We treated our Vietnam Veterans badly. We feel guilty about that now. So how do we react? I suggest the following is operating all across America ---Let's do all we can to help them, so let's blame all their problems on the war. Let's ignore the facts and don't question whether that vet is really a vet-- after all, we owe it to them because of our guilt. How many authentic veterans from any war do you know who brag about their exploits? I don't know any. How many do you know that blame the war for all their problems since discharge? How many do not pride themselves on their appearance? This book reiterated the importance of seeking the truth and the courage to publicize it to influence the prevailing view. It will reassure you that the vast majority of Vietnam veterans are leading healthy, productive lives. They are not homeless in vast numbers, withdrawn from society. There is a smaller percentage of them in prison than nonveterans their age. They have lower unemployment rates than nonveterans their age. Don't believe me, read the book. Its a shame that some veterans and nonveterans have lached onto the war as an excuse for their own laziness, metal instability and irresponsibility. It's their free ticket through life. They've got everyone fooled because no one verifies their stories and the system is on their side. Hey you too could be one (a fake vet) if your age is right and you are searching for a way to escape from your failed life, presto, order some medals, make some heroic claims and man will you be important in the eyes of others. Every Vietnam veteran (and family member who lost a son, daughter, brother, sister, counsin etc.) should read this book. It will please them to know someone had the tenacity and courage to expose the truth when no one else bothered to check the facts, military records and research studies that existed for them to use. It will explode the sterotype of the Vietnam Veteran. My heartfelt thanks to the authors. It's the best book on Vietnam I have read. Every VFW, American Legion Post and Vietnam Veteran's Organization group should have a copy. Written by a nonveteran.
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Summary: Question the Media
Review: Stolen Valor has set some things straight about The Vietnam War that have been distorted by the media, politicians and even "want to be" heros. The authors put forth some excellent examples of distortions and false impressions left about the war. They give the reader confidence in the truthfulness of the story by showing tenacious investigating methods. Their examples illustrate how false information is spawned and then allowed to take on a life of its own. This book offers a refreshing step toward finding the truth about The Vietnam War and its real heros. It is also a useful illustration of how to sift through modern news stories for the truth. Excellent! Refreshing!
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Summary: Will the Real 'Nam Vet Please Stand?
Review: As a Vietnam vet, I highly recommend Burkett and Whitley's book. Many of the myth's, urban legends, and half-truth's concocted and perpetuated by the media for their own agenda are debunked by their work. The blatant stereotyping of the Vietnam veteran for the last 25+ years as an anti-social, drug/alcohol dependent, violent, ne'er-do-well, "victim" has just about become "fact" in the minds of most Americans. "Stolen Valor" is the definitive work that sets the record straight. Reading the book was a bitter-sweet experience.Bitter in being shown that dastardly frauds in every description still suckle at the "Vietnam Experience" for whatever it might still provide, just as they have from the beginning. Their existence tarnishes the service of those "fortunate" enough to go and much more importantly,cheapens the honor and memory of those who gave the supreme sacrifice. The sweetness comes in the revelations of the authors that the Vietnam vet was probably one of the best fighting men ever put into the field. At the very least,they were on a par with the "Brave Young Lions" from Lexington's green to Kosovo. "Stolen Valor" is factual, well written, and exposes myths that have almost become part of the American psyche. This book should be in everyone's library on Vietnam. I strongly suggest giving it to any Vietnam vet or their loved ones. They deserve it.
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Summary: Why so long?
Review: What is so sad is that it has taken almost thirty years for a book like this to be written. I obtained a copy when it first came out, in fact I had to search around for it, but the search was well worth it! I served in VN 67-68 on an LST in the Mekong and Bassac Rivers and always wondered about the veteran sterotypes projected by the media. Cutting fellow veterans some slack, I wrote it off with "well that wasn't my war". After all, Navy personnel in-country were all volunteers, and if you griped about being in VN, somebody would say "Well, you asked it. After reading this book I began looking more critically at what was appearing on CNN, ABC, CBS, etc., and guess what! Burkett is right! The media does focus on what they think a VN veteran should look and act like with no critical inquiry. The critique of this book seems to hinge on two things (1.) authors criticism of PTSD and (2.) his paricular service in VN. On the first part, I did three months of Clinical Pastoral Education at a VA hospital. Yes, there are people who use PTSD as an excuse. It was interesting to talk with some patients who would regale me with VN stories, then when I told them I was a VN vet too, they quickly clammed up. Yes, there are people whose lives were shattered by their experience. Unfortunately discerning the phoney from real has become mixed up with bureaucratic in-fighting, veteran lobbies and political agendas. The net result is that a lot of people who are truly suffering are unable or unwilling to get help. On the second point, very few of us had any real choice about where we served or the unit. Some drew long straws some short. In June 1967 when I volunteered for VN the Navy apparently needed crews for LST's. As an E-3, I do not recall anyone from the Bureau of Naval Personnel asking me what I wanted or where I wanted to be. If I had put in a request a month later it just as easily could have been a PBR or river monitor. So, to my fellow vets, "Get a grip guys! "
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Summary: Should be a part of every American History course
Review: This book is the best book I have ever read on the Vietnam War. Should be required reading for every student of American History. At last we hear the real truth about all of those "crazy Vietnam Vets". As a Veteran (US Army June 60 to 63) I could never figure out how the Vietnam Veteran could be dumped on by the so called "experts" on the Vietnam War. It is a true statement that truth will win out in the end. All Vietnam Veterans can truly hold their heads up after reading this book.
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Summary: "Stolen Valor" Takes 2000 Colby Award at Norwich University
Review: A pair of Texas authors and their ground-breaking book "Stolen Valor" are this year's recipients of the prestigious Colby Award. Named for the late Ambassador William E. Colby, the award recognizes a first work of fiction or non-fiction that has made a significant contribution to the public's understanding of intelligence operations, military history or international affairs. The award was presented by Colby Symposium co-founders W.E.B. Griffin and Carlo D'Este on April 7, 2000 at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont. "Stolen Valor" is co-authored by B. G. Burkett, a military researcher who served in Vietnam with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, and Glenna Whitley, an investigative reporter who specializes in writing about crime and the legal system. Their work - the result of intensive research by Burkett in the National Archives over a ten-year period -- uncovered massive distortion of the Vietnam era service records, perpetuated by the media. Ms. Whitley, senior editor of D Magazine in Dallas, worked with Burkett to expose veterans who misrepresent their service records, and to present the facts which dispel those damaging and false myths held by the American public about Vietnam veterans. The William E. Colby Military Writer's Symposium is held each April on the campus of Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, and in the fall at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Founded in 1996, and renamed in memory of the late Ambassador William E. Colby in 1997, the Colby Symposium has brought over thirty of the country's top authors, historians and filmmakers to Norwich for a three-day residency to participate in open forums, lectures and other related functions. This year's participants included authors B.G.Burkett, Glenna Whitley, W.E.B.Griffin, Carlo D'Este, John Katzenbach, Dr. Elizabeth Norman, Robert Poirier and Mark Bowden. Editor and author Paul McCarthy, Paul Colby and Jeff Gericke were among the distinguished guests in attendance. Past Symposium participants have included Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts, Harold Coyle, Philip Caputo, Winston Groom, Dale Brown, Frederick Chiaventone, Cole Kingseed, Ed Ruggero, Dan Gifford, Ralph Peters, H.R. McMaster, Thomas E. Ricks, James Woolsey, William Harlow, and Stephen Coonts, filmmakers Dan Gifford and Carl Colby, CNN's Frank Sesno, Paul Colby, Jeff Gerecke, Paul McCarthy, the late Ambassador William Colby, Ambassador Sally Shelton-Colby, Admiral Stansfield Turner, and General Gordon R. Sullivan, USA (Ret.). For more information on the William E. Colby Military Writers' Symposium or future programs... Edward C. Tracy, Executive Director
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Summary: Stolen Valor
Review: As a 2-tour Viet Nam vet I found this book to be somewhat of a shock. I'd heard of those who are "Faker Vets" but didn't know it was so purvasive in our society. What I read sometimes made upset and also feeling sorry for those who profit off of the real vet's sacrifices. There are some sick individuals out there who play on the ultimate sacrifices of those who's name's are on "The Wall". If you are a vet or have a loved one who's is a vet you really need to read this book. The book is obviously well researched and written. I really enjoyed how the authors discoverd the "Fake Veterans" and really made them squirm when they were exposed for what they are.
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Summary: Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue= Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
Review: Authors B.G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley have done more good for legitimate Viet Vets with this book than most of the the other so-called "veterans programs" combined. In it, they expose the true facts of that conflict and show how real vets have overcome adversity and become assets to their communities and nation. Others unfortunately have not lived up to their standards. Stolen Valor provides pages and pages of examples of bogus vets bilking taxpayers out of billions of dollars in false claims for "injuries," sustained in Vietnam. In many cases, these "vets" never served in Vietnam and in some cases, never served in the military at all! They explode the myth of Agent Orange and take the Veterans Administration (VA) to task for its failure to check the claims being submitted while exposing its economic incentive for keeping its case load high. They also describe the literature that is readily available on how to submit a claim for veterans benefits. Whether or not the individual is entitled to these benefits is completely irrelevant. The media's role in creating the myth of the dysfunctional vet is given special attention. The authors reveal the hypocracy of a nationally known TV reporter, active in portraying Viet Vets as dysfunctional, walking time-bombs who enhances his credibility by proudly calling himself an, "ex-Marine." Military records obtained thru the Freedon of Information Act reveal that he washed out in boot camp. If Burkett and Whitley can discover this and other deceptions with the limited assets available to them, why can't the VA? This book should be read by every member of the U.S. Congress and every person charged with stewardship of public funds. While few people have the authors' expertise in detecting fraud, waste, and abuse, one simple rule of thumb should be followed: If the guys story sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Taxpayers would save billions if this was followed. Hats off to Burkett and Whitley for the outstanding service they have rendered to their nation by producing this extremely important work.
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Summary: Stolen Valor
Review: I have never felt ashamed, nor have I suffered any mental ill effects of my combat service in Vietnam. Nor do I know anyone who has. So who are all those combat-deranged societal drop-outs that we've been bombarded with by the media for the past 30 years? Burkett reveals that many are total fakes. Media producers and stars are often co-conspirators in this deception. Prodigiously researched, Burkett and Whitley expose a grand charade, whose guilty parties include dozens of phony hero/victims, a large part of the news/entertainment media, the VA, some veterans organizations and even celebrities/members of Congress. I was appalled at the brazenness, ignorance and self-serving deception which has great tarnished the honor of most Vietnam Vets. At the same time, this book's revelations have confirmed what I've felt all along: that the vast majority of G.I.'s who saw combat in Vietnam, did so with dedication and honor, and have been better citizens for their experience. The negative character of this book cries out for a sequel or companion volume which tells of the true heroes who served honorably and returned to continue to serve their community.
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