Just thinking about some of these "stolen valor" guys. Some of them are true scum-bags, but I think quite a few of them have a mental condition .....

that actually makes them believe they are soldiers or feel a desperate need to portray one. I kind of feel bad for the ones who are picked on and yelled at, when it's kind of obvious that they are in their own little world.
The ones who fake it for money or freebies are a different story though.

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cherokeepatti · 61-69, F

There was a teen who worked at Walmart as a cart pusher, every day was a new adventure in his fantasy mind, he would tell the most outlandish stories each day. One day he was telling me his second job was "landing" planes at the local military base for example. The next day he might be wearing a medical boot and have a big story to tell how he got injured doing something. I'm kind of thinking it's this kind of mentality that causes people to fake being a heroic decorated Veteran.

puck61

@cherokeepatti Right I use to volunteer at a kind of 'club ' for people with mental illnesses in Bellingham Washington, and there was this girl there who never wore anything but sterile fatigues. She was the MP. Some of the people being berated for 'stolen valor' are just like her. I think that's kind of silly and plain mean.