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WaPo Issues Correction after Falsely Labeling Nathan Phillips a Vietnam Vet

danarhea said:
No it doesn't, but I do see 3 AWOL's in his record.
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Yes it does....the AWOL's combined with his less than honest job description of "Recon Ranger" does make me believe there is an integrity problem, and anything he says is highly suspect; but, I will wait for the actual release.

His entry date is May '72.....the last combat troops were withdrawn from Vietnam in March '72...not counting Embassy Security; and the last withdrawn units were Army, not USMC.

He could argue he served during that "era"....but based upon what I see on his DD214, his "service" is a matter of interpretation.
 
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holbritter said:
No, he was a refrigeration mechanic who went AWOL a few times. If that record is true, he's a phony POS.
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Well.....thats almost like being an Army Ranger or USMC Recon/Raider......right?

I mean, he might have seen one up close.
 
nota bene said:
And how is that punctuated? "...as a Vietnam vet times..." makes no sense. "...as a Vietnam veteran, times...."?
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"Vietnam-veteran times."

I'm willing to accede that the man's grammar is non-standard.
 
Bum said:
A FOIA has already been initiated....but I do not think that based upon my info, he is in any way a service member with "honorable" service.....but I'll wait until I see the official release.

View attachment 67248597

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Does not seem to be anything that would indicate "Recon Ranger" training.
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I'm sorry, but what has any of that to do with the WaPo issuing a correction about its own mischaracterization of Phillips as a veteran who served in Vietnam?


Red:
I have no way to tell that from the information shown.
  • From where did you obtain the above images?
  • What has the "Recon Ranger" stuff to do with the matters introduced in the OP and referenced by the linked content in the OP?

Truly, I have no idea what a "Recon Ranger" is beyond what I found in a Google search that returned a result depicting something called the Regimental Reconnaissance Company. That unit, if it's what he meant, didn't exist when Phillips was in the Marines. If that unit's nonexistence is why you've said the above shown records don't indicate he was part of the Regimental Reconnaissance Company, I agree. That notwithstanding, what the hell did he mean by "Recon Ranger?" I don't know. Do you?

In any case and as you've now shown in the images above, the man was, as noted in your OP, the man was a Vietnam-times veteran. What else is there to say? That the man's syntax ("Vietnam-times veteran") is awkward and/or unidiomatic? Okay, yes, it is, and that it is, for some folks, may confound comprehending him.
 
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Xelor said:
I'm sorry, but what has any of that to do with the WaPo issuing a correction about its own mischaracterization of Phillips as a veteran who served in Vietnam?


Red:
I have no way to tell that from the information shown.
  • From where did you obtain the above images?
  • What has the "Recon Ranger" stuff to do with the matters introduced in the OP and referenced by the linked content in the OP?

Truly, I have no idea what a "Recon Ranger" is beyond what I found in a Google search that returned a result depicting something called the Regimental Reconnaissance Company. That unit, if it's what he meant, didn't exist when Phillips was in the Marines. If that unit's nonexistence is why you've said the above shown records don't indicate he was part of the Regimental Reconnaissance Company, I agree. That notwithstanding, what the hell did he mean by "Recon Ranger?" I don't know. Do you?

In any case and as you've now shown in the images above, the man was, as noted in your OP, the man was a Vietnam-times veteran. What else is there to say? That the man's syntax ("Vietnam-times veteran") is awkward and/or unidiomatic? Okay, yes, it is, and that it is, for some folks, may confound comprehending him.
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The image I posted is data from a DD 214/2A 2-1; anyone that has ever served in the US Armed Forces knows what it is, and more importantly, what it tells about the servicemember.

He claimed he was a "Recon Ranger"....anyone in the USMC or Army knows this is incorrect; Rangers are exclusive to the US Army...not the USMC; additionally, Recon is USMC; For a while known as MARSOC, though Force Recon Marines are now known ( as they were originally) as Raiders.


No where does it show he attended any of the required pipeline course to move into a position of Recon; neither does it show Ranger school, or basic airborne....both at Ft Benning Georgia, and Basic Airborne is a requirement for Force Recon.


In addition, the multiple AWOLS and the incorrect job title make me and other Veterans call into question the veracity of anything he would state.


With an entry date of May 72, and the last combat troops withdrawn from Vietnam in March 72, with the exception of Embassy security, makes his claims of even "Vietnam era" a bit thin....as the last actual combat units to withdraw were Army.


This does not really support any of his statements, unless he wants to claim his service during the Embassy evacuation in April 1975.....but how you interpret his "service" is entirely up to you.


Multiple AWOLS, and getting booted out with less than an honorable...well, you can call it what you wish, but I will consider anything he claims to be somewhat suspect.
 
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Bum said:
The image I posted is a DD 214; anyone that has ever served in the US Armed Forces knows what it is, and more importantly, what it tells about the servicemember.

He claimed he was a "Recon Ranger"....anyone in the USMC or Army knows this is incorrect; Rangers are exclusive to the US Army...not the USMC; additionally, Recon is USMC; For a while known as MARSOC, though Force Recon Marines are now known ( as they were originally) as Raiders.


No where does it show he attended any of the required pipeline course to move into a position of Recon; neither does it show Ranger school, or basic airborne....both at Ft Benning Georgia, and Basic Airborne is a requirement for Force Recon.


In addition, the multiple AWOLS and the incorrect job title make me and other Veterans call into question the veracity of anything he would state.


With an entry date of May 72, and the last combat troops withdrawn from Vietnam in March 72, with the exception of Embassy security, makes his claims of even "Vietnam era" a bit thin....as the last actual combat units to withdraw were Army.


This does not really support any of his statements, unless he wants to claim his service during the Embassy evacuation in April 1975.....but how you interpret his "service" is entirely up to you.


Multiple AWOLS, and getting booted out with less than an honorable...well, you can call it what you wish, but I will consider anything he claims to be somewhat suspect.
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As I asked before, what has any of that to do with the WaPo's having corrected their reporting on the matter, none of which (based on the content you provided in your OP) has anything to do with his Rangering or anything else about his tenure in the military, other than his having served not in Vietnam, but during the period of the Vietnam War, which lasted until April 1975?

I really don't know what you're on about here. You created a thread having a title that has the WaPo as its subject, yet you keep remarking about Mr. Phillips.
 
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Xelor said:
As I asked before, what has any of that to do with the WaPo's having corrected their reporting on the matter, none of which (based on the content you provided in your OP) has anything to do with his Rangering or anything else about his tenure in the military, other than his having served not in Vietnam, but during the period of the Vietnam War, which lasted until April 1975?
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As I said, I dont consider it "service".....you can call it what you wish, but until I see the unredacted FOIA, I am withholding judgement.

One lie or a series of lies is reason to make me question anything he says at this point.

If the unredacted FOIA does indicate he served during the time frame indicated, I will state as much....but until then...:shrug:
 
Xelor said:
I'm sorry, but what has any of that to do with the WaPo issuing a correction about its own mischaracterization of Phillips as a veteran who served in Vietnam?


Red:
I have no way to tell that from the information shown.
  • From where did you obtain the above images?
  • What has the "Recon Ranger" stuff to do with the matters introduced in the OP and referenced by the linked content in the OP?

Truly, I have no idea what a "Recon Ranger" is beyond what I found in a Google search that returned a result depicting something called the Regimental Reconnaissance Company. That unit, if it's what he meant, didn't exist when Phillips was in the Marines. If that unit's nonexistence is why you've said the above shown records don't indicate he was part of the Regimental Reconnaissance Company, I agree. That notwithstanding, what the hell did he mean by "Recon Ranger?" I don't know. Do you?

In any case and as you've now shown in the images above, the man was, as noted in your OP, the man was a Vietnam-times veteran. What else is there to say? That the man's syntax ("Vietnam-times veteran") is awkward and/or unidiomatic? Okay, yes, it is, and that it is, for some folks, may confound comprehending him.
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Maybe he reconning refridgeratiors....you know, a guy gets hungry going AWOL all the time.

Sent from my SM-T587P using Tapatalk
 
Bum said:
The Washington Post issued a correction Tuesday after falsely describing the elderly Native American man whose confrontation with a group of high-school students went viral over the weekend as a veteran of the Vietnam War.
“Earlier versions of this story incorrectly said that Native American activist Nathan Phillips fought in the Vietnam War. Phillips served in the U.S. Marines from 1972 to 1976 but was never deployed to Vietnam,” reads the correction to the Sunday report.

https://news.yahoo.com/wapo-issues-correction-falsely-labeling-213148657.html

Phillips, who conceded that he initiated the confrontation after the more complete video footage became available, also appears to have misled reporters about his military service, as he was described as a Vietnam veteran by Vogue and the Detroit Free Press, and, in an interview with CNN, he described himself as a “Vietnam-times veteran.”



So, he was a Dick Blumenthal kind of "Vietnam Veteran".


Nothing wrong with serving during Vietnam so long as you do not claim to have been in Vietnam.

I dont know if he actually claimed it, or the media inferred it.
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Good for Wapo. It's always good to see an honest media outlet.
 
ClaraD said:
Vietnam veteran times, would refer to time of the Vietnam and he is a vet...if he served in the marines, and apparently, he did...he is a veteran of the Marines and he did serve during the Vietnam war...he just was not sent....which is more than we can say for Colonel Bone spurs who faked his medical diagnosis to avoid the service.
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When my father died, we received letters and other things from the VA and even the office of President Reagan commending my father for his service to the United States during World War 2. He was a WW2 veteran and we even were offered the chance to inter him in a Veterans Cemetery.

My father was an accountant for the army in Syracuse, NY and never went any further than Syracuse. Never saw a minute of service with a gun.

I'm gathering by the new definition, the US screwed up by calling him a veteran?
 
"Phillips also described coming back to the U.S. as a veteran of the Vietnam era. “People called me a baby killer and a hippie girl spit on me.”
https://newsmaven.io/indiancountryto...U6Ux9hZvXAzYQ/

The ****head was NEVER in-country so he never had to describe "coming back to the U.S. as a veteran of the Vietnam era". He was never Recon, never a LuRP, never the nonexistent 'recon ranger', and never a ****ing ranger period. Unless that was his fancy way of saying he worked on oven ranges and stove tops, because his entire time he was a ****ing refrigerator mechanic. And hey...no one is knocking anyone that is a refrigerator mechanic or that honorably did their job as a refrigerator mechanic either stateside or overseas, combat or noncombat. Just dont ****ing LIE about it and claim you are something you arent.

Why people feel compelled to defend that piece of **** I will never understand.
 
j-mac said:
Maybe he reconning refridgeratiors....you know, a guy gets hungry going AWOL all the time.

Sent from my SM-T587P using Tapatalk
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I figure the 'ranger' part was his extensive time fixing stoves at the mess.
 
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