veteran’s corner

Tom Krabbenhoft

As you recall last week I left you with outing “Billy” at a VA group.

It may seem like a harsh outing but someone like “Billy” for Stolen Valor, contrary it’s not harsh enough.

Billy is receiving VA benefits and services. 22 veterans commit suicide daily. Fakes that wiggle their way into the system for benefits they never earned take away resources from people that need them. The VA cannot catch or verify them all. The mobile nature of the military sometimes makes it difficult to get paperwork. The phonies take advantage of this and suck away benefits from those that earned them.

Stolen Valor has galvanized and encouraged our enemies. Take the case of Jesse Macbeth. Macbeth claimed to be an Army Ranger with over 200 kills. He also made outrageous claims he slaughtered women and children, many of them he stated were in Mosques at the time.

Macbeth spoke at anti-war rallies and was hailed by the anti-war movement. Macbeth made a video where he appeared in a ridiculous uniform. He then laid out the atrocities he committed at the request of his army leaders. This video was translated and widely circulated in the Mideast and used in recruiting anti US fighters.

Macbeth did serve. ONLY 44 days and was kicked out for disciplinary reasons. He was not an Army Ranger and never set foot in Iraq.

He was charged with Stolen Valor and for theft of VA benefits. He should’ve been shot.

Locally we have Richard Rahn. He showed up in Olivia MN, in a fancy dress uniform. He would regale tales of many missions he led. He started going to many charity events and pressed the flesh with civic leaders accepting gifts and freebies along the way for his service.

Then he had the unbelievable gall to meet with a Goldstar Family. A Goldstar Family is one that lost a loved one in war. This cretin met with and cried with the family, he even gave them a little statue of a soldier praying. Rahn then showed up at a Legion motorcycle event where a few people questioned his medals. The Olivia police chief became aware and started snooping. Rahn had several felonies to his credit, several of them in Wilmar, MN. He also had several firearms he should not of had. No surprise here but Rahn never served one day in the military.

The Goldstar Father was a service member, in fact he was training at Camp Ripley to deploy when word of his Sons death reached him. He escorted his sons remains back. The Father visited Rahn in jail, and Rahn feigned being sick and left.

I can only hope Rahn is collecting his due karma for emotionally damaging that family.

As you can see, Stolen Valor is damaging. If you spot it call it out.

Anything Veteran related or anything else contact me at 11btwk@gmail.com