When Oxford resident Nicholas Anthony George tells tales of his military service, many listeners would undoubtedly call him a hero.
But when his claims are compared to his actual military record, it’s quite clear that he’s not even close to the elite soldier he portrays himself to be.
‘He’s a fraud,? said Anthony Anderson, CEO of the South Carolina-based Guardian of Valor, a group that investigates and exposes individuals who falsely claim military service and/or claim unauthorized medals or tabs.
Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Guardian of Valor received information regarding George’s military service from the National Personnel Records Center, part of the National Archives.
Copies were provided to this reporter.
George tells people he spent 28 years in the U.S. Army.
His record shows he was active duty from Nov. 8, 1988 to March 6, 1990, a total of 16 months.
George claims he served 17? years with Special Forces, commonly known as the Green Berets, and retired as a sergeant major in 2014.
His record shows he was not a Green Beret. He was actually a combat engineer who never rose above the rank of private.
George attended this year’s Memorial Day ceremonies in Oxford, Addison and Orion townships wearing a dress uniform full of all sorts of decorations and awards. He tells people he received two Silver Stars, six Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star.
His record shows the only things he ever earned were an Army Service Ribbon and a Marksman Badge.
George claims he served in every U.S. conflict since 1989 including Panama, Kosovo, Somalia, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was photographed wearing, in public, a triple Combat Infantryman’s Badge (CIB), an extremely rare military award presented to those who participated in active ground combat as a member of an infantry or Special Forces unit. All 328 known triple CIB recipients fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
George’s record shows the only foreign country he ever served in while in the army was Germany and the U.S. hasn’t been at war with this nation since the 1940s.
George claims he was shot 31 times over the course of his military career and he took 14 rounds in Afghanistan in 2011, which led to his retirement three years later. He claims because of this last round of wounds, he needs to have his right leg amputated from the hip down and replaced with a $283,000 prosthetic limb.
His record shows no Purple Hearts, meaning he was never wounded in the service.
The type of discharge George received from the army was not disclosed in the information Guardian of Valor obtained.
‘They cannot, by law, release his discharge status unless he was court-martialed. That’s the only time that becomes public knowledge,? Anderson explained. ‘He wasn’t court-martialed because if he was court-martialed, it would be noted . . . According to his records, he was not court-martialed.?
But Anderson noted military personnel ‘can be dishonorably discharged without a court-martial.?
Members of George’s family told this reporter he was dishonorably discharged.
However, a Dec. 9, 2014 letter, written by Oxford American Legion Post 108 Senior Vice Commander Bill Vernier, states that based on the copy of the DD-214 that George submitted, he was honorably discharged from the service. This letter was related to George’s application for Legion membership, which he was granted.
A DD-214 is an official document issued by the Armed Forces to military personnel at the time of their discharge or separation from active duty. It contains information such as a service person’s military occupational specialty, service dates, awards and decorations, and personal information.
A veteran cannot join the American Legion if he or she was dishonorably discharged.
George claims he has two DD-214s because his 28 years in the army were not consecutive. He claims he took a break from military life in the early 1990s.
He claims the second DD-214 contains information regarding his time in Special Forces along with all his decorations and awards.
But that second DD-214 doesn’t exist based on the information Guardian of Valor obtained. George has only one DD-214.
‘That is the only record for him. That came straight from the National Archives,? Anderson said. ‘If he had any other type of record, it would have been noted in there.?
George’s false claims are very upsetting to Anderson, an active-duty staff sergeant who’s spent 12 years in the army
‘It pisses me off because all those awards he was wearing, sitting (in a wheelchair) claiming he was wounded . . . you’ve got these guys out there that are actually wounded, that lost limbs overseas, that have brain injuries . . . and then for this guy to walk around and claim something like that, it’s a slap in the face to these guys that have actually sacrificed for this country,? he said.
Unfortunately, Anderson said George is just one of a multitude of individuals out there making false claims regarding military service.
‘I see it so much. It’s crazy,? he said. ‘You’ve seen this one guy. I see tons per day. It’s an epidemic across the U.S. right now.?
‘Our organization has become the national go-to place for stolen valor,? Anderson noted.
Once Guardian of Valor, formed in 2010, verifies a person is a fraud, their name, information and photo are posted to the ‘Hall of Shame? portion of the group’s website www.guardianofvalor.com. ‘That’s a fraction of the actual cases we get,? Anderson said.
Only those whom Anderson is ?110 percent sure? are fakes get posted.
‘If I’m not confident that this could be presented to a jury of my peers and they look at it and say, ‘Yeah, this guy lied,? then I won’t post it,? he explained. ‘That keeps me from getting sued for slander or libel, and it’s built the integrity of our site. We post nothing but facts.?
When asked if Guardian of Valor will be inducting George into its Hall of Shame for all to see, Anderson replied, ‘I’m pretty sure we will.?
‘I’m going to do some more research on him,? he said.
Special Forces Poser Patrol, a group that investigates and exposes individuals who falsely claim to have served in the Green Berets, will be posting George’s story on its Facebook ‘Wall of Shame,? according to administrator Bill Ole Senn.
Special Forces Poser Patrol worked closely with Guardian of Valor on the George case.
Whether or not George may have violated the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2013 is not known at this time.
It’s a federal crime to make fraudulent claims about military service with the intent to obtain money, property or other tangible benefit. Violating this law entails an individual fraudulently claiming to be a recipient of a Congressional Medal of Honor, distinguished-service cross, Navy Cross, Air Force Cross, Silver Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Combat Action Badge, Combat Medical Badge, Combat Action Ribbon or Combat Action Medal. Those found guilty of violating this law are subject to a fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or both.
‘Under the Stolen Valor Act of 2013, if he gained anything of tangible benefit while wearing those awards, that’s considered a crime and he can be prosecuted,? Anderson said. ‘If he gained anything at any time while wearing that uniform with those awards, then that’s a federal crime and he can be charged for it.?
This reporter shared copies of George’s military information with Rick Moorhead, commander of Oxford American Legion Post 108.
‘I think that just puts the final nail in the coffin as far as I’m concerned,? he said. ‘Mr. George is permanently banned from our post.?
George is banned from the post because he ‘broke? the Legion’s ‘morals code? by lying about his military service record, according to Moorhead.
Moorhead said he recently spoke at Post 108’s executive board and general membership meetings, and there was nothing but support for his judgment and actions related to this matter.
‘They’re all behind me,? he said.
But Moorhead isn’t stopping with Post 108. ‘I have shared all this information with our sister post (233) in Lake Orion and as far as they are concerned, if he’s banned from our post, he is banned from their post,? he said.
Moorhead also contacted Ronald Runyan, adjutant for the American Legion Department of Michigan, and shared what he’s learned about George.
‘He is totally, 100 percent on board with the actions that we took,? Moorhead said. ‘As far as I’m concerned, I think we can close the book (on this).?
George did not return a phone message seeking comment.