Alan Merklein US Army Phony Vietnam Combat Wounded Special Forces / Ranger , Blog of Shame
5401/15/2016 by militaryphonies
Alan Merklein claims that he was a member of Special Forces in Vietnam who was also Ranger Tabbed.
He claims that what military records of his that aren’t classified and Top Secret were destroyed in the 1973 fire at the NPRC.
A Photo of him wearing a ball cap with the AMVETS patch along with a SSG , Airborne and Vietnam Service medal hatpins. 
This is a close up photo of his motorcycle vest . He is displaying multiple military claims. Such as being a SSG ( E-6 ) , The 75th Ranger Tab. Special Forces Airborne patch. He is also claiming the BSM and a Purple Heart. Plus other Medals and Ribbons. Including an upside down Combat Action Ribbon. Which is a Navy/Marine citation.
Two photo’s of Alan Merklein and his wife riding and standing beside their motorcycle. With the motorcycle and the husband and wife both displaying the Special Forces logo and crest.
A photo of Alan Merklein wearing a ball cap with ” Special Forces ” displayed upon it as well as diff. Military hat pins.
A photo of Alan Merklein wearing what appears to be a uniform from the Vietnam Veterans Association . Which Alan did belong to at one time. But has since been removed from their roster. In this photo. you can clearly see him wearing the BSM, PH, VSM. As well as a Combat Infantry Badge.
A photo of Alan Merklein wearing a ball cap displaying the 75th Rangers and Vietnam campaign medals.
Alan Merklein has been making appearances all over Florida displaying all of his false military honors. This is a Newspaper article showing Merklein participating in a Veterans Day Parade. http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article44283732.html
This is a video of Alan Merklein placing the American flag on graves of our fallen hero’s at the Sarasota National Cemetery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LXNtUt55Z0
Alan Merklein’s Facebook Account ; https://www.facebook.com/alan.merklein
AlanMerklein’s VetFriends Account ; https://www.vetfriends.com/veterandirectory/?member=1556254&name=Alan-Merklein&branch=Army&from=1965&to=1970
Alan Merklein’s Google+ Account ; https://plus.google.com/101877821505230505928/about
The National Personal Records Center has Alan J. Merklein on file. But not in the manner that he has claimed of his Military Service. He joined the Army in Dec. of 1966. and was discharged from active duty on 25 Nov., 1968. His primary job was that of an auto body & Vehicle repairman. He spent nine months in Germany in 1968. His one and only medal was the National Defense Service Medal. He was discharged as a Spec. (E-4 )
This Ain’t Hell blog ;http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=63873
[…] Scotty and the boys were teasing us with this fellow on Facebook last night. His name is Alan James Merkleine and of course, he’s from Florida and yes, he rides a motorcycle. The only reason to have a vest; […]
I want to thank Scott Hughes for his work on this project. This is very important!! Men and women are dying every day. They have died many years past. They will continue to die. All for the purpose of preserving our Freedom. They are the men and women of the US Military. God Bless them every one. They are Gallant. My Grandfather and Uncle were real Soldiers. WWll. My Father was a real Soldier. Korea. My Brother was a real Soldier. Non war time. My husband is a real Soldier. USCG Vietnam Combat Veteran. I have stood at the graves of countless real Soldiers from all branches and wept. I have walked beside the wounded from all branches and felt inspired by their bravery and perseverance. And I have stood among groups of Soldiers of all branches and felt as though I was standing in the presence of Greatness! I take this very personally because these are my Soldiers. Each and every one of them. They are my protectors. My gallant defenders. And I will always stand up for them. So when a piece of crap like Alan Merklein try’s to steal Valor from them, I RAGE!!!
Just anotherPOS
I have to wonder how a guy who is supposed to be a Green Beret, tabbed Ranger, and general ARMY of ONE badass happens to have a Navy Combat Action Ribbon.
I guess he must have been a SEAL in his spare time, when he wasn’t off doing shit with Delta-Force.
that’s Delta FARCE
He probably got the Combat Action Ribbon while he was a Super Duper Secret Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper…All Top secret missions so there will be no record of his service in the Corps….What I find amusing is he has BOTH the CAR and a CIB….Jack-ass…
How sad he never had a life of his own. Pretty pitiful soul to try to soak up the honor of legitimate persons who lived, died and still live with the hell that lives in their head. I feel really sorry for you, but would gladly spit on you if I could. Wife of a REAL Vietnam Vet.
Yeah I feel bad for this guy. How messed up must his life be that he has to pretend that he was in the Nam.
Exactly how I feel Juletta. Sharon lee. Wife of a real Vietnam Vet.
How sad maybe he recently lost his leg as payback
https://www.facebook.com/alan.merklein?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
His FB page is still up sent this POS a message will see what he replies with
I took him and his wife off of my facebook page. I thought I knew him and he was my friend, No more ! I was very disappointed in this guy.
My Marine Corp career was 10 months long. A medical under honorable 42 years ago left me with shame when vets were recognized. I finally decided that I was willing to volunteer, make Pfc. out of boot camp, and if nothing else I can honor my dad, LCpl Claburn Lee Minchew, USMC, earned 2 Purple Hearts in Korea.
Then I read about these yayhoos fakin it or makin it up.
Send them to the enemy!!
Honorable under Medical conditions, nothing to be ashamed of….you earned your EGA, then a medical condition cut you military career short. Hold your head high brother.
Semper Fi Marine
Nothing wrong with that. You are a Marine. You had to be medically retired. It happens, no shame in that. Semper Fi!
If your father was a Marine corps E-3 in Korea, he was a Corporal, not a Lance Corporal. The rank of Lance Corporal (E-3) was added with the rank restructuring in 1958. Honor your father as “Corporal Claburn Lee Minchew, USMC”
My brother was one of these phony solders…..when he died I saw to it that he was not buried in a Veteran’s grave…..that honor is reserved for those that actually served with dignity and sacrifice.
They are really sick in the head, not playing with a full deck, don’t they realized that their services record can be check and exposed them as phonies? What comes around goes around. Their bull shits will come back and bite them in their butt.
It’s hard to believe the courts are on his side. Stolen valor is OK in the USA. He did not serve in Vietnam when he had the opportunity, all it took was a Form 1049. That says a lot about a man who had the opportunity and elected not to serve in Vietnam. That doesn’t even make him a want-to-be, but it does make him a coward.
I’m not going to comment on whether hes a phony or not. I am going to share my experience on files at RCPAC. I went to St Louis to see my enlisted and officer records. Keep in mind over 30 years active and reserves, mostly spec ops to include pre regiment at 2nd batt and SF 12 th etc. My files were almost completely bare. 10 pages. A early DD214 attesting to my time at A 2/75 and some misc nonsense. I was stuned and livid my files were so f’d up. They couldn’t have cared less. Lazy and insolent. Not a single eer or oer. No awards, schools, commendations tours etc. Nothing on my injury and hospital stay at Madigan for a friendly fire injury from a 155 that killed 8 others. Zip, nada. I served from 77 on. So my point is FOI are worthless. Luckily for me I have lots of friends I served with and a lot of back up documentation. But a lot I am still missing. Check your records so you won’t get screwed when you actually need them. God help you if they were stored in St Lous the cesspool of governmental record keeping.
George, if you had 30 years of active ,and reserve time, one would think you would know to make sure your records were in order before you left. A 30 year man would have enough time and rank to make sure his shit was squared away before retirement. If your story is true, I lay the faults at your feet, not PERSCOM.
funny thing is George that the NPRC may not be perfect it is pretty dead on target with better than 95% of the records that this group has requested. I’d also like to toss in that if someone’s records are that screwed up they are given the opportunity to provide a rebuttal in their defense. 99.9% of them won’t because they have nothing to prove their side of the argument. BTDT George.
I’d also like to state that as a Veteran with nearly 20 years of both Active and ARNG time I’ll second the above comment. If your records are that jacked up the fault lies at your feet and nobody at NPRC is to blame. Your records are YOUR responsibility and nobody else’s. I tell all my soldiers to make 2 copies of EVERYTHING the military gives them. One they can keep and one they can lock in a safety deposit box or a fireproof box at home. Apparently you failed miserably at that.
Thank God I’ve never felt the urge to lie about my military record. Spent my time in Panama as a private in the Infantry but there were phonies down there too
Makes me sooo mad, that pukes like that get glory when real vets are still hidding,from the torment of war and the lousy way we were treated when we came home.
As someone with the same last name i am truly disgusted. STEALING GLORY is a federal offence/ He also lied to my mother to get money from her.
I am very sorry to hear he would sink to such low life behavior as to lie to someone to scam money from them. This only go to the evil character of the person. His deception seems to have no boundaries. Veterans or Mothers. Doesn’t matter. Screw them all!!
If he actually got money from your mother using his phoney claim of being a combat veteran, turn his useless ass in….under the Stolen Valor act, PROFITING in anyway (securing employment, obtaining benefits, money, etc.) IS a prosecutable offense.
Service-members who was in the thick of it don’t go around being a display, nor speak about it. This guy truly have some issues , I would like to know if his wife was aware of his lies?
Yes his wife knew and is still defending him and calling everyone else liars saying she can prove he was in Nam because she has the MRI results showing the shrapnel in his neck. Really? How does one get an MRI with a shit load of metal in their body? As a nurse I know they don’t! She has been with him for 20 years and they married this past May. She has to have known. Otherwise, in my opinion, she is the stupidest person on earth. Her name is Gale Van Landuyt and still has her FB page up and running and defending him last I checked. When she was asked to produce the MRI results she said she didn’t have to prove anything according to someones post. And there is also no record of Dick Head in the Purple Heart Hall of Record. How dare he wear that medal of all of them!! He’s a POS Poser and that MC wreck causing him to lose his left leg is blessed Karma!! And now she gets to spend her days taking care of him.
Thank you for the information….
Sick
I thought I knew him. I guess not.. Too bad !
Always wondered about this guy from the first moment I met him at a Vietnam Brotherhood meeting in Sarasota. It sickens and angers me that individuals like him continue to steal the honor that should be reserved for those who participated in war.
He should have been proud of his service no matter his location and MOS.He has a poor thought of himself, I do not approve of his doing but I will say this; I served in Nam and there was a lot of people that received metals that never deserved them.
I’m an OEF x 4 veteran. I was a Cav Scout with the 82nd Airborne Division, and my career was ended due to a TBI and some shrapnel to the neck. These guys are pretty sad people. I wasn’t Rambo or anything, but these guys must have some type of psychological issues. When I returned from my last deployment, I had to work (and still do sometimes) through nightmares, survivor guilt, anxiety, memory issues, anger and a bunch of other crap. These guys must always wonder how they would’ve actually handled an ambush/firefight or whatever. Sad thing is; they will never get a true answer to their question. Life must have been pretty pathetic for these guys to have to make up entirely new lives to live by. In a way, I feel sorry for them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m disgusted with their behavior, but they’re living a lie everyday and have to look in the mirror every morning and deal with the fact that real men have accomplished the actions they claim and then some. It’s truly sad and pathetic to see men who were most likely eligible to fight for this country, fabricate a lie so big it consumes their actual life! It makes me more upset to see people claiming these heroics in Vietnam; if it wasn’t for Vietnam Veterans, there would be no care or appreciation for any veteran after that war. The work done by true hard fighting badass Vietnam veterans is the only reason this country gives a damn now. Thank you all gentleman. Thanks to the true troops that fought when it was more popular to burn a draft card than it was to be a man.
VR
SSG E
[…] If you ever heard the old saying ‘Birds of a feather, flock together’ then this guy is the poster child for it. Meet Harry Matthew Janes, and with him in the photo below is fellow phony Alan Merklein ( you can read about Merklein here: http://militaryphony.com/2016/01/15/alan-merklein-us-army-phony-vietnam-combat-wounded-special-force… ). […]
Is there a way to see if this guy is now in Covina California? There’s a guy here who looks just like him, vest the same and rides a Harley Trike with the same “Special Forces” sticker on the windshield. Major limp as though a lost leg. Same lies about service. It took me about 3 questions to see he was a poser. I told him he was a fraud and a disgrace.
Another so-sad wannabe.
Hello, I have been following this site after my earlier comment. I was hoping that someone here has the investigative assets available to see if this poser is now in Covina California. I am 90% sure it’s him and that he relocated after being exposed in Florida. If you have access to one of those people searches that actually work, please let me know.
Thanks!
Jeff 82nd Abn Div. 76-79
I’ll keep an eye open for this POS, I’m involved with a few veterans organizations and the Patriot Guard Riders…Covin is about 8 miles from me.
Thanks for the heads up Jeff.
*Covina*
Hi Phil,
Thanks for taking the time to respond. This guy in Covina looks just like Merklein. He drives a dress Harley Trike with the exact “Special Forces” decal on the windshield.
He likes to sing karaoke at a Mexican Bar and Restaurant in Covina and I heard him say he was a member around here at Amvets or one of the veteran groups. I asked about his name but the bartender told me he is only known as some goofy Indian name I don’t recall. Something like “Wounded Eagle” or some such nonsense.
Thanks Again,
Jeff
He was recently seen in Florida trying to get another power wheelchair. See comment below. He has his FB page back up under his real name.
Really angry about this guy. He shut down his FB page for a year, laid low and now he is back! According to one who knows for sure, he got a power wheelchair through a veterans assoc. claiming to be a Wounded Warrior. He went back to get it replaced this year and they had found about him and supposedly was refused. I am the wife of a REAL Vietnam Veteran and knew this A hole for what he was and reported him in the first place. I know it is not a crime to steal Valor but isn’t it a crime to steal under false pretenses? He took a power chair for a real, deserving Wounded Warrior!! I am livid. Can’t something be done about this? He stole that chair in my opinion. Isn’t it against the law to profit from Stolen Valor? OMG!! I am so mad!! Sharon lee, Proud Veteran Wife.
If he claimed that he was a wounded vet, and in fact he isn’t, and received a wheelchair from the VA, then he is in violation of the Stolen Valor Act of 2013 (Public Law 113-12, H.R. 258), and can be prosecuted.
The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 makes it a federal crime to receive “money, property or other tangible benefit” from a false claim.
Contact the United States Attornies office, they hndle Stolen Valor caes, and the FBI DOES investigate them.
Just to be clear….She said Veterans organization….Not the VA…Not sure what she meant by Veterans org.
VA or Veterans org/assn, makes no difference, profiting in any way through stolen valor is punishable by law.
Hi Sharon,
This is my understanding about “Stolen Valor”, but I could be wrong. I’m sure others here have much more knowledge on the matter.
If someone profits in some way claiming citations, medals and/or valor they haven’t earned, it’s a crime. If they just lie about it and don’t profit, it’s freedom of speech. (Alvarez in the supreme court)
If Merklien received benefits because he was a Vietnam Vet, he’s fine. If he received benefits/job solely because of an award he didn’t actually earn, it’s stolen valor.
Jeff
Thanks Jeff. This is the message we got as to what he’s up to now. What a creep. A year after he was outed he’s back at it. Event was wheel chairs for Purple Heart vets. He scammed a power chair out of this organization last year and was pushing for a replacement at the event. Unfortunately for him they are aware now that is is not a recipient ….. he and Gail left very quickly after they saw me there. In addition to continuing to represent as a special forces combat vet he was wearing a VFW riders tee shirt. They got out of there quick when the realized that there were multiple people in attendance that were well aware that he is a poser.
Phil Millard, 1/25/16 stated that profiting in any way is a prosecutable offense. Who prosecutes him. The military? Sharon lee
The FBI, US Attorney and a few other federal agencies…also individual states Office of Veterans Affairs.
Hi Sharon, it depends on what claims he made that allowed him to profit. I can say I received a Medal Of Honor”. That’s freedom of speech. Lies are protected. If I put lies on my resume and got a job, or took money from a charity because I was wounded in combat when I wasn’t, that’s stolen valor.
The military wouldn’t waste time on this in most cases. Probably local D.A. if he’s a veteran, but even then, I highly doubt it unless it’s particularly egregious.
Well it’s particularly egregious to me and I wish somebody would kick his sorry ass! Thanks Jeff. Sharon lee
Contact the United States Attornies office, they prosecute Stolen Valor cases. He is claiming to have been awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals, and if this was the basis for receiving the wheelchair from the VA, then he can be prosecuted under the Stolen Valor Act of 2013.