Jeffery Wayne Williams – Two Bronze Stars, Scuba & Jump Qualified, Staff Sergeant of Marines, Blog of Shame

militaryphonies

8 years ago

BACKGROUND AND CLAIMS

Jeffery Wayne Williams wears a U.S. Marine Corps uniform often in organized veterans’ events.

He wears both the “scuba bubble” and “jump wings” insignia which would imply an 0321 Recon Marine. Often the insignia are displayed on his chest.

Other times they are both displayed on his soft cover.

Sometimes they are both on the soft cover and his chest.

Williams also wears the uniform of a Staff Sergeant (E-6) with two hash marks that designate eight (8) years of service.

Although the hash marks on the sleeve signify 8 years, his facebook page claims 6 years since it says he started in 1980 and got out in 1986.

Jeff Williams wears a Combat Action Ribbon from his duty with the MultiNational Force in Beirut, Lebanon in the early 1980’s. He earned the CAR which will be supported by his records in the following sections.

He was even featured on the cover of “Washington Dossier” in December 1983 as a model U.S. Marine for the magazine’s ‘Man of the Year’ issue.

On a framed wall display honoring him, Williams was listed as having two (2) Bronze Star Medals.

Since Williams posed for a photo in front of the framed display, he must have seen the prominent “Two Bronze Stars” listing above the “Combat Action” award.

Later, Williams joined the Army National Guard and wore the “scuba bubble” on that uniform as well.

Recon Marines from Beirut did not recall him stationed with them. Other Beirut Veterans started asking some questions as well, so a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was made for Jeff Williams’ official military records.

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FOIA RESULTS – SELECTED

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FOIA RESULTS – COMPLETE

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SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION

Prior to his records being ordered via the FOIA, an effort was made to reach out to Jeff Williams and he was asked about the inconsistencies. Williams admitted that a few things were incorrect – i.e. that he was not authorized to wear the jump wings, but the circumstances surrounding the scuba bubble insignia were still not as clear as they could be.

The entire Facebook private message (PM) conversation is posted here.

Then, the summary of that conversation was posted to the public group giving people a chance to react and Jeff Williams a chance to respond should he wish. It did not go well.

Jeff Williams’ military records came back and revealed quite a bit. His medal awards support the fact that he was in Beirut, Lebanon as part of the MultiNational Force. He served honorably and received a Combat Action Ribbon. Additionally, he was bestowed the honor of having his face represent the U.S. Marines in Lebanon on a magazine cover.

What happened in the following years that made him go beyond that?

His records show that he was discharged as a Corporal (E-4) vs. his claim of Staff Sergeant (E-6). He was in for four (4) years active duty vs. the six (6) and eight (8) years claimed. Meaning, the six year claim on his Facebook page and the eight year claim via the two hash marks on his sleeve. He did say that he had four (4) years of active duty in the Marine Corps and two (2) years of IRR (Individual Ready Reserve), but it is hard to understand how it arrived at eight (8). Perhaps there was some fuzzy math and the time in the National Guard was added? Even if this is true, the National Guard time would not be the same as time in the USMC Reserves. Regulations on this may have to be investigated.

The military records do not show Williams as having earned either the scuba insignia nor the jump wings, although he admitted the latter.

Perhaps most importantly, Williams’ military records do not show a Bronze Star Medal, let alone two.

The bottom line is that Jeffery Wayne Williams’ service claims are not supported by his official military records.

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