Jerry comes to us from Florida. It seems a couple of people were suspicious of his Vietnam SEAL claim. Jerry is the Commander of American Legion Post 183 in Fern Park Florida and also wears a cover for VFW Post 7414.
He wears the SEAL Trident on his cover and shirt. He also wears a Purple Heart, United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal, and the Vietnam Service Medal. Maybe he came to light because of his ribbon rack being out of order? He is also missing some shooting medals and a Combat Action Ribbon that he would have received fighting in Vietnam. That particular UN medal was not established until 1991.
Post 183, Fern Park Florida
I would hope that most military organizations would do a quick Google search before selecting a Commander to be sure he or she is of good moral character.
We checked the UDT SEAL Database for him and had a negative result. We then ordered his records with a Freedom of Information Request.
The records we received do not seem to match the story being told. Jerry seems to have barely over 11 months on active duty spanning 1971 and 1972. He was an Aviation Boatswain’s Mate and was discharged as an E3. Aviation Fundamentals is the only school listed for him and the only medal is the National Defense Service Medal. I can’t be the only one wondering what the DD214 says that he gave to the Legion and VFW. Wearing an unearned Purple Heart may cause him some legal problems.