Ty Kevin Hampe – Additional Military Records, Blog of Shame

militaryphonies

6 years ago

BACKGROUND

We wrote about Ty Hampe in a previous blog. We found the need to order more records on Hampe due to some claims that needed to be nailed down further.

The following photo was posted on Hampe’s Facebook page which displayed two (2) Bronze Star Medals, a Purple Heart, Special Forces and Airborne designations. The implication was that Hampe had earned all of this in his military career.

There were two main things that needed cleared up.

Documentation and clarity about which conflict that Hampe was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds sustained in battle?
If and when Hampe could have earned two Combat Infantryman Badges as he wears on his uniform.

NOTE: This could have been an earlier photograph because later he claimed he was a Staff Sergeant (SSG / E-6) with 20 years of service.

Hampe also posted a close-up of what appears to be the same uniform above. One can clearly see the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) with a star to denote a second award. One can also see a Bronze Star.

Someone commented on three (3) tours and Hampe corrected them saying he actually had five (5) tours. It also has the Airborne crest on this uniform.

To help clarify this, this case required ordering records from:

Hampe’s earlier active duties from 17 Nov 1981 – 26 Jan 1982 and then from 26 Jan 1982 – 12 June 1986.
Hampe’s military service in the Indiana National Guard.

It should be noted that Hampe claimed National Guard so the NPRC would have held those records as well. We took him at his claims. Later, it became apparent that he was with the Indiana National Guard which maintains those records and involved another FOIA request at the state level.

We were not certain of a few of the medals – later we identified them as State National Guard medals.

The Army medals were out of precedence order and the Kuwait Liberation medal is being worn upside down. The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal also appeared to be upside down.

Oddly enough, he is missing the Army Service Ribbon on his uniform which every soldier receives when they complete Basic entry-level training.

On Hampe’s truck he claims he is a Desert Storm veteran.

In the above photo it is cut off, but it also has displayed what appears to be a Silver Star medal, seen more clearly in the following photo.

Then, there is a photo posted to Hampe’s Facebook page of a Purple Heart. When someone asked him if it was his, Hampe said “Yes.”

*Ty Hampe’s post of a Purple Heart medal – Facebook*

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ACTIONS CONDUCTED BY MILITARY PHONIES

Ty Kevin Hampe’s military records were ordered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

This represented a refile with the NPRC as well as his Indiana National Guard military records.

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FOIA RESULTS

NATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER (NPRC) – ORIGINAL RESULTS

*NPRC – FOIA Results – Ty Kevin Hampe – Duty Assignments*

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MANPOWER DATA CENTER (SCRA)

*DoD Manpower Data Center Results – Ty Kevin Hampe*

NATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER (NPRC) – REFILE RESULTS

*NPRC – FOIA Results – Ty Kevin Hampe – Summary Sheet 1 of 2*

*NPRC – FOIA Results – Ty Kevin Hampe – Summary Sheet 2 of 2*

INDIANA NATIONAL GUARD – FOIA RESULTS

. . . . .

DISCUSSION and SUMMARY

Although the NPRC did not include records of assignments, they did include the Bronze Star Medal, but there was no Purple Heart or Combat Infantryman Badge – let alone two awards.

The Indiana National Guard records indicate that Hampe was discharged as a SGT (E-5).

MEDALS & BADGES

He does have a Parachutist’s Badge and an Air Assault Badge.

We tried to identify the ribbons based on the abbreviations. This is what we came up with.

The point of this exercise was to conclusively identify a Purple Heart, a Combat Infantryman Badge (x2) and/or a Silver Star. We could not.

There is no Purple Heart, no Master Parachutist’s Badge, no Master Rigger school, or no jungle school listed in Ty Hampe’s official military record.

The Bronze Star Medal and the National Defense Service Medal were absent from the first NPRC FOIA result, but they both showed up on the refile results. In the photo, he displays two Bronze Star Medals.

Of concern and of violation of the Stolen Valor Act is the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), especially with the star designating a second award. This was not found in Hampe’s official military records.

In addition, there was no trace of a Purple Heart or a Silver Star.

STOLEN VALOR

If the claims by Ty Hampe were used to leverage work, military or civilian promotions, or anything else of value, he may be in violation of Stolen Valor laws. State laws may also apply.

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