Michael Riordan Rick – POW, Multiple Purple Hearts, Blog of Shame
106/14/2021 by militaryphonies
BACKGROUND
Michael Riordan Rick comes to us from Fort Wayne, Indiana. At the time of this writing, June 2021, Rick is 70 years old. He often goes by just “Mike.”
A local news station caught up to Rick as he was attending a Memorial Day parade on May 31, 2021 in Fort Wayne Indiana.
The interview and entire video from WPTA21 can be found here: WPTA21 ARTICLE
But here is the isolated video in case it disappears from the website.
In the video, and in the article, Rick claimed to be a Prisoner of War (POW) that escaped and wandered around Cambodia until he was picked up by friendly forces.
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ACTIONS CONDUCTED BY MILITARY PHONIES
Mike Rick’s military records were ordered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
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FOIA RESULTS
NATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER (NPRC)
FOIA Result – NPRC – Michael Rick – Summary Sheet
FOIA Result – NPRC – Michael Rick – Assignments
FOIA Result – NPRC – Michael Rick – Photo
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MANPOWER DATA CENTER (SCRA)
We searched the DoD Manpower Data Center database and found the following service listing for Michael Riordan Rick.
DoD Manpower Data Center / SCRA – Michael Riordan Rick
DEFENSE POW/MIA ACCOUNTING AGENCY (DPAA)
We searched the official Defense POW/MIA database and did not find Rick listed as a POW nor listed as an escapee.
You can examine the list yourself at the below link to the PDF:
NEWSPAPER RESEARCH
In the following article in The Cincinnati Enquirer dated January 24, 1991, there was a claim that Michael Rick was awarded four (4) Purple Hearts. Although he was not directly quoted, it can be reasonably assumed that he read the article so we wonder if he tried to get them to correct it should Rick have been misquoted.
On Mike Rick’s Facebook page, the following photo is posted that implies four Purple Hearts. First award – medal – and three subsequent awards – 3 Oak Leave clusters.
Mike Rick – Facebook Photo
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DISCUSSION and SUMMARY
LENGTH OF SERVICE
Rick’s military records show a 22 year career enlistment and retirement as a Master Sergeant (E-8).
His records confirm that Rick served in Vietnam.
AWARDS
Rick has one (1) awarded Purple Heart – not the two (2) or four (4) claimed. In the video, he claimed that he had “several” Purple Hearts which implies at least two.
There is no award in Rick’s official military records that designates him as being a POW.
PRISONER OF WAR
Michael Rick is not listed in the official Defense database for POWs/MIAs from Vietnam. Further, it brings a shadow of doubt in regard to his story about wandering around Cambodia for 22 days. In the newspaper article above, it is curious that he would not mention his POW adventure when talking about Vietnam.
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SUMMARY
Although Rick served honorably, the list of POWs is closely guarded and meticulously maintained.
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PHOTOS
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SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.rick.165
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This Ain’t Hell: https://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=114585
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