Fake military veteran hid under 'ocean of lies'

[almaty 19]

Richard Strandlof said he survived the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon. He said he survived again when a roadside bomb went off in Iraq killing four fellow Marines. He'd point to his head and tell people he had a metal plate, collateral damage from the explosion.

Richard Strandlof says he didn't mean to cause harm when he lied about being a military veteran.

Crowds ate up his story. He canvassed Colorado appearing at the sides of politicians. Inspiring and seemingly authentic, he spoke on behalf of veterans at the state Capitol.

It turns out the whole thing was a lie. He wasn't at the Pentagon. He was never a Marine. He never served his country. He never graduated from the Naval Academy. He claimed his name was Rick Duncan.

He formed a group called the Colorado Veterans Alliance, and the FBI is now investigating whether he embezzled money as a result. Watch Strandlof defend himself »

Where was he on 9/11, the day he said he witnessed heroism firsthand?

"I was in San Jose, California, watching it in horror on TV with a few other people," Strandlof told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

He was at a homeless shelter at the time.

Strandlof denies being a pathological liar. He says he suffered from "some severely underdiagnosed mental illness" and that he got caught up in the moment around "people who are passionate and loved what they did."

He told CNN he had put on a "production, which I'm sorry for."

"Hopefully the people that I hurt can in some way gain closure from that, and I myself don't know what I can do short of leaving them alone and not being in their lives, to make that happen," Strandlof said.

He said he's not sure exactly how he's hurt people. "It's not for me to say, and time will tell," he said.

Hal Bidlack, a former Air Force lieutenant colonel, is one of those people. He ran for Congress as a Democrat and had Strandlof appear with him. Bidlack isn't too happy.

"Once one lie fell apart, the whole series of things ... just cascaded into an ocean of lies," he said.

Bidlack was at the Pentagon when it came under attack on September 11, 2001. He now realizes that Strandlof stole portions of his own story.

"Now that we know he's a lying fraud," Bidlack said, "I think he was just parroting my own story back to me."

"There are an awful lot of things that he kept straight to try to fool an awful lot of people for an awful long time."

Doug Sterner has catalogued hundreds of people claiming to be military veterans who never served in the military. He says it's typical for those perpetuating the hoaxes to claim mental illness.

"I don't buy that," Sterner said. "What he was doing was looking for a cause to promote himself. I see this repeatedly. I've had a hundred cases just this year like Rick Strandlof's. ... What they're doing is building a kingdom of self and feeding their own ego."

Sterner has pushed for a federal database listing the names and citations of all decorated military veterans to help put an end to such cases. He said Strandlof has robbed true veterans of their veracity.

"Doing good does not take away from the bad that he did," he said. "Because of Rick Strandlof, the next global war on terrorism veteran that speaks in a school or talks to the media or gets involved in politics is going to be questioned."

Strandlof's story began to unravel about a month ago when he was arrested in Colorado Springs on a minor traffic charge. According to the Denver Post, Strandlof came to authorities' attention first in 1997, when he was sentenced to five years on forgery and bad-check charges.

With the FBI now investigating him for fraud, he told CNN he's innocent. "We did not take money to use on non-veterans projects. I did not enrich myself on this. I did not gain any money from this," he said.

That's not the point, said Sterner. "The one thing he robbed from every veteran that comes out now is credibility."

there are allot of legitimate veterans here on vj...and what this guy did and others do is a slap at all of us who served this country...

you never hear a fake vet say, "oh, i was a cook or i worked on a refueling ship"...no always a war hero or a veteran of several major battles..

Edited June 12, 2009 by almaty

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Yep - a lot fake vets out there.

Simple check on there DD-214 will show the truth (if they have it).

And if they are caught wearing the uniform/medals/ribbons and were not in the military - criminal charges.

(that is why the Hollywood military uniforms are "off" just a bit to get around that law).

One reunion I went to for my ship, a guy showed up wearing ribbons that you only can get if you were in the Army, and he was wearing Navy blues...

[Nagishkaw 510]

Impostors, sheesh!

[almaty 19]

Yep - a lot fake vets out there.

Simple check on there DD-214 will show the truth (if they have it).

And if they are caught wearing the uniform/medals/ribbons and were not in the military - criminal charges.

(that is why the Hollywood military uniforms are "off" just a bit to get around that law).

One reunion I went to for my ship, a guy showed up wearing ribbons that you only can get if you were in the Army, and he was wearing Navy blues...

brother bobby, i hope you set him straight...

[tmma 467]

What a worthless sack of sh!t!

It always seems that the 'fakers' are ones that have in reality done NOTHING whatsoever for their country. Makes my blood boil, especially when I am at the VA and see first hand the real heros.

[scandal 951]

Yep - a lot fake vets out there.

Simple check on there DD-214 will show the truth (if they have it).

And if they are caught wearing the uniform/medals/ribbons and were not in the military - criminal charges.

(that is why the Hollywood military uniforms are "off" just a bit to get around that law).

One reunion I went to for my ship, a guy showed up wearing ribbons that you only can get if you were in the Army, and he was wearing Navy blues...

brother bobby, i hope you set him straight...

Those of us who are civilians and have not served appreciate and honor the service of those who do.

America's service men and women have protected this country and its liberties and in too many cases made the ultimate sacrifices.

Anyone who sullies that record is shameful.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Yep - a lot fake vets out there.

Simple check on there DD-214 will show the truth (if they have it).

And if they are caught wearing the uniform/medals/ribbons and were not in the military - criminal charges.

(that is why the Hollywood military uniforms are "off" just a bit to get around that law).

One reunion I went to for my ship, a guy showed up wearing ribbons that you only can get if you were in the Army, and he was wearing Navy blues...

brother bobby, i hope you set him straight...

Those of us who are civilians and have not served appreciate and honor the service of those who do.

America's service men and women have protected this country and its liberties and in too many cases made the ultimate sacrifices.

Anyone who sullies that record is shameful.

Most of the Vets I know (myself included) would just give the imposters "blanket parties" and be done with them.

They are usually found out with some research, and they only sully themselves, not the "real vets" imho.

[Ban Hammer 13,344]

What a worthless sack of sh!t!

It always seems that the 'fakers' are ones that have in reality done NOTHING whatsoever for their country. Makes my blood boil, especially when I am at the VA and see first hand the real heros.

[mawilson 2,133]

What a worthless sack of sh!t!

It always seems that the 'fakers' are ones that have in reality done NOTHING whatsoever for their country. Makes my blood boil, especially when I am at the VA and see first hand the real heros.

Well, I don't know about NOTHING - this guy actually formed a group called the Colorado Veterans Alliance.

[NickD 203]

That doesn't bother me, what does are these phony veterans that call me and ask for donations as well as those pretending to be law enforcement officials.

Just tell them, if you think I am going to give you my CC number over the phone, you are nuts and hang up.

[tmma 467]

What a worthless sack of sh!t!

It always seems that the 'fakers' are ones that have in reality done NOTHING whatsoever for their country. Makes my blood boil, especially when I am at the VA and see first hand the real heros.

Well, I don't know about NOTHING - this guy actually formed a group called the Colorado Veterans Alliance.

Yeh, and what did said group actually do for vets.....It was a tool to promote his own sorry ####-nothing else.

He could have formed a group for vets without all the lies and self promotion if he cared that much about others.

What you whistling for?

[alienlovechild 75]

you never hear a fake vet say, "oh, i was a cook or i worked on a refueling ship"...no always a war hero or a veteran of several major battles..

The phonies really inflate their role in combat and rank. I expect there's going to be a fresh crop of guys claiming they served heroically in Afghanistan or Iraq when they probably were never there or even in the military. Right after the Vietnam War few vets wanted admit they had been over there then the public attitude shifted suddenly the vets were coming out of the woodwork.

Another reason to be somewhat skeptical now is so few are in the military now and all the same men and women with repeated tours of duty. I read somewhere where the Army troop strength is now at the same levels as 1940 yet the general population is far higher. It's a lot less likely the average person knows somebody in uniform now.

[almaty 19]

you never hear a fake vet say, "oh, i was a cook or i worked on a refueling ship"...no always a war hero or a veteran of several major battles..

The phonies really inflate their role in combat and rank. I expect there's going to be a fresh crop of guys claiming they served heroically in Afghanistan or Iraq when they probably were never there or even in the military. Right after the Vietnam War few vets wanted admit they had been over there then the public attitude shifted suddenly the vets were coming out of the woodwork.

Another reason to be somewhat skeptical now is so few are in the military now and all the same men and women with repeated tours of duty. I read somewhere where the Army troop strength is now at the same levels as 1940 yet the general population is far higher. It's a lot less likely the average person knows somebody in uniform now.

i think youa re right and it is always a sign to me..when they start talking and their involvement becomes dramatic

[Bobby+Umit 161]

What a worthless sack of sh!t!

It always seems that the 'fakers' are ones that have in reality done NOTHING whatsoever for their country. Makes my blood boil, especially when I am at the VA and see first hand the real heros.

Well, I don't know about NOTHING - this guy actually formed a group called the Colorado Veterans Alliance.

And the FBI is looking into that, thinking he embezzled funds from that group...