FEDERAL PROBE: LV man cited in 'stolen valor' case

[NVMojo]

Oct. 10, 2005

Police say he illegally displayed Army rank, medals

REVIEW-JOURNAL

A Las Vegas man under federal investigation, suspected of posing as a highly decorated retired Army colonel, has been cited under state law for violations including illegally driving with license plates reserved for wounded Nevada war veterans.

Sources close to the case and documents supplied to the Review-Journal confirmed that Jacob R. Cruze, 53, was cited Sept. 23 by a Las Vegas police detective on the FBI's Special Task Force for illegally possessing Purple Heart license plates and driving without a license, which had been revoked for nonpayment of child support.

The case was referred to the U.S. attorney's office almost three weeks ago.

Three tickets were issued to Cruze stemming from an investigation into public appearances he made in which he wore Army uniforms displaying the rank of colonel and ribbons and medals of valor that authorities suspect he never earned, including the Army's second-highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross.

more...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Oct-10-Mon-2005/news/3762846.html

[napi21]

1. OK, please explaine to me WHY someone would do this?

What possible advantage could it be for him to do that?

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

He's a creep who doesn't support his own child. He needs to APPEAR

to be a hero to someone

[cassiepriam]

2. Usually mentally ill, with a strong need to feel important. Not uncommon.

[NVMojo]

3. weird thing about this case, yesterday, I was talking to someone

about the number of alleged Viet Nam vets I've met, some never really did duty in VN ...I later find out. We were trying to figure out why someone would lie about that ...serving in Nam??? Then I came across this story ...

[oneighty]

6. Read the book

'Stolen Valor' How the Vietnam generation was robbed of its heroes and its history.. Burkett and Whitley.

There are so many phony veterans. A few even lied their way into our local VFW post using forged papers.

It is a shame. I tend to be a skeptic when I hear tales from people claiming to be veterans.

180

[brentspeak]

10. Burkett does a good job exposing phony veterans, but

he supported the Swiftliar's attempts to discredit John Kerry. He should be ashamed of himself.

[afdip]

11. burkett started out with a good idea

but he turned out to be just another right-wing hack with a political axe to grind.

[oneighty]

18. Yes he does

Even in the book he swings far right. That tends to cast doubt on his other research. Having said that I can identify with some of his observations.

180

[MADem]

27. The ones that are for real, tend not to talk about it

I have a relative who has two silver stars, a bronze star, and three, count 'em, three purple hearts. They are in a box with some of his other junk from that era, over the garage. A gen-u-wine military hero, who was drafted, did his bit, and came home.

His "opportunities to excel" came to him, unbidden, because he could shoot a pimple off a fly's ass at a thousand yards--he was Olympic Shooting material in his youth. Today, he needs reading glasses, but he still can spot things a mile away. We tease him because he got the good Indian blood from the ancestors, apparently (while many other family members can't see ten feet ahead without glasses).

He recently retired from a job that caused him to interact with the public, and at his well attended (he's a helluvah fellah) retirement ceremony, the MC mentioned his Vietnam awards. Quite a large number of the people in the audience were STUNNED. Many never knew he had even served, never mind the awful crap he had to do to get those bits of ribbon and metal, because he simply NEVER MENTIONED IT.

There's no glory in it, you just do what you have to do, and then try to move forward and learn something from it all.

[ozarkvet]

16. Free plates

I have a "Purple Heart" plate (got nailed by a sniper in my thigh; I'm fine, although it is disgusting) ---- it's free, for one.

Plus, cops don't give me tickets, just tell me to slow down.

Yeah, it's chickshit, but I figured I earn it every time it rains and my damn foot goes to sleep.

[UpInArms]

4. hmmmm.....

http://www.pownetwork.org/phonies/phonies214.htm





Claims
"3 tours" in Vietnam, with graphic accounts of his men being killed.
Purple Heart from a wound on his shoulder (stories sound similar to Mai Lai or Hamburger Hill)
During Operation Desert Storm he commanded 500 men.
Green Beret
Director of Special Ops
Ranger
Numerous meritorious awards and decorations.
To have been the youngest Colonel commissioned at the age of 38.
To have been forced into retirement in early 1997 due to Clinton "cutbacks."

Nevada license plate is state-issue Purple Heart plate.
Reportedly demands to be called "Colonel Cruze" http://slice.tennisinformation.com/tourny/findplayer Search only under last name, "Cruze" for the Tournament Year 2004.>

He spoke to the 5th graders about his distinguished career as an Army Colonel: http://ccsd.net/schools/eisenberg/carrerday2005.html (see picture above on this page)

...more...

http://www.pownetwork.org/phonies/phonies218.htm

[formercia]

5. Nominated for freeper wannabe of the Week.

Freeper Land is packed with this type.

[NVMojo]

7. totally "freeping" sick!! makes me wonder about the Swiftboatjerks...

[jsamuel]

8. predictable

[politick]

9. That's a crazy uniform

and he's a crazy looking crazy person.

Crazy

[Spider Jerusalem]

13. US Army dinner dress blues...

uniform equivalent of black tie and dinner jacket.

Crazy thing is that no one noticed the one little detail that would make one suspect the rest of it's bogus: his claim to've been "the youngest colonel, commissioned at age 28"...there've been general officers in the US Army younger than that. Anyone with even a slight knowledge of US military history would probably know that. Surprising he's been able to maintain the charade as long as he has.

[Historic NY]

15. Col. David "Hack" Hackworth was the......

youngest commissioned Colonel in Vietnam.

[politick]

17. Really? n/t

[Historic NY]

23. Yup.........from his website

<snip>
Having risen from private by way of a battlefield commission in Korea, where he became the Army’s youngest captain, to Vietnam, where he served as its youngest bird colonel, he never stood on rank.
<snip>

http://www.hackworth.com/

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

21. Special Forces is usually a clue

for some reason, these assholes can never just say... oh... I was a cook or whatever.

They always have to have Green Beret, SPECWAR, SEAL, Sniper, Ranger, Pathfinder, and the most popular... my job was classified, I can't tell you what unit I was in.

They are never in the 42 Division... it is always the 82nd, 101st, 10th Mountain, 1st AirCav... something like that.

Always an alarm for me. I know people who did those things, and they never, ever say anything about it.

The ones talking are the ones full of shit.

[dmr]

26. I believe you are right

I have family members that were wounded in Nam, and even after all these years they still do not talk about it. They will talk, sometimes at great length, about being in the military but never about their tours in Nam.

I suppose there are those who are Bush* following, gung-ho chicken hawks that have a need to make themselves appear to be something they are not - a hero. Maybe it's like the little penis syndrome.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

25. Well...

He certainly was committed. A Dress Blues setup like that don't come cheap.

Or is that Full Mess Dress? I thought that was white. Either way, big ticket items.

[bleedingheart]

12. I say give him what he wants...send him to Iraq so he can earn the medals

he so desparately wants to have...

[bos1]

14. OK he's a creep but...

OK he's a creep and probably a warcheerleading freeper type but besides that these kinds of grandiose imposters are really entertaining, I mean isn't it hilarious? All you gotta do is put on the uniform and tell some stories and you get instant temporary and superficial friends and free drinks and laid etc etc. Posing as a rock star, golf pro, astronaut-- I love these stories

[superconnected]

19. Let him. So this freeper is nuts and pisses off the other freepers.

Go for it! I don't care if he fakes he's the prez. And no I don't care if someone really is a war vet and feels it's taking away from their glory- dem or rep - I'm one of those Anti-war liberals.

Make a mockery of it! Keep going freeper boy, I'm rooting for ya!

military - often a nice euphemism for murderers.

[bos1]

29. yeah "support our troops" stops at a certain rank

I was watching McCain get pissed off in some generals' faces yesterday, and they looked like kowtowing bureaucratic asskissing apparatchiks in the ministry of murder -- which they are.

[fshrink]

20. Stolen valor... Sign of the times. nt

[DELUSIONAL]

22. There are a lot of wannabes posing as Vets

Often they make up elaborate stories.

This is just one of the extremes that has been reported.

Bush is also another fraud -- many people do believe that bushie served in Vietnam. And he's made remarks comparing the difficulty of raising twins and going to Vietnam.

Also it isn't uncommon to inflate experience in the service. Many Vietnam Vets never saw combat action -- but today they sure can tell war stories which might fool most people -- but it doesn't take long for real Vets to expose the frauds.

I'm glad this jerk has been exposed as a fraud. As a military brat I really am disgusted with jerks like this.

[NorthernSpy]

24. in fact, knowing about stolen valor cases...

... is precisely what encouraged me to be skeptical of a lot of those self-reported claims of "heroism" in New Orleans that were swallowed whole and repeated ad nauseum by the credulous among us.

It is a fact that war and disaster bring out the attention-seekers. Some people really do tell lies to make themselves seem smarter, braver, and more important than they actually are.

Has it ever been otherwise?

[oneold1-4u]

28. Give a thought to

Those who served in the gulf----I understand that over half are already dead and nothing said!