All of Tim Walz’s military service embellishments — from claiming he carried weapons in war to making people think he deployed to Afghanistan

[Earl]

All of Tim Walz’s military service embellishments — from claiming he carried weapons in war to making people think he deployed to Afghanistan
By Chris Nesi and
Isabel Vincent
Published Aug. 8, 2024, 7:51 p.m. ET

In 2004, Tim Walz organized a protest outside a rally for President George W. Bush where he held up a sign that read “Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran 4 Kerry” — referencing the US fight against terrorists in Afghanistan.

The trouble is, in his 24 years in the Minnesota National Guard, Walz never deployed to combat zones in Afghanistan or Iraq. The closest he got was thousands of miles away in Italy. But it’s a label he used again and again — including in his official biography when he ran for Congress two years later in 2006.

That photo shows just one way that Walz, Kamala Harris’ VP pick, has repeatedly exaggerated and embellished his military record. Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, accused the second-term governor of Minnesota of “stolen valor garbage.”

Tim Walz (far right) held up a "Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran 4 Kerry" sign at a protest against President George Bush in Minnesota in 2004 — despite the fact that he was never deployed during his service in the National Guard.

Tim Walz (far right) held up a “Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran 4 Kerry” sign at a protest against President George Bush in Minnesota in 2004 — despite the fact that he was never deployed during his service in the National Guard. Michael Brodkorb /X

At least one former member of Walz’s National Guard unit who was deployed to Iraq took a dim view of the haphazard way in which the VP candidate has spoken about his service.

“It’s stolen valor,” said the former guardsman, speaking on condition of anonymity.

All of Tim Walz’s military service embellishments — from claiming he carried weapons in war to making people think he deployed to Afghanistan

Kamala Harris’ VP pick has repeatedly exaggerated his military record. Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, accused the second-term governor of Min…

nypost.com

 

[Earl]

“He used very specific phrases on his website that would suggest to a civilian that he had been to Afghanistan. He carried signs protesting at a rally for George W. Bush saying he was part of Operation Enduring Freedom, which would signal that he had seen combat in Afghanistan when he hadn’t.”

The Harris-Walz campaign seemed to acknowledge the critics on Thursday when it scrubbed another contested claim about his service record from his official biography on its website — that Walz had retired as a command sergeant major.

(In fact, Walz actually retired from the military with the rank of master sergeant because he hadn’t completed the required additional coursework, the military said.)

 

[Earl]

That, too, was a claim he made repeatedly. A newly surfaced video from 2009 shows then-Congressman Walz delivering a televised farewell message to a group of soldiers deploying for Iraq in which he calls himself a “retired Command Sergeant Major.”

While far from the worst elision, it demonstrates how the questions being asked are forcing the campaign to do some editorial damage control.

 

[archives]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the attack Walz has just about peaked by now, last week’s news, it has hit the point of marginal utility by now, but don’t let that stop you, your red hat comrades get all giddy talking about it

 

[TOP]

All of Tim Walz’s military service embellishments — from claiming he carried weapons in war to making people think he deployed to Afghanistan
By Chris Nesi and
Isabel Vincent
Published Aug. 8, 2024, 7:51 p.m. ET

In 2004, Tim Walz organized a protest outside a rally for President George W. Bush where he held up a sign that read “Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran 4 Kerry” — referencing the US fight against terrorists in Afghanistan.

The trouble is, in his 24 years in the Minnesota National Guard, Walz never deployed to combat zones in Afghanistan or Iraq. The closest he got was thousands of miles away in Italy. But it’s a label he used again and again — including in his official biography when he ran for Congress two years later in 2006.

That photo shows just one way that Walz, Kamala Harris’ VP pick, has repeatedly exaggerated and embellished his military record. Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, accused the second-term governor of Minnesota of “stolen valor garbage.”

Tim Walz (far right) held up a "Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran 4 Kerry" sign at a protest against President George Bush in Minnesota in 2004 — despite the fact that he was never deployed during his service in the National Guard.

Tim Walz (far right) held up a “Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran 4 Kerry” sign at a protest against President George Bush in Minnesota in 2004 — despite the fact that he was never deployed during his service in the National Guard. Michael Brodkorb /X

At least one former member of Walz’s National Guard unit who was deployed to Iraq took a dim view of the haphazard way in which the VP candidate has spoken about his service.

“It’s stolen valor,” said the former guardsman, speaking on condition of anonymity.

All of Tim Walz’s military service embellishments — from claiming he carried weapons in war to making people think he deployed to Afghanistan

Kamala Harris’ VP pick has repeatedly exaggerated his military record. Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, accused the second-term governor of Min…

nypost.com

It's against the creed he took as a non commissioned officer to misrepresent his military status...

 

[Earl]

Here is the latest on VP pick Tim Walz’s time in the military

National Guard vet claims Walz went above him to secure retirement: ‘He knew I would have told him, “Suck it up”’
Tim Walz falsely claimed he carried weapons ‘in war’ in resurfaced clip: ‘Absolutely false’
Tim Walz left National Guard battalion ‘hanging,’ ‘slithered out the door’ before Iraq deployment: vets
Tim Walz a ‘coward’ and ‘traitor’ for retiring from military before Iraq, says Guardsman who replaced VP pick

 

[Earl]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the attack Walz has just about peaked by now, last week’s news, it has hit the point of marginal utility by now, but don’t let that stop you, your red hat comrades get all giddy talking about it

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the attack Walz has just about peaked by now, last week’s news, it has hit the point of marginal utility by now, but don’t let that stop you, your red hat comrades get all giddy talking about it

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the attack Walz has just about peaked by now, last week’s news, it has hit the point of marginal utility by now, but don’t let that stop you, your red hat comrades get all giddy talking about it

So, Anchovies, you prefer a valor thief, a coward and a traitor..good to know.

Poor Anchovies.

 

[Earl]

None of this damning evidence is anecdotal.

It's based on videos and direct testimony of the men in this traitor's unit.

 

[Earl]

When pressed, Walz conceded later that year that he did not “carry weapons of war” in the field of battle.

Iraq vet and former Republican congressman from Michigan Peter Meijer also criticized Walz’s choice of words, but stopped short of agreeing fully with Vance’s assessment that he was guilty of “stolen valor” — lying about military service or achievements to get ahead in civilian life.

“I think Walz played fast and loose with his military bio to stay above water as his congressional district drifted right,” Meijer wrote in a thread on X addressing the accusations against Walz.
see also
Tim Walz a ‘coward’ and ‘traitor’ for retiring from military before Iraq, says Guardsman who replaced VP pick

“He let audiences paint in their minds a deceptive picture. It was shady, but not stolen valor.”

Alex Plintsas, a decorated Iraq War army veteran and Atlantic Council fellow, called Walz’s choice of words about being a veteran of “Operation Enduring Freedom” “true but misleading” — indicating they deliberately lack context in an attempt to make people believe he fought in Afghanistan.

“Why misleading? When you ask a fellow veteran where they deployed or if they offer first, it’s ‘Iraq,’ ‘Afghanistan,’ ‘Syria’ etc. No one says ‘Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran.’ That goes on the hats you wear to the VA for doctors appointments. I don’t make the rules,” he wrote on X.

In 2009, David Thul, a National Guard veteran and constituent of Walz, marched the protest photo into his campaign office to confront a staffer about the “Operation Enduring Freedom” claim.

“Is there any question in your mind what Enduring Freedom is?” the veteran asks in a viral video of the encounter.