Profile of Stolen Valor: MSG Tim Walz
By Mark Alexander
web posted August 19, 2024
Military men and women serving today, Veterans, and family members who honor their service — especially those who have perished in combat — consider stolen valor an egregious offense and its perpetrators a profound disgrace.
If you are not familiar with the term "stolen valor," it describes the action of those who falsely claim military service they did not perform and/or ranks they did not earn. Most often, such claims are made by those with no public profile, which is disgraceful but mostly inconsequential. But when documented and deliberate stolen valor claims remain unreconciled by a high-profile individual, that is as enormously disgraceful as it is consequential.
Cases of stolen valor by national politicians are rare, and until two weeks ago, the highest-profile case was that of Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), whose stolen valor claims were exposed when he ran for the Senate in 2010. In that campaign, news reports and videos called out Blumenthal's false claims to have served in Vietnam. He later offered a faux apology for what he called language that was not "clear or precise."
It was clearly and precisely a lie. Astoundingly, Connecticut Demos not only elected Blumenthal, but they have since reelected him twice, thus spitting in the face of Veterans nationwide.
Now, another well-documented case of stolen valor has emerged — one that is much higher profile because the guilty party is Tim Walz. He's the previously unknown "Bernie Bro" governor of Minnesota, the "folksy socialist" whom Kamala Harris tapped as her VP candidate.
Walz spent more than two decades with the Nebraska and Minnesota Army National Guard before launching his bid for Congress in 2006, and that is where his trail of stolen valor starts.
His fellow Guardsmen confirmed he abandoned his Battalion, knowing it was going to deploy to Iraq, despite his assertion a month before departing, "As Command Sergeant Major I have a responsibility not only to ready my battalion for Iraq, but also to serve if called on." Walz went outside the chain of command to ensure he would not have to deploy with his National Guard Battalion to Iraq.
Abandoning his men is disgraceful. But it's his record of lies regarding combat service and rank in the years since that clearly constitutes stolen valor. He has claimed to be a combat Veteran and implied he served in Afghanistan, as well as claimed to have earned the rank of Command Sergeant Major — none of which is true.
I assume Walz's stolen valor lies were known by Harris campaign strategists, but they concluded they could bury the evidence with the help of their Leftmedia publicists. That is a reasonable conclusion given the long record of unchallenged bald-faced Biden/Harris lies, Joe Biden being the leader of the "lying dog-faced pony soldier" cavalry.
Harris has avoided any media interviews since Biden withdrew from the campaign, thus avoiding any tough questions about their disastrous record of domestic and foreign policy failures.
Now, she and Walz are avoiding questions about his stolen valor claims.
Of course, many of their dullard constituents can't spell "valor," much less define it, so the campaign is moving forward as if it never happened.
But distinguished Veterans are shining a bright light on Walz's record.
This week, SSG David Bellavia, an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran and Medal of Honor recipient, strongly condemned Walz for abandoning his Battalion ahead of their Iraq deployment: "Here's what I can't forgive, what no combat Veteran can forgive. ... One of the first soldiers to die in the battle of Fallujah was Steven Faulkenburg. That was my Command Sergeant Major. He died at the tip of the spear. ... He blocks the sun. That's the pedestal we put our Sergeant Majors on. It's unfathomable that you would let your boys go without you."
Moreover, asked about Walz's claims to have served in combat, Bellavia said: "That's the unforgivable sin. ... [Democrats] don't understand the warrior class in America, which is why President Trump overwhelmingly has support of combat Veterans. ... I just find the whole thing disingenuous. Hold a press conference, explain what the record is. [Walz's] failure to do so, to me, speaks volumes."
Bellavia concluded: "We have an oath and a creed, an NCO creed. We will not use our grade or position for ... personal safety. That is part of every creed a non-commissioned officer recites."
Walz violated his oath on all counts, and he used his "grade" to ensure his "personal safety."
Retired Minnesota Guardsman Thomas Behrends, an actual Command Sergeant Major who took over command when Walz abruptly departed, says that Walz went above his senior sergeant leadership to secure a quick retirement: "On May 16th, 2005, [Walz] quit, betraying his country, leaving the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion and its Soldiers hanging; without its senior Non-Commissioned Officer, as the battalion prepared for war."
Doug Julin, who was Walz's senior Battalion command sergeant, confirms: "Tim Walz knew the processes and the procedures. He went around me and above and beyond me, and went to get somebody to back him, to get him out of there."
Fellow Guardsman John Kolb noted of Behrends's assessment: "I do not regret that Tim Walz retired early from the Minnesota Army National Guard, did not complete the Sergeants Major Academy, broke his enlistment contract and did not successfully complete any assignment as a Sergeant Major. Unwittingly, he got out of the way for better leadership. Thomas Behrends was the right leader at the right time."
Retired Captain Corey Bjertness, chaplain for Walz's Guard Battalion, said of Walz leaving his men, "In our world, to drop out after a WARNORD [warning order] is issued, is cowardly, especially for a senior enlisted guy."
Tom Schilling, who served with Walz, added: "We did the right thing, and [Walz is] dishonorable. What he did was he left somebody else to take over his spot. He just ditched us."
As for Walz's disgraceful record of stolen valor...
Again, his false claims, both about his combat service and rank, are well documented.
In 2004, while still in the National Guard, Walz participated in a war protest, carrying a sign noting "Enduring Freedom Veterans for Kerry." That would be the traitorous John Kerry who, after his failed 2004 presidential campaign, would become the embarrassing secretary of state under Barack Obama.
So you understand Walz's claim, Operation Enduring Freedom was the military designation for the War in Afghanistan. Walz's DD 214 service record indicates he never served anywhere near Afghanistan or any other combat theater of operation.
But he continued to make that claim.
After Walz abandoned his NG Battalion to launch his congressional campaign, his official announcement asserted he was "a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom."
That was a lie, and he knew it.
Soon thereafter, Iraqi War Veteran David Thul, who was a sergeant in the Minnesota National Guard, called out Walz's campaign lie, saying then: "Operation Enduring Freedom is limited to Afghanistan and the airspace directly above. Congressman Walz is clearly claiming ... to be an Enduring Freedom veteran. Nobody disputes the fact that he is not an Afghanistan or Enduring Freedom veteran. So this represents a fairly serious issue."
"Fairly serious," indeed.
Walz's replacement, CSM Behrends, added, "Tim Walz has embellished and selectively omitted facts and circumstances of his military career for years."
Aggravated about being caught making false military service claims in his first congressional election campaign, Walz published a letter in 2006, asserting it was a "ridiculous claim that I am misleading voters." Of his accusers, he added: "When you dishonor a veteran, you dishonor all soldiers and veterans. You owe an apology to all those who serve honorably."
Ironically, given what we know now, that sums up the apology Walz owes all Veterans for his stolen valor claims, especially to the families of the four members of his Guard Battalion who were killed during the deployment Walz dodged.
In fact, Walz repeatedly made or affirmed stolen valor combat Veteran claims once in Congress, including in a recorded candidate forum and media interviews, and was even recognized by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who publicly praised Walz, saying, "We appreciate his service on the battlefield."
Walz did not correct the record.
And Walz declared in one of his more recent leftist rants calling for gun confiscation, "We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is [sic] the only place where those weapons are at."
That prompted Marine Veteran JD Vance, who actually did deploy to Iraq, to ask, "Tim Walz, when were you ever in war? ... What was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq and [you] have not spent a day in a combat zone."
Walz's combat claim even got a "fact-check" smackdown from CNN's Tom Foreman, who kindly noted: "There is no evidence that at any time Governor Walz was in the position of being shot at, and some of his language could easily be seen to suggest that he was. So that is absolutely false..."
I say "kindly" because Walz's claims don't "suggest" he served in combat; he declared he carried a weapon in war.
Walz's silence, and that of the Harris campaign, is deafening.
The Harris/Walz campaign issued a brief statement declaring Walz "misspoke" about his military service. You know, kinda like Blumenthal failed to use "clear or precise" language. But unlike Blumenthal, Walz continued to "misspeak" for the last decade.
And about Walz's false claims about being a Command Sergeant Major...
In campaign promotions, and repeatedly since then, Walz claimed that he is a retired "Command Sergeant Major" despite not completing the requirements for that rank. He temporarily held the rank until he was officially demoted to Master Sergeant. Walz's final military rank was Master Sergeant, effective before his retirement.
The only claim he can legitimately make is that his highest rank was Master Sergeant, and that would have been commendable if not for all the lies.
Retired Sergeant Major Jason Jaskula says of Walz's rank claims: "He was a conditionally appointed sergeant major but never earned the rank and literally no one would understand that except for a few military members and/or sergeant majors. ... As an actual retired sergeant major it pisses me off and minimizes what I actually did."
The Harris/Walz campaign is banking on its constituents not understanding Walz's lies about his rank.
However, the Harris/Walz campaign quietly altered his military background on its website from "a retired Command Sergeant Major" to "served as a command sergeant major." On Walz's own official campaign website, the "retired command sergeant major" claim was updated to read he "once served at the command sergeant major rank."
Furthermore, we just discovered that the Congressional Challenge Coins that Walz produced after going to Congress in 2007 still showed his rank as Command Sergeant Major. Walz knew that was not true.
A reporter did ask Harris about Walz's stolen valor claims in a fleeting tarmac moment, but she dodged the question with a scripted reply: "I praise anyone who has presented themselves to serve our country, and I think that we all should." Uh, "we all should" serve; she didn't.
JD Vance cracked back, "Kamala Harris has done as many tough interviews as Tim Walz has battlefield deployments."
For the most authoritative assessment on Walz's plethora of fabrications, I turned to the highest-ranking Army Veteran among my friends and colleagues, GEN B.B. Bell (USA, Ret.).
He summed up Walz as follows: "Like many Patriot Post readers, I served to the best of my ability and did what the military asked of me as best I could for the 39 years I was honored to be an active-duty Soldier. That's all our nation asks, and all one's fellow Service members or fellow Veterans expect. In the case of Governor Tim Walz, this bond of steeled brother and sisterhood has been crushed by his disgraceful embellishment and lies regarding his military service. They are real, they are irrefutable, and they are an affront to any Service member or Veteran who ever wore the uniform, in peace or war. It fully and irrevocably disqualifies Governor Walz from serving as our Vice President or President. He should withdraw his candidacy now, seek the forgiveness of his fellow Service members, and ask our Lord for His Grace and Mercy. Nothing else is acceptable."
Before closing, allow me to circle back for a moment to Walz abandoning his Battalion before it was deployed to Iraq in 2005 — the same year JD Vance, who served four years active duty in the Marine Corps, was deployed to Iraq.
Because many Americans have little understanding of the distinction between serving in the National Guard and serving on active duty with one of our military branches, consider the following.
The National Guard generally involves a commitment of two days a month and two weeks per year, which is why Guard members are often referred to as "weekend warriors." Unless called up for a rare deployment, Guard members maintain their civilian family and job lives and can receive benefits from their part-time service, including supplemental income, education, low-cost healthcare, etc.
To be clear, serving with the Guard is honorable, when served honorably. The Guard and its components are critical to our nation's military readiness and national defense. Many Guard units were deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and 482 Guard members perished in those theaters.
But regarding the accolades about Walz's 24 years of Guard service while he was a student and school teacher, before abandoning his Battalion ahead of what would have been his one and only deployment to a war zone, consider this: An estimate of Walz's total days served in the Guard, including his temporary deployment to Italy in 2003/04, is about 1,180 days.
The estimate for JD Vance's four years of active duty, including his six-month deployment to Iraq in 2005, is about 1,460 days.
Of his service and deployment, Vance said: "When the United State Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do, and I did it honorably and I'm very proud of that service. When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him."
Conversely, how does now-Gov. Walz really view his Minnesota National Guard as its commander-in-chief?
Recall that during the Demo-sponsored Summer of Rage ahead of the 2020 election, when Walz was cheerleading for the rioters, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and his police chief were pleading with Gov. Walz to send in the National Guard.
Walz responded, "I don't think the mayor knew what he was asking for," adding that his Guard had a bunch of "19-year-olds who are cooks."
In other words, "Let it burn!" And as rioters burned the MPD's Third Precinct, Police Sergeant Anna Hedberg testified, "I heard the Governor say, 'give it up.'" Those three words were the catalyst for almost two weeks of chaos and rioting. But we can't send in the "cooks."
Finally, Walz is absolutely guilty of stolen valor, fraudulently making claims about his military service and rank. But again, the Harris/Walz campaign, in conjunction with its adoring Leftmedia publicists, is doing everything it can to bury his stolen valor claims ahead of the DNC's Kamalafest coronation convention next week.
Undoubtedly, the Demos will round up a few former MN Guard members seeking their moment of fame claiming Walz was a great military leader. I know of only one Medal of Honor recipient who they might get on stage to praise Walz. But no military endorsement at that confab reflects the sentiments of the vast majority of combat Veterans.
Though some political analysts say Walz is Harris's first unforced error, the facts notwithstanding, if Democrat strategists are correct, Walz's stolen valor record will have little impact on the Trump v Harris matchup.
Shame on any American who gives Walz's stolen valor disgrace a pass.
FOOTNOTE 1: Ironically, then-Rep. Walz voted for the Stolen Valor Act of 2013. The federal Stolen Valor Act makes it an offense to fraudulently make rank or military service claims in order to receive financial compensation or other tangible benefits. Walz is not being accused of violating the Stolen Valor Act, unless making a false claim of rank and service as part of your campaign to get elected to Congress is considered receiving financial compensation or other tangible benefits.
FOOTNOTE 2: Of interest, in the current 118th Congress, there are 80 House Veterans and 17 Senate Veterans, less than 10% of whom served in the National Guard. Predictably, about 75% of those Veterans are Republicans, and a majority (40 Republicans) served deployments in combat zones, as did 12 Democrats. 
Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post.
