Sen. Harkin: Iowa veteran didn't earn military award
A Marshalltown veteran was erroneously presented with one of the nation's highest military honors by Sen. Tom Harkin after submitting inaccurate documentation, the Democratic senator acknowledged in a statement late Friday.
"I regret to have learned today that a Silver Star medal presented by a member of my staff to an Iowan earlier this year appears not to have been earned through service," Harkin said, noting records provided to his office by the Navy.
The Navy launched an investigation within hours after a story published Wednesday in The Des Moines Register quoted several military groups or advocates who say Dennis William Myers, 64, of Marshalltown provided Harkin with bogus documentation showing him as a recipient of the Silver Star medal.
Harkin's office staffers in June publicly presented Myers with the Silver Star medal – the third-highest military combat decoration that can be awarded to a member of the U.S. armed forces -- after receiving the documents from Myers.
But questions surfaced soon after that event when Doug Sterner, the curator of the Military Times Hall of Valor, attempted to fact-check Myers' background before adding him to a searchable online directory of military honors provided to readers of the site.
Myers, who did not return phone calls Friday, told the Register last week that much of his military record doesn't appear on written documents because he was part of undercover operations. He said his record was updated to reflect the Silver Star in December of 2013 even though that's not reflected in the records provided Aug. 19 by the National Personnel Records Center.
He additionally said he obtained the certificate from the American War Library, a private business in California that allows people to purchase the certificates for as little as $9.50. Officials from the business declined to outline how they verify military records before issuing the certificates.
The certificate Myers submitted to Harkin's office, which the Military Times reviewed after a records request to Harkin, was not dated nor did it have a signature of a high-ranking military official.
The Register quoted four military groups or public officials who questioned the document. One included Jerry Newberry, the assistant adjutant general of the national Veterans of Foreign Wars, who viewed the document at the Register's request and determined it is "definitely bogus" and "not even close to the real thing."
Records from the National Personnel Records Center in August indicate Myers was on active duty in the Navy in August 1968 and July 1972. He received multiple awards, including a Vietnam Service Medal with two Bronze Stars. But no Silver Star was listed.
It is illegal to fake military documents. The Navy will determine possible wrongdoing in the case, Harkin said.
Harkin's staff had not verified Myers' military record before presenting him with the award. That practice has changed, his staff said earlier this week.
