Stolen Valor? Army Vet Calls Out 'Phony' Soldier In Videotaped Confrontation
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A U.S. Army veteran recently spotted a man he believed was posing as a soldier and videotaped the confrontation, which was posted online.
As CBS2's Dick Brennan reported, the exchange took place at a suburban Philadelphia mall.
Ryan Berk, an Army Ranger and Purple Heart recipient, spotted a man, Sean Yetman, wearing an Army Ranger uniform.
Berk first asks Yetman what unit he's in.
"Where's your combat patch at?" Berk then asks.
"I gave it to a little kid," Yetman answers.
"Why is your flag so low on your shoulder? It should be up here," Berk says.
"You got me on that one, bud," Yetman responds.
"Where'd you get your three CIBs at?" Berk asks.
"Afghanistan," Yetman says.
"All three?" Berk presses.
"All three," Yetman affirms.
"You know you need to be in three different campaigns to get three CIBs (combat infantryman badge), right?" Berk fires back.
"Let me tell you something: If I was a phony, then I wouldn't be wearing this uniform," Yetman says.
"You wouldn't? ... Because you are a phony. I just called you out on about 10 different things," Berk says.
And it turns out, an Army spokesman told CBS News there is no record that Yetman ever served.
Guardian of Valor, the website that first posted Berk's video, told CBS2 it receives dozens of emails a day from soldiers who spot fakes. It even has a "hall of shame" for those who are caught.
Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada, an Iraq war veteran, sponsored the Stolen Valor Act that makes it a crime to benefit financially by lying about military service.
"I'm appalled, and it's not the first time that we've seen these impostors going around trying to hold themselves out to be something that they're not," Heck said.
CBS News could not reach Yetman for comment, but he has previously pleaded guilty to impersonating a public servant.
If he is charged and found guilty of taking advantage of discounts for servicemen, he could face a fine or even a year in prison under the Stolen Valor Act.
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