Military veterans skeptical of Moore’s inaccurate Bronze Star claim

Brenda Wintrode

The Baltimore Banner

September 4, 2024

Military veterans said Gov. Wes Moore may lose some credibility as a voice for his party within their ranks after he apologized for a White House application that inaccurately claimed he received a Bronze Star.

The up-and-coming politician and former U.S. Army Captain with the 82nd Airborne Division has been courting veterans on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Moore has made veterans issues a key policy platform for his administration and has signed laws he pitched to the General Assembly that eased financial burdens on military members and their families. And while Democratic and Republican officials in Maryland — some former veterans — immediately came to Moore’s defense, not everyone who once wore a uniform leapt at the chance to defend a soldier who, in their eyes, cosigned a falsehood.

Former U.S. Air Force Captain Wes Green was among the veterans gathered in Annapolis over the weekend as the Naval Academy’s football season kicked off. Green acknowledged that Moore must have done something worthy of the nomination, but said there’s a “clear line” between being considered for a commendation and receiving one.

”I don’t want to take away from what he [Moore] did that was distinguishing,” the 50-year-old who served several tours of duty overseas said. “However, he was not awarded the award, and there’s a difference.”

Documents uncovered by The New York Times showed he claimed the commendation but never received one. Moore’s former commanding officer, Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel, said last week he had encouraged Moore to list the Bronze Star on his 2006 application for a White House fellowship and was unaware Moore never received the honor. Fenzel said he would resubmit Moore’s nomination for a Bronze Star.

The New York Times report on Moore comes just over a week after the first-term Democrat delivered a prime-time speech at his party’s national convention.

Inaccurate statements about Moore’s and Walz’s military records have prompted conversations among veterans about how members should discuss their service, Green, the former Air Force captain, said.

During a CNN interview last week with journalist Dana Bash, Walz blamed poor grammar for misspeaking in 2018 when he claimed he carried “weapons of war” in a war. Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years, including overseas, but was never deployed to a combat zone.

”I think people need to be careful around how you portray your service and don’t embellish things,” Green said.

Experts who study the military and politics say that Moore’s affiliation may sway a small number of voters, but veterans and active duty service members typically care more about larger issues, like the economy and health care.

Jeremy Teigen, professor of political science at Ramapo College of New Jersey, studies the perceptions of military service on politics. Of Moore’s Bronze Star incident, he said, “there are worse sins.” But a misstep on a military record is certainly a “gaffe to avoid.”

Just like in the civilian electorate, partisanship ideologies play a significant role for military voters, and so do major policy issues, said Jeanette Yih Harvie, research associate at the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. The political scientist said those already aligned with Harris but turned off by Moore’s story may “swallow a bitter pill and vote for their side,” she said.

But undecided military voters may be turned off. If Moore were the politician up for election, the Bronze Star incident might be a “bigger deal,” she said.

Moore took responsibility last week for not correcting the application, calling the incident, “an honest mistake.”

“You know, in retrospect, should I have potentially gone back? Absolutely,” Moore said Friday.

Moore also said he forgot about including the Bronze Star on that fellowship application “until it was brought to my attention.”

“I believe in taking accountability,” Moore said. “I know in the military, we learned it’s ‘Yes, sir. No, sir’ and ‘no excuse, sir. Yes, ma’am. No, ma’am. No excuse, ma’am.’ And I have no excuse. I’m taking responsibility.”

Politicians on both sides of the aisle who also served in the military upheld Moore’s military service, his support of veterans’ issues, and affirmed that it’s common to take superiors at their word when they say an award is approved and on its way. Ten members of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland who are veterans issued a statement praising Moore.

Del Becker of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, served as a lieutenant and surface warfare officer for the U.S. Navy. The 61-year-old said some service members may accept Moore’s story, but he suspected those in the more conservative corners of the military won’t, “no matter what.”

Some veterans expressed strong disapproval of Moore’s failure to correct his record.

”There is no gray area,” said Brian Adamski, who served as an electronics technician in the U.S. Navy. “You either get it or you don’t get it.”

The former petty officer second class from York County, Pennsylvania, said Moore will lose credibility and political influence with veterans.

Adamski, 52, said he, too, was being considered for an award just as he left the military, but ultimately didn’t receive it: “I don’t even say I almost got it.”

Adamski said Moore’s situation could have been a paperwork error, “but until it’s documented and you know it for sure, you don’t claim it.”