Updated with records: When Washington State candidates lie about their service in Vietnam: Roger Flygare, 30th District House, democrat.

Update 2:  Flygare scrubs his bio, gets rid of 2 tour claim!

A very few people who served in the military can be just as weird about their service as those "Stolen Valor" civilian whack jobs that think their lives are enriched by false claims... to everything from claiming Special Forces service by the democrat mayor of Atlantic City back in 2007 (Quite unnecessary, given his otherwise distinguished and honorable record of service) to the democrat US Senator from Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, who repeatedly claimed he had served in Vietnam while a Marine during his campaign speeches... when he had never set foot on the place.  (He won anyway.)  And who can forget democrat John Kerry's three likely fake Purple Hearts?

To that group, we perhaps are adding the name of democrat Roger Flygare, running in the 30th District House seat around Federal Way.

I enlisted back in 72, as an Armored Recon Scout.  Seems a natural for someone like me to be sent to Vietnam back in the day, but for whatever the reason they weren't shipping 17 year olds, so I wound up in Germany.  Ultimately, I served 4 years and change in Armor,  4 years or so as a crew-served weapons instructor, a year interned in a JAG office while in ROTC, a year or so as an Executive Officer for an Infantry Company in the Reserves... did a stretch in personnel management, ran a postal detachment, was a Force Modernization officer for the 11th Cav, finished up as the Command Adjutant and Chief of Administration for Oakland Army Base back in 86. I was both enlisted and commissioned Regular Army via ROTC at the University of Washington.

I mention all of this because regular readers know that I loath those who make false claims as a part of their campaigns.  Words, of course, have meaning.

So, a fellow vet sent me a link to a guy's Facebook page... or actually, a page about a guy.  In this case, the guy is one Roger Flygare.

Flygare is a democrat running in the 30th District for a House seat.

Here's the problem:

Flygare APPARENTLY is making two false claims and if the second is false as it appears to be, then it truly is despicable:

The first apparently false claim is that he did multiple tours in Vietnam.

Extract from Flygare's campaign website BIO.

This is problematic for two reasons:  The first is that as a draftee, his service commitment was 24 months.

So, how does a guy serve 2 tours in Vietnam, which were of 12 months duration back in the day, if one is a draftee?

A brief overview of Flygare's record:

Basic training ------------------------------------------------------4 Mar 69
Advanced individual training  (Helicopter Repair Training)  20 May 69  
Assigned to Europe---------------------------------------------- 11 Sep 69
Assigned to Vietnam as a clerk-typist-------------------------- 19 Mar 70
Assigned to Ft Lewis as a personnel management specialist- 16 Apr 71
Separated and Refraded to the Army Reserve ---------------- 17 Sep 71.

For whatever the reason, his time on active duty was extended to 30 months instead of the usual 24... possibly in return for being re-classed to personnel.

But his record clearly indicates that he only did a single tour in Vietnam... unlike his written claim of two, and his occasional, apparently verbal, claim of three.

The records extract of his Form 20 clearly indicated that he did one... and that one was as a clerk in the 52nd Aviation Battalion.

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.  The Army floats on a sea of paper, and I've been both Combat Arms AND Chairborne, so I've seen and experienced both sides.

That begs the issue, though:  Why claim that you did two tours when you only did one?

And that also begs the issue of his award of the Purple Heart... which he apparently wears everywhere he goes.

Roger Flygare with his omnipresent miniature Purple Heart (You've got to KNOW what that medal is.)

Flygare's record indicates that he was likely a good troop.  His MOS Skill Level Identifiers for his duty positions indicate that he made E5 (Sergeant or, likely, Specialist 5) in a short time.  It also indicates that he was awarded (as opposed to earned) a Purple Heart.

Not many clerks received a combat decoration.  Flygare's From 20, that he had reviewed and signed off on himself, indicates that he received the Purple Heart on 26 Nov 70, General Order Number 62, Headquarters, 17th Aviation Group.

The difficulty appears to be that no such general order exists.  The fact is that Flygare, as a personnel clerk, had access to his own Form 20... and his Discharge paperwork (DD 214) is typed up from the Form 20.

The page indicates that Flygare has been repeatedly asked for clarification of these two issues and that he has repeatedly refused to provide it.

I will be attempting to contact his campaign today and hope to have further information tomorrow.  I'll update this as events move.  I'll also be sending this to POWNET, who did a dandy job blowing holes in David Hedrick's fake heroics.