SAN ANTONIO – A decorated San Antonio Marine is upset about two new instances of stolen valor being shown on the internet, saying laws against people pretending to be in the military are not being enforced.
The videos have gone viral on YouTube.
One shows a man in a mall confronting a man in a uniform about discrepancies in how he is dressed.
"Why is your flag so low on your shoulder," the confronter asks. "It should be up here."
The man in the uniform replies, "You got me on that one, bud."
The confronter then becomes even more agitated in the video.
"Here it is, guys, stolen valor at its finest," the confronter said.
Another video was allegedly shot after or before a funeral.
In it, several men confront a man in uniform about the array of medals and patches on his jacket.
"I'm going to call you out on it now," the confronter said. "This one's your bronze star, this one's your bronze star with a V."
Pretending to be in the military or a veteran is illegal.
It's called stolen valor.
In San Antonio, retired Marine Corps Sergeant Kenneth Fischer has many medals from his eleven-year stint, which included a trip to Iraq and two to Afghanistan, the last one that left him and his military dog, Drak, seriously injured.
"That's actually a scar from where he took a large piece of shrapnel," Fischer said, pointing to his now adopted Belgian Malinois.
He said people are able to get away with stolen valor because laws against it are not enforced.
"It's extremely disrespectful," Fischer said. "Not only does it anger us, and as you can tell, a lot of people confront them."
At a San Antonio U.S. Patriot military supply store, all kinds of uniforms and boots are for sale.
But Ryan Taylor said the store discourages military pretenders.
"I've asked people to kindly leave," Taylor said. "There's the door. You're not welcome here."
He said it is not just about selling stuff, it is about honoring those who have served as well.
Taylor said a stolen valor charge for impersonating someone in the military can be a third-degree felony.