Pro-Trump "war hero" featured on Fox News never actually served

[kpete]

https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/921127715889143808/eCFfAS0p?format=jpg&name=600x314

A military veteran glowingly featured by Fox News earlier this month for his pro-Trump artwork and his record as a “war hero” admitted Thursday to lying about his military service. John Garofalo, 72, was featured in a Bryan Llenas report as having served seven years as a Navy SEAL, receiving 22 commendations, including two Purple Hearts, and having been listed twice as missing in action during Vietnam. Garofalo, who personally carved a presidential seal to gift President Trump, is a “tough, tough man,” Llenas said, after calling him a “hero” during an interview. Fox News anchor Eric Shawn later remarked: “God bless John Garofalo. We certainly hope maybe the president is listening.” However, when the Navy Times reached out to Garofalo on Thursday, he confessed to having lied about his military service. “What I did I’m ashamed of, and I didn’t mean to cause so much disgrace to the SEALs,” he told the Times. Fox News has since removed the video, which went viral on Facebook, and issued a statement apologizing for the error.

Link to tweet

Fox News

On Sunday, Oct. 8, Fox News Channel aired a story about John Garofalo, a glass artist who created a presidential glass seal in the hopes of gifting it to President Trump.

Garofalo claimed he was a Vietnam veteran, a member of the first U.S. Navy SEAL team, and a decorated war hero who was awarded two Purple Hearts.

Unfortunately, all of Garofalo's claims turned out to be untrue. The fact is that he did not serve in Vietnam. He was never a U.S. Navy SEAL. Even though he showed us medals, Garofalo was not awarded two Purple Hearts or any of the other nearly two dozen commendations he claimed to have received, except for the National Defense Service Medal.


It is true that Garafalo is a glass artist and a veteran. He served in Spain and he gifted two presidential seals to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Over the last two weeks, we've worked with Garofalo's family and the National Personnel Records Center to get to the bottom of a military past that Garofalo had claimed to be covert.

We apologize to our viewers, especially veterans and servicemen and women.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/19/correction-veteran-glass-artist-falsified-his-military-record.html

[Faux pas]

1. Kickin' with disgust

[dalton99a]

2. Another RW con man

[ProfessorGAC]

3. They Didn't Check BEFORE They Put Him On Air?

Morons.

[Corgigal]

4. It's all theater

to those idiot viewers, until they wish they had a nuclear cellar at their house.