Entries with Surname (Title)s starting with 'H'
Herriott
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Harry (Hal) Francis Herriott gave many interviews to reporters with false tales about his war service and on the 15th April 2006 he gave this story to the Cairns Post. |
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Statements from the newspaper. "Mr Herriott fought in Greece, Crete, Syria and Papua New Guinea with the 2/11 Infantry Battalion". - At no time did he "fight" with the 2/11 Infantry battalion. "They dropped 3,000 German paratroopers on us, we were 500, and it was 10 days of hand to hand fighting. No quarter given none asked a defiant Mr Herriott said" - He was not there on 20 May 1941 when German paratroops opened Operation Merkur (Mercury) on Crete, Herriott was 1,000 kms (600 miles) distant at 1Aust. Convalescent Depot , Kafar Vitkin, Palestine where he remained until 26 May 1941. "We joined the Freedom Fighters in the Mountains"- "We wore German uniforms and boots, used German weapons and ammunition" - Obviously he did not. "For five months Mr Herriott fought with the Antarties Freedom fighters, living in caves and stone huts by day and ambushing the Germans by night" - All of his time is accounted for from 9 April 1941 when he departed Egypt for Greece. He was in Australian Army Service Corp (AASC) units and in hospitals during this five month period. "Mr Herriott and six other fellow infantrymen escaped Crete on a small fishing boat still wearing German uniforms"."Picked up at sea by a British submarine" Herriott claims to have been "picked up" five months after the 20 May 1941. During the relevant months Herriott was, from 27 Sep 1941, in hospital with catarrh, jaundice and boils........ From 13 October 1941 with Services Training Regiment...... On 24 October 1941 transferred to Petrol Company AASC, 6 Australian Division until 13 January 1942 when he was transferred to No. 2 Company AASC. His claim of fighting in the mountains and leaving Crete on a fishing boat is remarkably similar to this recently published story. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/verbatim/stories/2004/1011693.htm The 2/11 Battalion, which Herriott was very briefly a member of, fought a heroic battle alongside New Zealand, British and Greek troops against German paratroopers during Operation Merkur (Mercury) at Retimo, Crete, commencing 20th May 1941. Below is an eyewitness account of the opening of the operation from an ordinary soldier who was there "It was a spectacle that might have belonged to a war between the planets. Out of the unswerving flying fleet came tumbling lines of little dolls, sprouting silken mushrooms that stayed and steadied them, and lowered them in ordered ranks into our consuming fire. And still they came, till all the fantastic sky before us was filled with futuristic snowflakes floating beneath the low black thundercloud of the processional planes - occasionally flashing into fire as if struck by lightning from the earth." "These little dolls were highly trained and motivated German paratroopers of General Kurt Student's XI Air Corps. For ten days they and the elite mountain troops that were sent to reinforce them hunted and were hunted by the Australian, New Zealand, British and Greek soldiers, as well as Cretan farmers, townspeople and police. Fighting was savage and bloody, with little quarter given or asked. Men fought to the death in solitary duels or in major engagements. Their bodies cluttered the narrow streets of the towns or lay among the olive trees and creek beds of the countryside. Herriott is stealing the honour and valour of Soldiers of the Battalion while never having to endure the same hardships. He was not part of the unit at that time, he spent only thirty-six days with the 2/11 whilst it was inactive in Egypt, three months before it was deployed to Greece and Crete. He joined the army on 26th April 1940 at Northam in Western Australia. After training he arrived in Palestine on 13 October 1940, then completed a Signals Instructions course and was sent to Australian Imperial Forces Staging Camp, Line of Communications at Beit Jurja on the 8 Jan 1941. On the 18 January 1941 Herriott marched into the 2/11 Battalion at Amiriya Egypt, was promptly marched out again on 23 February 1941 and transferred to Petrol Company Aust. Army Service Corps, (AASC), he then remained with AASC units until his discharge in Victoria on 7 September 1945.
On 9 April 1941 Herriott embarked for Greece from Egypt as part of the 17th Brigade Composite Company AASC. (Operation Merkur 20 to 30 May 1941)
How likely then is his statement?"When we went to Greece we went to Kalamia and were evacuated from there on a Royal Navy cruiser that dropped us off at Crete, they must have got the records wrong or assumed I came back on another ship." Between early May 1941 and January 1942 he alternated between hospitals, (always a non-battle casualty) the Services Training Regiment and Number 2 Company AASC until he embarked for Ceylon then onto Fremantle Western Australia, arriving on 28 Jul 1942. On 30 Nov 1942 as a member of the AASC he again departed Australia and arrived New Guinea 4 Dec 1942. On 20 Dec 1942 he was evacuated (non battle casualty) on the hospital ship MV Duntroon and disembarked at Gladstone Queensland on 6 January 1943. He did not "fight" with the 2/11 Battalion in Papua New Guinea either and spent only 16 days there as a member of the AASC. After evacuation from Papua New Guinea he spent the rest of his service in Australia. Whilst Hal Herriott, through rewriting the history of his service, thought he was a "hell of soldier" it is obvious from reading his service record that he was in fact the "soldier from hell". He clocked up at least twenty charges for offences and spent a great deal of time in and out of hospitals with non-battle caused injuries or sickness spending more than three hundred days on sick lists. For the majority of his service he could be described as troublesome and well below average. Herriott has been living off his dishonourable stories in the Atherton, Queensland area for many years. He presents himself as a heroic Infantry soldier when in fact he has the track record of an ineffective burden on the Australian Imperial Forces during time of war. Late news to hand says that his friends at the Returned Services League Club where he is a committee man and former Secretary, subsidised a trip to Crete for him to attend commemorative events as a representative of the Battalion that fought so bravely in defence of the island and subsequently endured many hardships including imprisonment in German Stalags. As is usual with our exposures of RSL executives, we discovered that some of the members of Herriott's club were suspicious of his tales of service and great valour but nothing came of this. The RSL could apply to have him charged with obtaining financial benefits by deception but they won't and we don't suggest they do.
Herriott has made three trips to Crete and Greece as a 2/11 Battalion representative and was in Greece only last year for another memorial service. We are reliably informed that he has another trip already booked to Greece where he will present the Order of Australia Medal to a Greek citizen. The Australian Embassy there would be interested in this story of ours because they fully believed his yarns about the Battle for Crete and the aftermath and had arranged enough trips, commendations, medallions, awards and recognition from the Greek, Crete and British governments to be highly embarrassed about this deception. The Commonwealth could also have him charged with offences under the Criminal Code because what he has done is deceive Commonwealth Officers, ie Embassy staff, to gain benefits, but they won't and again we don't suggest this be done. Removal from his possession of all deceitfully gained awards made by foreign governments would be sufficient. Perhaps a better home for them would be Western Australia where the 2/11 Battalion was raised rather than on his chest and in his living room. Wannabes beware, obtain benefits by deception and you could find yourselves in a lot more trouble than you ever imagined.
"They must have got the records wrong" (Hal Herriott 20 July 2006) "The war records must have been stuffed up....there is no truth to the allegations as far as I'm concerned" (Hal Herriott 26 July 2006) Herriott has rejected our allegation that he is an impostor, read the Tablelander (25 July 06) and Cairns Post (26 July 06) newspaper reports.
Note 13 trips to Crete, 10 more than we knew of.
"Outcry" "Herriott in hospital" We can't find any evidence of any "outcry" this reporter writes of, he appears to be the lone voice. A report from the Atherton area tells us that most people there agree with our version of events because they've been suspicious of Herriott's wild tales for years. We've yet to receive any other reports from Cairns but it could be due to total disinterest. Herriott booked himself out of hospital on 26 July 2006 without undergoing an amputation and doubts have been cast on this "leg amputation" being the reason for his hospitalisation in the first place. This deemed ploy to gain the sympathy vote was published twice in two days by the Cairns Post but it won't work, too many people are aware of Herriott's ways now. Herriott says his Army records are wrong, what else would he say? This is a standard first response from a wannabe who has been caught out. We can't find any other Herriotts, or names with similar spelling, on the WW2 nominal roll who served with the 2/11 Battalion or the Australian Army Service Corps, 6th Division, also there are no similar names with Harry Francis as the first and second names. His Army records from April to September 1941, which is the period he says he was on Crete, involve entries showing him to be elsewhere and were made by many clerks and were initialled by almost as many officers as being correct. Could they have all made the same mistakes? Not likely. Just one example is his admission to, and discharge from, 1 Aust. Convalescent Depot in Palestine, two entries made on 17 and 27 May 1941 by two different clerks and signed off by two different officers. Would he have us believe this was a conspiracy to disguise the fact that he was actually on Crete fighting a guerilla action dressed in German uniform? Perhaps some people who know Herriott heard some stories of him being on an "X-List". This sounds a bit like something special but being on that list only meant the soldier was absent from his parent unit, in Herriott's case a Service Corps Petrol Company, and we know exactly where he was and it wasn't near Crete. Herriott was on seven such lists during his Army service and always due to hospitalisation or convalescence. Perhaps Herriott could produce two Japanese swords he reportedly stole and lodged in a Sydney bank for safe-keeping. They are said to be the ancient family samurai swords of the Japanese Commander of the 18th Army and his aide who surrendered to an Australian General near Wewak, more precisely Cape Wom, New Guinea in August 1945. This theft is said to have occurred just before the surrender ceremony. History tells us that this particular Japanese surrender, there were others, took place on 13 September 1945 but Herriott had moved the month forward to August to suit his own needs i.e. his discharge date. We remind you of what we wrote in the initial story. On 30 Nov 1942 as a member of the AASC he again departed Australia and arrived New Guinea 4 Dec 1942. On 20 Dec 1942 he was evacuated (non battle casualty) on the hospital ship MV Duntroon and disembarked at Gladstone Queensland on 6 January 1943. He did not "fight" with the 2/11 Battalion in Papua New Guinea either and spent only 16 days there as a member of the AASC. After evacuation from Papua New Guinea he spent the rest of his service in Australia. (Herriott discharged from the Army on 7 September 1945, five weeks before the surrender) Representing the 2/11 Battalion, 19th Brigade, 6th Division. The cost of this trip was heavily subsidised by his RSL club.
Photo, May 2005, Crete. When this photo was first published by the Tablelander newspaper the caption was "Kairi WW2 veteran Hal Herriott is comforted by Colonel Mark Blatherwick, British Military Attaché to the British Ambassador to Greece after the Rethymno (Retimo) memorial service" Cairns Post 28 July 2006. Quote from the Minister for Veteran's Affairs, Bruce Billson.
Perhaps a few of our readers could heed Mr. Billson's urging. If anyone has genuine doubts as to the validity of a person's war service, take the information to the nearest DVA office and let us know the outcome via our guest book but please don't name names. This is published in the public interest, particularly that of the Veteran Community. All information presented here is fact and the truth. Reports from private citizens are supported by statements of fact and statutory declarations. |
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31Jul 2006
Herve
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William, Jean-Paul Herve` of Horsham, Victoria, was born William Thomas Harvie on the 6th September 1947 at Paddington, Sydney, New South Wales. He joined the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) on the 12th February 1966 aged eighteen years. He served as a Steward in the RAN. From the 20th September 1969 to 11th April 1970 he served aboard HMAS Vendetta during Vendetta's deployment in Vietnam waters on the "Gun Line". Details of Vendetta's Gun Line duties can be read here; http://www.navy.gov.au/Naval_Operations_in_Vietnam Herve aka Harvie, was not satisfied to have served honourably on Vendetta as a Steward and has invented a very different history of his Vietnam service |
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Note the “blurb” says that Herve` aka Harvie is a “keen historian”. As shown below in relation to his own history of his Vietnam service he is very much more of a fiction writer than a historian. Herve` the “historian” having adopted a "racy" French name, could not be satisfied with serving as a Navy Steward in Vietnam, so he has adopted a new service history changing from mundane galley duties to sinister, heroic secret missions. He claims to have been a marksman in the Navy, there is nothing on his service record to prove or disprove that claim, but we believe it is germane to his other claims. His statements are shown below. He was seconded to the United States Navy because he was a Marksman. He operated under a false name as the missions he undertook would cause outrage back home in Australia and the United States. On several missions he had to shoot women and children, when tunnel systems were discovered in villages. He was awarded two medals for bravery by the United States Government but was unable to accept these awards on advice from the Australian Government. His name does not show up on the Australian Vietnam Veteran nominal Rolls because the missions were classified secret by the United States Military. We hold Statutory Declarations relating to the above statements here is an excerpt. |
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Heta
- North Island
In late September 2015 John Heta of Auckland, New Zealand (NZ) was arrested by the police. He successfully conned the police and gained their sympathy and support by spinning a yarn about how he was a damaged war veteran.
The police in an open display of largess and affection, deciding to get some public relations mileage from the incident and gave the story to the New Zealand Herald. After a deluge of clamour and objection from New Zealand Veterans the Herald Newspaper printed the following retraction.
Here are excerpts from the NZ Herald article that alarmed New Zealand Veterans.
Heta has done a disgraceful thing, he has falsely blamed his petty criminal activities and anti social behaviour on the horrors of war.
Heta claims to have been a United Nations Peacekeeper who served five tours overseas including Iraq and Sarajevo. In fact, Heta did serve in the NZ part time Army, but was never deployed to any overseas operational areas.
He exhibits the behaviour of a pathological liar who has the ability to take advantage of those trying to help him.
We are sure that in future, if the police involved in this incident, come across a genuine Veteran in need of help they will display a less than friendly attitude. Heta has made life a little bit harder for Veterans in genuine need.
New Zealand Veterans will be happy to see Heta on our web site where he well belongs as a liar, conman fraud and a wannabe.
Higham
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"Sir"Gary Douglas Higham a “Knight of the Realm” with a handlebar mustache Gary Douglas Higham is not your average wannabe. He claims to be a Knight of the Realm who served in Vietnam and was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Pilot. If questioned about his Knighthood he may flash a piece of paper but won’t let you read it. We are reliably advised that when he enters an RSL Club and when he braces the bar, he insists that the RSL staff refer to him as “Sir Gary”, and insisted on being entered into the Bribie Island RSL data base as “Sir Gary” |
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The colour photograph of Higham is very recent, taken on Rememberance Day, 11th November 2009. According to Gary Higham he was the last Mirage Pilot and a Mirage test Pilot and he crashed a Helicopter resulting in disabilities. None of those claims are true and we are reliably advised that his only Department of Veterans Affairs accepted disability is for deafness. Highamis well adorned with a raffish handle bar mustache that any British Wing Commander would be proud of. However, stylish hair around the top lip is insufficient qualification to wear RAAF Pilot Wings. Notice in the photo that “Sir Gary” wears no accoutrements indicative of his Knighthood, but he does wear Vietnam Medals, Pilot Wings and other medals. His medal rack when compared to his actual RAAF service is sufficient to damn him as a wannabe. These are the Medals he is wearing: Australian Active Service Medal 1945-75 Vietnam Medal Australian Service Medal post 1975 Defence Force Service Medal Australian Defence Medal UN Medals: UNEF II Vietnam Campaign Medal RAAF Pilots Wings The only medal of this lot he would be entitled to wear is the Australian Defence Medal, which is awarded to recognise Australian Defence Force Regular and Reserve personnel who have demonstrated their commitment and contribution to the nation by serving for an initial enlistment period or four years service whichever is the lesser. Higham was born on the 5 April 1958, so in 1972 when Australian involvement in the Vietnam War had ceased, Higham was fourteen years old. On 8th January 1974 he joined the RAAF as a sixteen year old Apprentice Electrical Mechanic and was posted to Wagga Wagga in New South Wales to complete his training.
After completing his Apprenticeship we believe he remained in the RAAF until 1982. Most of his time was spent at Amberely RAAF Base in Queensland. In 1982 he had attained the rank of Leading Aircraftsman (LAC). Because of legal time restrictions we have no details of his actual date of discharge, however we have an entry on a document dated 5 March 1982 showing him to hold the rank LAC and we are reliably advised that he was discharged in 1982. Having attained that rank, it is hardly likely he is entitled to wear Pilots Wings or ever flew an aircraft.
Higham never at any stage served in the Vietnam War. During his RAAF service he was never a Pilot, never served overseas and he is not an Imperial Knight. Higham has been cavorting around the Caboolture, Queensland area for years sporting various racks of fake medals, without any interference from law enforcement agencies, who with some coaxing from local Ex Service Organisations could easily charge Higham under the Defence Act 1903, with at least three offences: 1. Impersonating a veteran. 2. Wearing medals he has no right to wear, and, 3. Impersonating a person who is entitled to wear medals. The veteran community is diminished when it is infiltrated by idiots like Higham and we urge all veterans to keep watch and let law authorities know when a fake is detected. If law authorities fail to take action let us know and we will do their job for them. Some advice to Higham. Get the medals and the wings off, shave off your mustache, grow up and stop making a nuisance of yourself.
Update - “Sir”Gary Douglas Higham a “Knight of the Realm” with a handlebar mustache. Higham was spotted this ANZAC Day again wearing all his fake medals and his genuine handlebar mustache at the Bribie Island RSL on ANZAC Day. He was pulled aside and told he was wearing medals and accoutrements he had no entitlement to and all he did was mumble, and claim that he was unaware that he had been exposed as a wannabe on our web site on the 18th Dec 2009. It is reported he was handed a copy of the exposure so one would think that the message may have gotten through. Gary Higham is a serial wannabe and a pest to the veteran community. In our exposure of the 18th Dec 2009 Higham was shown driving a mobility scooter, this ANZAC Day he was afoot although a bit wobbly from alcohol. Perhaps from time to time he also pretends to be disabled Good Veterans of the Bribie Island area should keep a good eye out for this persona non gratis and when he is spotted pretending to be a returned Veteran or a jet pilot or a Knight of the Realm politely tell him to grow up.
This is published in the public interest, particularly that of the Vietnam Veteran Community. All information presented here is fact and the truth. Reports from private citizens are supported by statements of fact and statutory declarations. |
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13th May 2010Hines
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The Hines Twins - John (Jack) Anthony Hines and George Edward Hines, aka George Edward Carr – Warning viewing the photographs in this exposure may cause nausea. |
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John (Jack) Anthony Hines of Oxenford, Queensland was born on the 1 April 1944. Being born on that date does not mean that he is an April Fool’s Day buffoon, however having read the information supplied by Hines to us, we believe these twins are the ultimate Grand Masters of April Fools. We don't really have to say much, because they allowed themselves to be photographed in Brisbane, Queensland on ANZAC Day 2012 which stirred the Veteran community more than any other case we have completed. As you read about the remarkable career of the Hines twins. Savour the detailed information about "Military Assessment Surveillance Keep (MASK)", "Cherry Red Boots", “Battle Axes” and the blackest of “Black Ops”
There are two course reports for John. If you read the comments, he was an average soldier and was never selected for any highly trained Special Force unit in the Regular Army. These records are a reflection of the true military history of John Hines all he has said about his MASK frolics are childish comic book lies.
2.Papua New Guinea 10th Anniversary Medal PNG, 4. Vietnam Medal AUST, 6. Cross of Gallantry with Palm (individual) SVN 9 Conscript Medal TIN, 10. Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal SVN, 11. Centenary Medal AUST, 12. Queens Golden Jubilee Medal UK, 14. Regular Force Medal TIN, 16. U/K, 17. Distinguished Service Medal AUST, 19. Vietnam Medal US design, 20. National Medal AUST, 21. Police long Service UK ribbon changed from old photo, 22. Colonial Police Long Service 3 ribbons identical in medal book Police/Prisons, 23. U/K, 24. Reserve Force Medal AUST, 25. Army Service TIN UK, 27. United Nations Special Service Medal 28. U/K, 30. U/K, 31. International Millennium Medal 2000 TIN, 33. Republic of Korean War Service Medal Korean Commemorative Unofficial, 35.Armed Forces Honour Medal 1st Class SVN
2. Vietnam Medal AUST, 3. Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal SVN, 4. U/K, 5. Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal UK, 6. Ulster defence Regiment long service and Good Conduct Medal UK, 7. U/K, 8. U/K, 9. U/K, 10 General Service Medal 1962, 11. U/K, 12. Reserve Forces Medal AUST, 13. Australian Service Medal Aust, 14. National Medal Aust, 15. U/K, 16. Vietnam Medal US, 17. CMF (Citizen Military Force) TIN. Updated 24th Aug 2013
John Hines codenamed “Jack Sparra” has his day in court - The Final Chapter.
We hope that we have seen the last of the Hines Brothers. John Hines offended, was detected, exposed on our web site, arraigned before a Court, and convicted of criminal offences. George Hines aka Carr pleaded guilty and is yet to be sentenced. John Hines pleaded not guilty and took the matter to a hearing.
John Hines was found guilty of the charges laid and newspapers, and TV News broadcast the results Australian wide.
Magistrates Comments
Below are some comments made by the Magistrate during sentencing. He made about a twenty minute address to our nations soldiers in his sentencing.
“The sacrifice of our soldiers is held in the highest esteem. Those who have given so much are entitled to march and receive the communities honour John HINES has held the highest disrespect for our community and those who have sacrificed their lives for this country
His actions strike at what we, as Australians hold dear He has wrongly sought to claim the honour and respect of those who justly deserve it
The offences are not trivial. On the contrary I consider them serious. The findings of guilt I have made establish your claims of service are false.
You have shown no remorse for your actions and the disrespect of your false claims. I am concerned you will persist your offending and as such I need to take steps to ensure your offending is stopped”
(John HINES is the first person in Australia to fight these charges and take the matter to a hearing. All other persons previously charged have pleaded guilty. This shows the audacity of John Anthony HINES)
Sentence. Charge 1
“$1000 fine Good behaviour bond for 2 years.
12 months probation order.
To report to corrections within 24 hours to undertake psychiatric treatment, monitoring and counseling as directed by Probations
Not to leave Queensland for 12 months”
Charge 2
“$500 fine – 1 month to pay or 3 days in default.”
Assets
“The Commonwealth DPP will seek to seize the proceeds of any sales for HINES book in the event it is published”.
John Hines aka “Jack Sparra” created his ridiculous, fictitious dream world and claimed it as fact. His motive was to make money from his denigration of military history. He thought nothing of the hurt and anger he caused to Australian and New Zealand Veterans and the families of those who did not return.
He has been comprehensibly foiled in his aspirations of fame and fortune by ANZMI, the Queensland State Police and a Magistrate who convicted him and ordered seizure of income resulting from him cashing in on his false book.
John Hines, is an infamous convicted criminal, and a certified liar, cheat and wannabe, who falsely claimed to be a “Secret Black Ops” soldier.
We at ANZMI vow to take care of all who insult the service of Australian and New Zealand Veterans.
This is published in the public interest, particularly that of the Vietnam Veteran Community. All information presented here is fact and the truth. Reports from private citizens are supported by statements of fact and statutory declarations. |
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Holcomb
Paul Edward HOLCOMB thought that he could be the big fish in a small pond by turning up to ANZAC Day Commemorations in the small rural town of Manilla, NSW wearing his rack of medals and SAS Beret. He believed his impressive stature as a Vietnam Veteran and SAS soldier gave him the right to censure the drill of the young ADF personnel who formed the Cenotaph Party. The problem is that it is all lies; Paul Edward Holcomb is neither a Vietnam Veteran nor a former member of the elite SASR.
The Sub Branch challenged Holcomb and after discovering that he was not a Vietnam Veteran, demanded that he make a public apology. It appears he did this, and it should be at this point that the story ends. However, it seems Holcomb just can’t let it go, with rumours circulating in Manilla since the alleged apology was made, that Holcomb only signed the letter of apology after being ordered to from ‘above’.
Furthermore, he has not joined the RSL because he was treated so badly by the RSL after returning from Vietnam. Clearly he would like people to think that the RSL has a vendetta against him, but this is definitely not the case. The Sub Branch had hoped the matter was finished, but it appears Holcomb would prefer the community to accept a different version of events.
Other stories would have us believe that his Vietnam service occurred whilst he was a member of the UK Armed Forces. Of course, with most medal cheats, we know that they will change their version of events to suit the occasion.
Holcomb managed to keep the truth from his family for many years, using the same ‘secrecy’ story that so many ‘wannabes’ use when confronted. His claims of service in the British SAS are completely false. He has claimed to have been on ‘secondment’ to the Australian SAS when he went to Vietnam. Holcomb cannot explain that if he had seen active service with the SAS, why would he be required to complete recruit training and then end up in the signals corps?
As they say, ‘never let the truth stand in the way of a good story’.
The true story about Paul Holcomb is somewhat different. We are advised by those who know him that he enlisted in the Australian Regular Army in 1976 and after completing his recruit training was allocated to the Signals Corps (RASIGS). During his commendable service in the regular Army, we are told he served as a Recruit Instructor at 1RTB Kapooka, ‘The home of the Soldier’. If this is in fact true, his subsequent impersonation of a Vietnam Veteran and a member of the SAS is even more offensive and contemptuous to the veteran community because it would be expected that a Recruit Instructor, entrusted with the responsibility to inculcate young men and women with the values of the Australian Army would rather flush them down the toilet just to big note himself after his service life. Holcomb left the regular Army in 1984 and served four years in the General Reserve from 1988 to 1992 before cutting his ties with the Army. It stands to reason that his enlistment in 1976 makes any claim to Vietnam service completely impossible.
Holcomb can clearly be seen wearing the following medals:
Australian Active Service Medal 1945-1975 (No Entitlement)
Vietnam Medal (No Entitlement)
Vietnamese Campaign Medal (No Entitlement)
In a later photograph, Holcomb can be seen wearing miniatures of the above medals which include the Australian Defence Medal (ADM). The ADM is the only medal he has an entitlement to wear.
By adorning himself with medals suggesting service in Vietnam, which by his own admission are replicas he has committed the following criminal offences:
DEFENCE ACT 1903 - SECT 80A - Falsely representing to be returned soldier, sailor or airman
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if: (a) the person represents himself or herself to be a returned soldier, sailor or airman; and (b) the representation is false.
Penalty: 30 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.
(2) For the purposes of this section:
(a) returned soldier means a person who has served abroad during any war as a member of any Military Force raised in Australia or in any other part of the British Empire, or as a member of the Military Forces of any Ally of Great Britain;
DEFENCE ACT 1903 - SECT 80B - Improper use of service decorations
(1) A person is guilty of an offence if:
(a) the person wears a service decoration; and
(b) the person is not the person on whom the decoration was conferred.
Penalty: 30 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.
(4) A person shall not falsely represent himself as being the person upon whom a service decoration has been conferred.
There is no doubt that Holcomb, by his own admission has committed offences against the Commonwealth and should be brought to task for his actions. The token apology he offered is not sufficient and he should be held to task in a Court of Law.
Claiming service with the elite SASR is a common ploy by many imposters, hoping that the secrecy that surrounds operations by the regiment will cover up their lies. If the pretenders like Holcomb take this approach, you would think they would research their false service history a little more closely. The beret being worn by Holcomb in each of the photographs has the famous winged dagger badge of the SAS, the only problem here is that it is not a badge that would be worn by a member of the Australian SAS.
The badge worn by Holcomb is a cloth badge and this type of badge is worn by the British SAS.
Even a cursory search on the internet would reveal to people like Holcomb, the following facts:
‘The SAS had previously worn a red beret (indicating them as a Parachute Company) with the Infantry Corps Cap Badge. In 1966, the SAS was given permission to change over to the beige (sand) beret. However since most of the SASR was deployed to Borneo at the time, all they could get were the British SAS berets with the cloth Winged Dagger emblem on them. Later on that year the cloth patch was replaced by a black flash and a solid gold metal Winged Dagger emblem on top of it.’ (Source: www.diggerhistory.info)
If Holcomb wishes to claim to have been a part of the SAS, perhaps he needs to do a bit more research before donning the cheap beret he probably purchased in an Army Disposal Store or on the internet where they are readily available.
Perhaps not in the same league as wearing medals for which he has no entitlement, Holcomb none the less is stealing the honour of all members who have qualified to wear the coveted beret of the SASR. To be selected to join the SAS is an honour not easily won and for Holcomb and those like him who choose claim SAS service is an affront to the SAS and the Australian Army.
By his own admission, Paul Edward Holcomb is a medal cheat who claims operational service in Vietnam and wears medals to support his claim. He is an honour thief for wearing a beret for which he did not earn the right. As a former soldier he would have been well aware that his actions were wrong, indeed illegal. He has committed offences against the Commonwealth of Australia and deserves to be dealt with by the Courts.