Johns served as a Catering Corps Corporal who was assigned to Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) units in Vietnam from 28 November 1969 until 19 November 1970.

Notice that Johns wears the regalia of the RAAC veteran, including Armoured Corps beret and hat badge. In addition he wears an Army Combat Badge attached to his Australian Active Service Medal.

Johns chooses to shun his Catering Corps heritage and wear the more prestigious trappings of an Armoured Corps veteran.

Non Armoured Corps soldiers posted to Armoured Corps combat units in Vietnam would have had some routine guard and patrol duties at the Nui Dat base, but were never deployed on combat operations.

In a newspaper article, Johns says the following:

The term "Tet" refers to the celebration of the 1968 Vietnamese New Year which became the bloodiest time of the war.

Johns did not participate in the "Tet Offensive". The "Tet Offensive" was officially named The General Offensive and Uprising of Tet Mau Than 1968, and was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It commenced on 30 Jan 1968 and continued until February, that year. It was indeed a torrid time. In 1969 on the anniversary of the 1968 "Tet Offensive" there was increased activity from the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong, that period in 1969 has been accepted as a second Tet Offensive. There were no more Tet Offensives. Johns was in Nui Dat for a resurgence of activity in January 1970 and has claimed that time as being a Tet Offensive.

Army Combat Badge (ACB)

The Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) Association advises that all non Corps personnel posted to Armoured Corps combat units in Vietnam were awarded the ACB.

"The purpose of the ACB is not to recognise combat duties but to recognise service with a combat element through formal force assignment and been physically deployed in the same geographical location as a Combat Team and have a primary role to directly support that Combat Team for a period of either a continuous or an aggregate of 90 days satisfactory service".

It must not be worn attached to an Australian Active Service Medal (AASM). Protocol directs that it is worn on the left breast above medals.

Johns earned the medals that he wears.

He earned the right to wear an ACB, but not attached to his AASM.

He did not earn the right to wear the RAAC beret and badge.

He did not earn the right to have claimed to have served in Vietnam during the "Tet Offensive".

For his actions Daryle Johns has earned the right to be featured on this website.

Nicholas George Boak is a man in the prime of life, he describes himself as an Accountant, Adventurer and serving Major in the Australian Army Reserve.

We hold a written declaration from Boak stating that he:

Was awarded a Victoria Cross (VC)

Is a serving Major in the Army Reserve.

Served with Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) .

Served in Army, Navy, Air Force and "other" (whatever that may be)

Served in these areas of Military Operations:

1. Gulf War
2. Solomon Islands
3. Afghanistan
4. East Timor
5. Peacekeeping
6. Korea
7. Malayan Emergency
8. Iraq

In reality he was a Lieutenant in the Army Reserve who was terminated in August 2017. During his service he was deployed to Solomon Islands for Operation "Anode" and was awarded an Australian Service Medal. He was also awarded an Australian Defence Medal as shown in photograph below.

He has a Linkedin Account and has stolen a media release showing "him" shaking hands with the Honourable Peter Dutton MP. Boak looks similar to the person in the photograph and has stolen his identity to indicate he has a chest full of medals.   He has changed the name in the heading and placed it on his Linkedin account.

Boak has a high profile in the Airlie Beach area. High profiles with media involvement and lying about military service are not recommended because communities all over Australia now include current and former Australian Defence Force personnel, who can recognize a cheat in the blink of an eye.

We are pleased to add Nicholas George Boak now of Airlie Beach to our website.

Anthony (Tony) Fraser served in the first Gulf War aboard HMAS Brisbane during 1990 and 1991.

Tony Fraser is wearing five medals one of them is not approved by the Australian Governor General.

Australian Active Service Medal (AASM)

Australian Service Medal (ASM)

Australian Defence Medal (ADM)

Saudi Arabia Liberation of Kuwait Medal (LKM)

Kuwait Liberation Medal (KLM) Not to be worn

US Navy Meritorious Unit Citation. 

The offending medal is the Kuwait Liberation Medal issued by the Government of Kuwait.

There are no medals issued by the Country of Kuwait that are approved to be worn on the left breast by Australian Defence Veterans

Fraser has a medal that he should not wear. Honest Medal Dealers know the rules and will not mount "dodgy" medals, however like all trades, there are renegades who will do anything for an extra dollar.

There is space for Fraser on this website and if we knew the name of the person who mounted the Medals we would also include him/her.

 NIGEL COULTER UPDATE NOVEMBER 2018.

Following the exposure of Nigel Coulter on the ANZMI website as an Australian Military Imposter, his employers, Corrective Services NSW were quick to react.

Coulter received notice that his future employment prospects within that Department were not good, and that he was about to be terminated.

He immediately sent a text message to his Supervisor, resigning on the spot.

Coulter could not provide ANZMI with any proof of his alleged military service as an Australian Army soldier in Namibia or Cambodia, or anywhere else for that matter..

We hope that Corrective Services NSW set an example and now assist Grafton Police with a formal prosecution of Nigel Coulter for offences he has committed under the Defence Act 1903, sections 80A and 80B.

Genuine Australian and New Zealand serving and former military personnel are unimpressed with imposters, who for their own vanity, steal the honour of all those Defence Force personnel, who have served, and or died for their respective countries.

Coulter has earned the right to appear before the Local Magistrate and explain his behaviour.

A further update will be provided in the future. 

***

Nigel Coulter was born on the 3 August, 1971. He is 47 years of age and resides in Kyogle, in the northern part of the State of New South Wales. (NSW)

We are not certain about the entire background of Nigel Coulter, but we know that he did not serve in the Australian Army in the 1990s as he has claimed.

We know that he worked for NSW Family and Community Services as a Case Officer, NSW Juvenile Justice, and is now employed at NSW Corrective Services, Grafton, as a Correctional Officer.

Nigel Coulter is a Military Imposter, a fraud, and a Medal Cheat.

In the above photograph Coulter is wearing the following medal ribands and badge -;

1. The Australian Active Service Medal. (AASM). – Not entitled.
2. The Australian Defence Medal. (ADM). – Not entitled.
3. The United Nations Assistance Group in Namibia Medal (UNTAG 1989 – 1990) Not entitled.
4. The United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia medal. (UNAMIC 1991 – 1992) Not entitled.
5. The United Nations Special Service Medal (UNSSM est.1995) Not entitled.
6. Above these medals he wears the Australian Infantry Combat Badge. (ICB) (The Infantry Combat Badge (ICB) is awarded to a serving member of the Australian Army for service as an Infantryman in warlike operations.)
Not entitled.

In 2017, Coulter came under suspicion from a number of persons, when he commenced to wear the Infantry Combat Badge (ICB) on his NSW Corrective Services uniform. When asked why he wears the ICB without campaign medal ribands, he replied, “It’s the only one worth wearing.”

Over time, Coulter added the .Australian Defence Medal and United Nations medal ribands mentioned above.

As he was not wearing either the Australian Active Service Medal riband (AASM), a pre-requisite for the ICB, or the Australian Service Medal riband (ASM), that always accompanies a UN medal riband, he raised concerns.

He was then asked by witnesses as to why he was not wearing the AASM or the ASM with his UN medal ribands, and “was he missing a medal?”

He replied that “he was waiting on the ASM to arrive”. He was then asked what his Army Regimental number was and he stated, “ I can’t remember it, it is written down at home somewhere.”

Coulter then stated that “he was an Artillery Forward Observer in Namibia and Cambodia and that is why he was issued with the Infantry Combat Badge”.

In August, 2018, Coulter commenced wearing the AASM on his Corrective Services uniform with the UN medal ribands.

Another witness stated, “as for service, he once told me he was a reserve engineer and when questioned about where he got the AASM and how he became eligible to wear the ICB, his response was on operations in Cambodia”

When asked further about his service by another colleague, Coulter became defensive and stated that “It was classified”.
Coulter was subsequently reported to ANZMI for clarification of his alleged medal entitlements.

ANZMI then made inquiries with Military Associations that assist with these types of inquiries. It was ascertained that Coulter does not appear on the roll of Australian Defence Force personnel who deployed to Cambodia. Nor did he deploy to Namibia.

His claims of being an Artillery Forward Observer in Namibia are rubbish. No Australian Artillery personnel were deployed to Namibia.

Strangely, there is no mention of Coulter’s claimed Australian Army military service on his Linked In Page or his Face Book Page.

ANZMI has also been reliably advised from associates of Coulter, that he never served in the Australian Defence Force at the time he claims entitlement to the United Nations medal ribands (1989 to 1995.), or at any other time.

ANZMI sent two emails to Coulter, inviting him to provide evidence of his service in the Australian Army, with deployments to Namibia and Cambodia as claimed. He was also invited to produce documentary evidence of his claims to the AASM, ADM, UNTAG, UNAMIC, UNSSM, and ICB.

Coulter has decided not to accept our invitation to provide the documentation.

There is probably a very good reason why !

Genuine veterans are only too happy to provide ANZMI with proof of their service when requested.

Coulter, like most military imposters who cannot provide basic details of their alleged Australian Defence Force Service has notified ANZMI of a veiled threat of legal action. That does not deter ANZMI as we only publish the truth.

Coulter has committed offences against the Defence Act 1903, sections 80A and 80B, claiming to be a returned Australian serviceman and wearing Australian military decorations and medals that he has not been awarded.

DEFENCE ACT 1903 (EXTRACTS)

The following extracts from the Defence Act 1903 apply to honours and awards:

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 ($3,300.00) 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; (b) returned sailor means a person who has served abroad during any war as a member of any Naval Force raised in Australia or in any other part of the British Empire, or as a member of the Naval Forces of any Ally of Great Britain; and (c) returned airman means a person who has served abroad during any war as a member of any Air Force, air service or flying corps raised in Australia or in any other part of the British Empire or as a member of the air forces of any Ally of Great Britain.

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 ($3,300.00) or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.

Coulter may well end up in the same Prison he works at now, however, in a different role.

His employer, NSW Corrective Services has been notified, in addition to the NSW Police, Grafton.

An update on Coulter will be provided as events unfold.

Eric Craft was born in December 1988 and at 18 years of age in 2006, joined the Australian Regular Army (ARA) where he served until 2017.  He then transferred to the Army Reserve and was discharged in July 2018. During all of his Army service he remained a Private Soldier.

Craft has not settled back into civilian life, and blames his bad behaviour on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that he developed during his many "overseas combat deployments".

In fact Craft was never deployed to any war zones during his twelve years of service, his entire service was spent in Australia.

We hold six Statutory Declarations detailing what Craft has said about his time in the Army.

According to Craft he served in Malaysia, Afghanistan (4 tours) Iraq, Solomon Islands, Europe, Somalia and East Timor among other medals he also claims the USA Purple Heart for being wounded in action. During his last tour of duty in Afghanistan he says he was captured, tortured an raped.  He was also involved in "Black Ops" and his service records have been "wiped and sealed under the Secrecy Act".

Whilst in Afghanistan he was selected to work with US Army Rangers, elite Special Forces and Delta Force . It can be assumed this lie is to cover his previous lie of being awarded a USA Purple Heart Medal.

According to Craft he attended and passed the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) selection course with ease and because of his combat experience was urged to join SASR, however he choose to return to his Battalion in Adelaide.           

He plays the false PTSD card to the hilt and has phoned people during the night crying and seeking counselling for the pain of his combat experiences.

We are reliably advised that his whole family believe he is a damaged Returned Soldier.   Lying to loved ones about false service to get succour is the ultimate betrayal. It is also the epitome of treachery against genuine veterans.

Craft is given Star status on this web site where he will remain forever.

Medals:        

• NZ Operational Service Medal
• Vietnam Medal
• NZ General Service Medal 1992 (Warlike) with Clasp: VIETNAM
• NZ Army Long Service & Good Conduct Medal
• NZ Defence Service Medal with Clasp: REGULAR
• Silver Star (USA) – not approved for wear by NZ citizens
• Purple Heart (USA) – not approved for wear by NZ citizens
• South Vietnamese Campaign Medal

Dennis Smeaton Manson is on the executive, and is the welfare officer, of the Devonport (Auckland, NZ) RSA.

His photo and profile info is displayed on their website.

Manson is also a liar, fraud and medal cheat!

Manson is a decorated Vietnam veteran, awarded six official medals (listed above). However that wasn’t sufficient for this self-avowed hero, who chose to obtain and wear 2 United States medals on his rack . One is the Purple Heart, a medal known as the “blood medal”. The Purple Heart is awarded to members of the armed forces of the U.S. who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action. It is specifically a combat decoration.

Even that wasn’t sufficient for Manson, who decided to obtain one of America’s most prestigious awards, The US Silver Star. Because of this decorations seniority it is almost always presented by a high-ranking military officer or US diplomat. This would also be widely reported throughout New Zealand, and in military circles, as it is such a rare award.

According to Manson, his Silver Star and Purple Heart simply arrived in the mail.

This is what he claimed when asked for an explanation

“In September 2011 I received a package from Washington DC and wondered what it was. To my astonishment it was 4 medals with a note with words to the effect of "We have noticed you have not requested your medals. Please find the medals enclosed. Thank you for your service."

"I went and showed Jimmy Jones the then President of the Devonport RSA the note and medals. I told him I know I am NOT entitled to 2 of the medals as they are for US Service personnel. He then said we should have a presentation. He arranged for The Flagstaff Devonport's local paper to be in attendance and presented the medals 3 Oct 2011”.

Manson was half right, he most certainly was not entitled to wear two of the medals. The fact is, he was not entitled to wear all four of the medals that arrived "out of the blue in a plain package", apparently from Washington, DC. Apparently the then President of his RSA (Jimmy Jones) took Manson's word that he was entitled and apparently, insisted on a full presentation in front of the local media.

Here is the article and photo in the local paper showing Manson presented with the two medals by the President of the Devonport RSA.

Source:   The Flagstaff – Devonport 3^rd Oct 2011

In an attempt to remove any doubts over the award of these medals, Manson then approached the NZ Defence Force requesting they acknowledge his claim that the US Government retrospectively awarded him these medals in 2011.

It was very quickly proved that Manson’ claims were fanciful, that he was never awarded either the US Silver Star or the Purple Heart, and his request was declined.

We have a copy of the report from the Advisor Medals Policy of Headquarters, Defence Personnel Executive, NZDF, stating:



We are aware of the campaign being raised for recognition of this award by Mr Dennis Manson.

NZDF have found no documentary evidence to support Mr Manson’s claims that the US Government retrospectively awarded him these awards in 2011.   All we have seen to date is his claim and the bare medals.

We have not sighted any citations, nomination forms or official letters from the US military to support his claims.

Attached for your information is the approved listing of all awards for service in Vietnam. There is still further research being conducted for some of these awards.   A US Silver Star would have been a major feature in this list if anyone had known of it.

LDA D.S. Manson was WIA at Tam Quan near Bong Son on the 1st March 1970 in the same incident where 80166 Sgt GS Watt, RNZAF was killed. Both were subjected to the same medical evacuation and NOTICAS action. Sadly Sgt Watt died of his wounds in Bong Son, LDA Manson was treated and recovered.

The NZ Services Medical Team unit war diary does not mention any US awards for Mr Manson as a result of his actions that day. There is also no indication that we can find of any NZ gallantry nominations from the two unit Commanding Officers over this period. HQ V Force files do not show any indication of any NZ gallantry nominations being raised through the NZ Services Medical Team or offer of US awards from the US Army HQ they were part of.

Finally – Ian McGibbon’s authoritative book on Vietnam “New Zealand’s Vietnam War” covers this incident in one paragraph on p.333. It confirms that Manson was ‘lightly wounded’ and that Sgt Gordon Watt (RNZAF) died of his wounds following this incident, but little else as he could find no other verification.

As a long serving member, who is also an executive member of an RSA, Manson would have been aware of medal protocols, especially involving such high profile decorations.

He would also have been advised by colleagues and NZDF following his request, of the rules around wearing of decorations under NZ Law, as follows:

'..No person may wear a medal or decoration awarded to them by a foreign government unless it has been approved for wear by the Sovereign.'   The Military Decorations and Distnictive Badges Act 1918 and the  Military Badges and Distinctive Badges Act 1974 refer.

On the official NZDF medals website is displayed the only awards presented to NZ personnel by the Government of the United States of America.

The Gallantry Awards to New Zealanders by the Government of the United States for service in Vietnam which have been approved for acceptance and wear:

Bronze Star with ‘V’ Device (for gallantry) - two awards

822606 Captain B.D. Chippindale, Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps
For acts of gallantry while attached to 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry (United States Army)

30650 Captain B. Meldrum, Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps

- For acts of gallantry while attached to 11th Armoured Cavalry Regiment (United States Army)

Distinguished Flying Cross - one award

82805 Flying Officer M.R. Callanan, Royal New Zealand Air Force

- For acts of gallantry while attached to 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron (United States Air Force)

Here is the link to this item: http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz/news/archive2009.html#recipients

No mention of Manson there!

Worryingly, the RNZN has a policy of bringing in the 'old and bold' to talk to new recruits about their experiences in the Navy. Manson has been paraded as a decorated hero, to speak of his bravery and show off his unique array of decorations.

This photo shows Manson (highlighted) with the current (as of Nov 2018) Executive of the Devonport RSA.

Dennis Smeaton Manson is a VALOUR THIEF and a FRAUD. He has knowingly obtained a high order US military gallantry in combat (The Silver Star), and an award for being wounded when in combat with the enemy (the Purple Heart).

Manson has then represented himself publicly as a decorated combat veteran. He has stolen the honour of those US and other service persons who have legitimately earned the Silver Star in order to present himself as a ‘war hero’ to others, and has also fraudulently represented himself to have been wounded in action with the enemy by wearing the US Purple Heart.


Below is the Act Manson happily breached - twice!
 

Finally, Manson is guilty of breaching the Military Decorations and Distinctive Badges Act 1918 (copy above).

Perhaps the Devonport RSA may like to mitigate their shame by laying a complaint with the NZ Police over Manson’s disgusting deceit!

Manson is a deceitful character who should be booted out of the RSA altogether for bringing discredit upon that organisation. When the RSA is currently struggling to attract younger members, imposters like Manson show total disregard for honour and medals protocols, that have been in existence for over 100 years".

He is a fraud.

Following an approach to the Devonport RSA, and the National RSA, we received a copy of a letter sent to Manson advising that he was breaching RSA rules (rule 14) and advised to respond.

Since then we’ve been advised Manson has agreed to remove the US Purple Heart and the US Silver Star from his rack. The CEO of the RSA National Office has since confirmed the above and expressed the attitude to such issues, saying “the RNZRSA and RSA clubs take this stuff seriously”