Terry J. Powell
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Terry J. Powell (b. 1951) falsely claimed to be a recipient of the United States' highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor, and a veteran of the Vietnam and Iraq wars. [1] In June of 2007 when confronted by Waukesha County sheriff's detectives he said he was a cook on the destroyer USS James O'Hara, which was in reality a transport ship decommissioned in 1961 and scrapped in 1968,[2] and nursed several sailors sickened by food poisoning back to health. He showed the detectives a Medal of Honor certificate he says he received from former President Richard Nixon on July 15, 1972, and signed by Navy Secretary John Chaffee. [3] Later Powell claimed he lost the original certificate concerning the medal when his basement was flooded.[4] During a 2007 Memorial Day speech, which was videotaped, Powell said he served three tours in Vietnam and one in Iraq.[5] As late as August 2007, Powell was still wearing his Medal of Honor when he attempted to speak at a VFW post only to be rebuffed. Powell has been charged with unlawfully wearing the Medal of Honor, according to documents made public. If convicted, he faces up to a $100,000 fine and a year in prison.
