Ex-SEAL Known for Exposing Stolen Valor Takes on Nathan Phillips - 'Was Refrig Mechanic'
Nathan Phillips, the Native American activist who was filmed banging a drum in the face of a high school student in Washington on Friday, might not have been the type of veteran that he made himself out to be.
According to former Special Forces members, while Phillips called himself a “Vietnam times veteran” he never corrected those who called him a “Vietnam veteran.”
Jim Hanson, an Army Special Forces veteran and president of the Security Studies Group think tank, tweeted a video by former Navy Seal Don Shipley, who is known to shed light on cases of “stolen valor.” (A profile of Shipley published by the Washingtonian magazine in 2015 was headlined “If You’re Lying About Being a Navy SEAL, This Man Will Catch You.”)
Shipley secured what he said were Phillips’ military records and said the Indian from the Omaha Nation and former U.S. Marine was never deployed overseas and was, in reality, a refrigerator mechanic.
In a Vogue magazine piece published in April 2018, Phillips described himself as a Marine “recon ranger.”
“The truth on #NathanPhillips … per DD214 fm #DonShipley A poseur assassin,” Hanson tweeted. “Not a Vietnam vet Served in USMC 72-76 Drumroll please Refrigerator mechanic not a ‘Recon Ranger.’
“& the big finish 3 AWOLS Thanks for your service Nate Now shut up NSFW but awesome.”
WARNING: The following video contains strong language that could be offensive to some viewers.
The truth on #NathanPhillips per DD214 fm #DonShipley A poseur assassinhttps://t.co/1h4P6xAadj
Not a Vietnam vet
Served in USMC 72-76
Drumroll please
Refrigerator mechanic not a “Recon Ranger
& the big finish
3 AWOLSThanks for your service Nate
Now shut upNSFW but awesome pic.twitter.com/AcZciLewKi
— Jim Hanson (@Uncle_Jimbo) January 23, 2019
While Phillips himself apparently never said that he served in Vietnam, he talked about his time in the service in conjunction with the hardships faced by Vietnam veterans and didn’t correct those who insinuated that he served overseas, Shipley said.
Hanson posted several more videos in which Phillips talked about his time in the Marines and the hardships he faced, as well as phrasing about “coming home.”
“#NathanPhillips didn’t serve in Vietnam But talks like he did He says he’s a ‘Vietnam times veteran’ & ‘When I come home, those times, I got spit on & called a baby killer,” Hanson tweeted.
“Come home? & He has never corrected any story calling him a Vietnam vet”
#NathanPhillips didn’t serve in Vietnam
But talks like he didHe says he’s a “Vietnam times veteran” & “When I come home, those times, I got spit on & called a baby killer”
Come home?
&
He has never corrected any story calling him a Vietnam vet pic.twitter.com/7E48asmf0s— Jim Hanson (@Uncle_Jimbo) January 22, 2019
Hanson intimated Phillips was intentionally misrepresenting himself to bolster his own credibility.
“He’s cagey when trying to mislead people into believing he’s a Vietnam Vet(.) He always adds ‘times’ to his Vietnam Veteran claim(.) But then says things to lead normal folks to think he is an actual Vietnam Vet(.) Here he talks about getting out after the war ended.”
He’s cagey when trying to mislead people into believing he’s a Vietnam Vet
He always adds “times’ to his Vietnam Veteran claim
But then says things to lead normal folks to think he is an actual Vietnam Vet
Here he talks about getting out after the war ended h/t @JackPosobiec pic.twitter.com/ieprnhRbM8— Jim Hanson (@Uncle_Jimbo) January 22, 2019
“He knows he will confuse most people & they will think he is a Vietnam Vet(.) #CNN was fooled and gave him the chyron he wanted.”
He knows he will confuse most people & they will think he is a Vietnam Vet#CNN was fooled and gave him the chyron he wanted pic.twitter.com/BHxnu2MgPE
— Jim Hanson (@Uncle_Jimbo) January 22, 2019
Phillips previously turned down an offer to meet with the students he had confronted at the Lincoln Memorial.
However, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Phillips has since changed his mind and said that he will represent the “Indigenous Peoples March to Covington Catholic High School for a dialogue about cultural appropriation, racism and the importance of listening to and respecting diverse cultures.”
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