Is the Army Human Resources Command discriminating against veterans of the Vietnam War?
"God and the soldier, we adore,
In time of danger, not before.
The danger passed, and all things righted,
God is forgotten, and the soldier slighted."
- Rudyard Kipling, 1899
"Stolen valor typically refers to individuals who falsely claim military honors they have not earned; conversely, when a deserving individual is denied earned recognition, I believe that is also a form of stolen valor." - Clifford A. Gehrt (2025)
Executive Summary
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1. The purpose of this website is to support an Internet petition requesting that the Secretary of the Army initiate an investigation of the Army Human Resources Command (HRC), Fort Knox, Kentucky, to determine if it discriminates against veterans of the Vietnam War by not adhering to relevant laws and regulations applicable to those veterans concerning awards and decorations. The aim of this website is to present evidence of a clear case of discrimination, underscoring the need for the proposed investigation.
​2. Discrimination Example: In 1968, a helicopter gunship pilot with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam was nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor (CMH) by an 82nd Airborne Division infantry company commander for “risking his own life and performing feats of valor beyond what anyone has a right to expect, under almost impossible conditions.” However, processing errors and missing eyewitness statements associated with the transition of the 101st Airborne Division to the 101st Air Calvary Division and the creation of the 160th Aviation Group resulted in that pilot‘s nomination being unintentionally downgraded to a Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). Fifty years later, friends of that pilot discovered the processing errors, missing eyewitness statements, and a materially relevant report in the nomination package of others involved in the same action.
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3. Due to those discoveries, the pilot's friends prepared a well-documented report covering the material errors and improprieties associated with his 1968 nomination, with the aim of having his DSC upgraded to the CMH. As current laws required material errors and impropriety cases to be submitted through a member of Congress, it was submitted to Florida Senator Rick Scott. After evaluating the merits of their case and the quality of their presentation, Senator Scott added a supporting endorsement and forwarded it to the Secretary of the Army, as Department of Defense regulations require that the Secretary personally...​
...determine whether material errors or impropriety existed in any case previously adjudicated within his/her Department, and that authority must not be delegated.
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--DoD Manual 1348.33, Volume 1, Manual of Military Decorations and Awards:
Medal of Honor, Section 3.1. f. (2) (b) 2.
4. In compliance with Army regulations, the Senator’s request was delivered to the HRC, which is responsible for administering staffing actions for consideration by the Secretary of the Army regarding issues related to material errors and improprieties in the processing of a CMH nomination.
5. However, instead of processing the request in accordance with current laws and DoD regulations, the HRC disregarded those regulations and effectively made a decision intended solely for the Secretary of the Army. They did this by refusing to even process the nomination under the supposed provision of a bogus justification, a clear violation of both laws and regulations regarding DSC upgrade requests.
6. This website consists of four major parts:
Part 1: The Battle – The single deadliest day of the war for the 82nd Airborne Division.
Part 2: Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
Part 3: The Runaround
Part 4: What Really Happened
7. Also found in the main menu:
1. Deathtrap Village (The follow-up to Part 1: The Battle*)
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2. The “Petition” request to the Secretary of the Army
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3. A photo gallery
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*Why the NVA seemed to have disappeared after the 82nd Airborne Battle of Ap Nam Phu