Military records cast doubt on man's story

Troy G. Brodrick has lived the last 62 years as a colonel.

His tales of a battlefield commission from Gen. George S. Patton are commonplace around parts of the Oklahoma City metro area where he's made appearances at schools, telling children of his days in World War II where he earned three Purple Hearts.

Brodrick is quick to correct those who call him Mr. Brodrick. "It's Col. B,” he will say.

But Brodrick's memories as "Col. B,” don't exist to anyone but himself. Brodrick, whose tales of becoming a colonel by 21, flying for President Eisenhower, and retiring after more than 30 years of service were published in The Oklahoman's May 4 Business Section, but they were just that — tales.

According to Brodrick's military records, obtained from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Brodrick was discharged in 1949 as a private first class — the U.S. Army's third lowest enlisted rank. Records show that Brodrick served in both the Army and Air Force. His dates of service were from Aug. 19, 1943, to Nov. 3, 1945. Brodrick returned to the service in July 1947 and was discharged in February 1949, serving almost four years total — 36 years shy from the 40 he claims.

The Midwest City man is sticking to his story, which includes receiving three Purple Hearts that he keeps laying on a desk inside his home-turned-WWII-shrine.

The only decorations and awards listed on Brodrick's records were a WWII Victory Medal, a Combat Infantryman Badge, a Service Lapel Button and a Bronze Star Medal awarded for meritorious achievement.

Brodrick said documents listing his Purple Hearts and his service to Eisenhower are "secured.” The Dwight D. Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kan., was not able to find any record of Brodrick being a pilot for Ike. Brodrick said he didn't expect them to.

"That was military secret,” he said. "We couldn't publicize it. My records are secured and I do not answer anything.”

Brodrick may not be answering questions, but many people are asking them — and have been for years.

It's been almost five years since Edmond Sun reporter John Williams did a feature on Brodrick.

"He was a nice fella,” Williams said. "I went over to his house, saw all the pictures.”

Like the story that appeared in The Oklahoman, Williams' article spurred questions from readers and military officials who believed Brodrick's story was not 100 percent truthful. Williams said he received calls from officials at Tinker Air Force Base, but eventually the inquiries quit coming and the story seemed forgotten. But the man behind the story is anything but forgotten.

Baillie Dunlap at the Eastern Oklahoma County Regional History Center said the center removed a 26-page 2004 interview featuring Brodrick telling of his time in the service.

"We have decided to pull it until we can verify it,” Dunlap said. He said he has received calls from people who believed the transcript was false.

Dunlap said he doesn't know if Brodrick's story is true or false.

"Everything I personally know about Brodrick is all just hear-say,” he said. "I don't know either way.”

Jim Putnam, a retired Air Force colonel and former Inspector General at Tinker Air Force Base, said Brodrick's name and stories are not unfamiliar to him.

"He popped up when I was Inspector General about eight years ago,” Putnam said. "He's been warned informally at the ‘Do not do this again' level but I do not think he's been pulled into the U.S. Attorney's office and been told ‘Hey, let's talk felonies,'” Putnam said. "I think that's what needs to happen this time.”

The Stolen Valor Act of 2005 makes the unauthorized wearing, manufacturing or selling of military decorations and medals a federal offense, punishable by prison time, said FBI Special Agent Mike Sanborn in New York.

Sanborn, who has been investigating valor fraud for more than a decade, said it's not unusual to discover a person whose military claims are anything but the truth.

"It's more common than you would think,” Sanborn said. "I've been doing this for 12 years and I've probably come across 700 of these guys.” Sanborn said he gets about 15 tips a week concerning a possible stolen valor case.

Sanborn said fraudulent war heroes range from people from WWII to the Korean War. He said while most of the perpetrators are former soldiers who want to make their service record look more impressive, some are people who never served in the military.

The FBI investigates such cases while the U.S. Attorney prosecutes, Sanborn said. He said more often than not, FBI officials talk to the accused and explain the consequences of violating the Stolen Valor Act.

"Does it do any good to throw an 82-year-old man in jail? We want them to stop doing this. Our goal is to preserve the Medal of Honor and other medals,” he said.

Bob Troester, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, said the office looks at all cases individually before deciding whether to prosecute.

"We review all the facts and evidence that is presented by the law enforcement,” Troester said.

U.S. Attorney John C. Richter said though age is one of the factors examined when determining whether to prosecute, it doesn't make or break a decision.

"No one gets a pass,” he said. "On occasion we have to decide to prosecute someone who is elderly.”

Sanborn said valor violators often are caught in their lie by members of the military who, unlike civilian, can easily notice when a uniform is not in the correct order or when something doesn't make sense in their story.

"Once they start talking, their story seems to unravel,” he said.

That's how Walter Kline became suspicious of Brodrick. Kline is a retired lieutenant colonel who met Brodrick at a restaurant in 2000. The Bethany resident said he was drawn to Brodrick's license plate that recognized him as a D-Day survivor.

"We were just two old vets,” said Kline, 78. Kline said he and Brodrick were friends for about six months before Kline started noticing inconsistencies in Brodrick's military stories.

"Pretty soon his story just started falling apart,” Kline said. "One time I asked Brodrick, ‘Where did you learn to fly?' He said at Tinker, but Tinker was never a flight school.”

The desire to put a stop to Brodrick's tales always hung over Kline, who even contacted Williams after he read the story on his former friend in the Edmond paper. Kline said as time went by, the stories Brodrick told, such as flying Air Force One, seemed to get bigger.

"When I was running around with him, he never mentioned a thing to me about flying President Eisenhower,” Kline said.

Donald W. Rominger Jr., a WWII historian and retired history professor, said people who lie about their service often get what they've been after all along: respect.

"There is a certain amount of respect a vet gets,” Rominger said. "I think that sometimes someone is lonely and perhaps that they think they didn't get the respect they deserve.”

But that type of thinking hurts the true heroes who served with honor, Rominger said.

"There are people out there who have achieved what others claim,” he said.