Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz faced fresh allegations of "stolen valor" Wednesday, with accusations that Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate embellished his military service record.
Walz’s record was disputed by the Minnesota National Guard, which claimed Wednesday he did not hold the rank of command sergeant major at the time of his retirement in 2005, something that is listed on his official gubernatorial biography. Instead, the Minnesota National Guard said the governor retired as a master sergeant "because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy," Newsweek reported.
The allegations were buttressed Wednesday on Newsmax by retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends. Behrends, who served with Walz in the Minnesota National Guard, voiced concerns about Walz's military record during an appearance on "Rob Schmitt Tonight."
"The goal is to just get the truth out there, let the nation know that this guy is a liar," Behrends said. "He embellishes his record, trying to make it look like he's better than he is. He's got stolen valor. He uses the command sergeant major rank as, you know, as an embellishment for political gain. And it's all a lie."
Behrends criticized Walz's calculated decision to leave the military before the unit was being deployed to Iraq, saying, "I'm not knocking that. But when the United States calls and says, Hey, are you going to go to war?' And the answer is 'No, I'm not ... I got better things to do.' "
Behrends detailed Walz's departure timeline.
"Well, you know, the order came out in March of 2005 that that battalion was going to be part of the brigade to go to Iraq," he said. "So it was like the warning order basically saying, Well, you're going to be going on a trip, get your will together, you know, get your bags packed, tell your family, do all that stuff. And then, you know, basically two months later in May, I think it was May 16 actually, or close to that time when they had drills, then the rumor came out that he had turned in his papers and turned in his gear and slithered down the stairs and quit after 24 years."
The controversy intensified recently when Walz was confronted by a reporter on a tarmac before a recent campaign event with Harris. The reporter repeatedly asked Walz whether he had a response to an accusation of stolen valor made by Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Republican Donald Trump's running mate.
"You know what really bothers me about Tim Walz as a Marine who served his country in uniform? When the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it," Vance said, according to The Hill. "When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him."
Behrends said he's not surprised by Walz not answering the question because he has been "running from the answer to that question for dang near two decades."
"It's been brought out to him, you know, Why did you quit?" Behrends said. "And there's never been a response, and it doesn't surprise me one bit. I mean, it's just crazy for him to come up with this stuff and quite a bit of the public actually, they believe it because he [Walz] says it [then] it must be true."
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