Jeffrey L. Sparenberg |
http://www.examiner.com/x-31965-Military-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m12d8-Exsailor-busted-after-falsely-claiming-he-was-on-ship-during-terrorist-bombing
Ex-sailor busted after falsely claiming he survived ship bombingA retired Navy chief who had claimed he was on the USS Cole when it was bombed by terrorists in 2000 has been revealed as a fake. Jeffrey L. Sparenberg was found out after a front-page article appeared about him in a Wilmington, Delaware newspaper, the News-Journal. In the story, Sparenberg claimed he was a master chief on the ship at the time the Cole was attacked on Oct. 12, 2000 in Yemen. He also claimed that he was seriously wounded and required lengthy physical rehabilitation as a result of his injuries...... |
Cole sailor describes bombing, but was he even on the ship?Posted to: MilitaryRetired Navy Senior Chief Jeffrey Sparenberg donated a flag he said flew over the destroyer Cole in Oct. 2000 after a terrorist attack to a Delaware museum. Pictured here at the Nov. 7 ceremony, Sparenberg - who claimed he was aboard during the attack -- wears a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. The Navy disputes his claims. He is authorized to wear a meritorious service medal but he did not earn a Bronze Star or Purple Heart. (Jennifer Corbett | The News Journal)
Disputed honors
The Navy says retired Navy Senior Chief Jeffrey Sparenberg is authorized to wear a Meritorious Service Medal, shown on the top row, far right – but that he did not earn a Bronze Star or a Purple Heart, the two medals next to it on the top row. Sparenberg is carrying the flag at a ceremony on Nov. 7 that he says flew on the Cole after the attack that killed 17 sailors in 2000. In early November, retired Senior Chief Jeffrey Sparenberg was the guest of honor at military heritage day in Delaware. Sparenberg spent 23 years in the Navy, including time on the destroyer Cole, and he was at Fort DuPont State Park that day to donate a flag that he said flew over the Cole shortly after it was attacked nine years ago..... |
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(Media-Newswire.com) - SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin
B. Wagner announced today that ERIC GENE PIOTROWSKI, 41, of Elk Grove,
was sentenced this morning by United States Magistrate Judge Gregory G.
Hollows to 12 months probation and 200 hours of community service for
falsely claiming that he was awarded a Silver Star Military decoration
during Operation Desert Storm. He pleaded guilty on September 15, 2009.
Under the Stolen Valor Act, which was enacted in late 2006, it is a
misdemeanor offense to wear military medals that were not in fact
awarded, or to falsely claim to have been awarded such medals. This case was investigated by the FBI and the California Department of Veterans Affairs..... |
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Here's his bio from a retirement announcement...
Quote:
GAS TURBINE SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN Senior Chief (Surface Warfare) Jeffrey
Lane Sparenberg will be retiring from the Navy May 31 after 22 years
in
the service.
While serving aboard the USS Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG 7), he was
involved with numerous operations, including the Marine Support during
the occupation of Lebanon, operations in support of the invasion of
Granada and counter drug interventions. He then transferred to Service
School Command Great Lakes for instructor duty at the Gas Turbine Hot
Plant and qualified as a master training specialist.
His next tours of duty were aboard the USS Supply (AOE 6), where he
was
involved in operations in support of the liberation of Bosnia, counter
drug intervention, and the liberation of Haiti; the Atlantic Fleet
Afloat Training Group, where he qualified as an afloat training
specialist; the USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81), as part of the
precommissioning construction crew; and the USS Cole (DDG 67), serving
with Operation Determined Warrior after the
attack on the USS Cole in
the harbor of Aden, Yemen.
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he was the senior
enlisted
adviser and assistant officer in charge at the AEGIS Training and
Readiness Center Philadelphia, a naval engineering research center.
His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine
Corps
Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Armed
Forces Medal, National Defense Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Navy
Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal, Enlisted Surface Warfare
Specialist, and numerous other campaign awards and medals.
A Yorktown High School graduate, his wife is the former Mary Katherine
(Kathy) LaFollette of Yorktown. They have two children.
They will retire in the Philadelphia area, where he will be the
director
of student services for the Commerce Bank training facility at
Commerce
University.
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