JOE MAUK |
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Vietnam vet's story hits home By Mike Patty, Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer Vietnam was only a word to Krista Flock until two years ago.... Mauk, who lives in Castle Rock, served 6 1/2 years in Vietnam with
the Special Forces. Nearly 2 Five days before Mauk was captured by the Viet Cong, his brother,
Carl Parker, was killed in
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| Tale of Vietnam heroics unravels Castle Rock man was unable to prove combat service; veterans say he's phony By Dick Foster, News Staff Writer August 22, 2001 |
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| Staff writer Mike Patty contributed to this story. Contact Dick
Foster at (719) 633-4442 or fosterd@RockyMountainNews.com. Copyright 2001, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved..
Joe Mauk wears the green beret of the Army's elite Special Forces and a uniform bedecked with ribbons and medals for bravery. He talks about his time in Vietnam, his 11 purple hearts for wounds, his Silver and Bronze stars for valor, and his captivity as a prisoner of war for nearly 2 1/2 years. His stories have stirred awe in Colorado schoolchildren and brought tears to the eyes of adults at his many speaking engagements. And when the Vietnam Memorial "Traveling Wall" came to the Denver area July 13-15, "Master Sgt." Mauk was invited as the keynote speaker. There's only one problem. According to Army records, Mauk was never a prisoner of war, never in Vietnam, never a member of the Special Forces, never wounded in battle, and never a master sergeant.... Internet sheds light on lies Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patrick Couwenberg was fired last week after admitting he lied about having worked for the CIA in Laos and fought in Vietnam. Donald Nicholson, the retired police chief of Amelia, Ohio, admitted his stories of heroism in Vietnam were lies in 1999 after veterans exposed him. Joe Mauk of Castle Rock, who said he was wounded 11 times and held as a prisoner of war for more than two years while serving in Army Special Forces in Vietnam, did none of those things, according to Army records....
August 22, 2001 Copyright 2001, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved. |
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http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/news_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_86_815601,00.html September 3, 2001 Amole: Make-believe war heroes a pathetic lot living a lie Pathetic. How did he get by with it for so long? Sooner of later, the lies catch up with you as Joe Mauk found. For years, he pretended to be a hero of the Vietnam War. He said he was wounded 11 times and was decorated with Silver and Bronze stars for valor. He told stories of how he was a war prisoner for 2 1/2 years. He wore the six stripes of an Army master sergeant and the Combat Infantry Badge. Mauk wore the green beret of the Army Special Forces and the badge of an Army paratrooper. None of it was true, though, and his lies caught up with him last week when NAM-POWS, a national Vietnam prisoner-of-war organization, alleged he is nothing but an impostor.... Gene Amole's column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. (gamole@aol.com) |
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