New Hampshire congressional candidate Andy Martin holds a Manchester news conference to ask “Is Maura Sullivan inflating her military service to the extent of stolen valor?

New Hampshire congressional candidate Andy Martin will hold a Manchester news conference Sunday to ask “Is Maura Sullivan inflating her military service to the extent of stolen valor?”

Martin has sent Sullivan a letter asking why she claims to have “fought” a war when she was a logistics officer. “There is a world of difference between an infantryman MOS and a logistics MOS (Military of Occupational Specialty),” Martin says. “I have no problem with Maura saying she served in Iraq; that’s true. But saying she ‘fought’ there? Maura has a serious psychological problem across her entire personnel history. She constantly exaggerates and inflates her experience, except for the period she has ‘erased’ when she worked at Pepsico selling sugared drinks and potato chips. I am asking Maura to withdraw and reword her current TV commercial because it is false and deceptive, and she may be committing an offense under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), RSA ch. 358-A. She can say she served in Iraq. She cannot say she ‘fought’ there. We will have more to say about Maura’s exaggerations and inflations in her career. Stay tuned,” Andy says.

Announcement of Manchester, New Hampshire news conference today, Sunday, August 12

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Attention, New Hampshire, Washington, National daybook/assignment and Political editors

News from:

ANDY MARTIN /2018        

Republican candidate for Congress

New Hampshire-

First Congressional District

           

                    www.AndyMartin2018.com

www.AndyMartin.com

www.FirstRespondersOnline.us

Headquarters:

E-mail:AndyNewHampshire@aol.com

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New Hampshire First Congressional District GOP candidate Andy Martin will hold a Manchester news conference Sunday to challenge Maura Sullivan’s constant claims she “fought” in a war. “She served in Iraq but she was not a fighter and she never fought,” Martin says. “Maura’s misrepresentation approaches ‘stolen valor,’ where people inflate their military service. I am asking Maura to take corrective action and to stop lying about her background. She has a decent résumé. She doesn’t have to exaggerate but she apparently is a compulsive liar, not a good omen for someone wanting to serve in congress.”

August 12 Manchester, NH news conference details:

Who:                                                      

GOP 1st District congressional candidate Andy Martin

What:

Andy Martin criticizes Maura Sullivan for exaggerating and inflating her military service in Iraq

Where:

Front steps of Manchester City Hall (park area), One City Hall Plaza, Manchester, NH 03101

When:

Sunday, August 12; 12:00 P.M. (noon)

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(Manchester, NH)(August 12, 2018) --- Republican congressional candidate Andy Martin will hold a news conference Sunday to criticize a Democratic Party opponent, Maura Sullivan, for exaggerating her military service.

Martin’s letter to Sullivan (with the address and contact information removed for brevity) is self-explanatory:

August 12, 2018

Maura Sullivan

Congressional Candidate

P.O. Box 1114

Portsmouth, NH 03802

team@maurafornh.com

Dear Maura:

First let me congratulate you for serving in the Marine Corps, a service with which I have a particularly close association.

Then allow me to caution you that you may be inflating and exaggerating your military service in a way that undermines your good work and approaches stolen valor.

I ask that you withdraw your current TV commercial and, in the future, sharply restrict the claims you make for your time in Iraq.

This letter is prompted by your latest exaggeration in a Democratic Party forum that you “fought in a war,” please see link #1 below.

1. My own military service and civilian activity

I took the oath of enlistment in the USAFR in 1964 and received an Honorable Discharge in 1965. Because so many candidates lie about their credentials, I posted my Honorable Discharge and Juris Doctor law degree on my web site where they are there for anyone to see, http://www.andymartin2018.com/documents.htm.

Because my military records were destroyed in a federal fire, I can’t prove or disprove whether I served a few days technically on active duty, but I am careful to always state that my active service was minuscule, no more than a few days.

I went to Viet-Nam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand during 1967, 1968 and 1971 as a civilian. I have also been in Afghanistan, Iran and all the countries of the Middle East with the exception of Syria. You can see pictures of me in Viet-Nam and Laos, www.AndyMartin.com. My unusual experience in Cambodia may or may not be written into a movie that is in production.

I met Marine General Foster LaHue who commanded Task Force X-Ray in Operation Cochise. Although I was a civilian I was exposed to combat or combat environments with Marines, Special Forces and ARVN on numerous occasions.

In digging back to prepare this letter, even a half century later I remember the pain of seeing good men die. I remember the news of Colonel Michael Spark, one of the few Dartmouth graduates to die in Viet-Nam, and his Sergeant Major Ted McClintock, when they were shot down, please see link #2 below. I was at Khe Sanh before the major assault, and the A Shau Valley during part of that conflict. Marine General Ray Davis and I spent time together that neither of us ever forgot. When General Davis retired he remembered me with a personal note.

2. My association with the Marines in Viet-Nam and Iraq

I worked for U. S. Senator Paul Douglas, known as the “Marine Corps’ Senator” because of his devotion to the USMC; he was grievously wounded at Peleliu. I started out as one of his drivers and after he left office we became very close. He wrote to the Illinois Supreme Court on my behalf and attacked the corrupt media and politics in Illinois. In Viet-Nam, because of my association with Senator Douglas and the administration, Marine units received me warmly; General Ray Davis invited me to spend time with him. Overall, I spent several months working in and out of Southeast Asia.

Let me say that prior to the invasion in Iraq I was one of the few Republicans who had the guts to stand up to President Bush and warn him that operation would be a disaster. I marched in Washington against the war.

Nevertheless, a few days after Saddam Hussein fell I arrived in Baghdad and spent a good part of 2003 in Iraq. Once again, I was a civilian. I was a critic of how the post-invasion situation was handled. We lost brave men and women with little long-term benefit. Nevertheless, I honor the service of those who answered the call, including a close family member. You can see pictures of me in Iraq at www.AndyMartin.com.

I was in Fallujah before the Marines were in Fallujah. I traveled alone, with only a single Iraqi as my driver.

3. The Military Occupational Specialty (“MOS”) system

As you are well aware, the Marines follow a standard Military Occupational Specialty (“MOS”) organization of their force, see link #3 below.

The MOS system describes what military personnel do. There is a complete cleavage between an infantryman/infantry officer and a logistics officer. Your MOS was logistics. Although Marines claim that every enlisted Marine is an “infantryman,” and officers undergo some combat training, your role was not even remotely combat related, please see link #4 below. By your own admission, you were in charge of guarding weapons, not using them, please see link #5 below.

4. The two prongs of “stolen valor”

There are two (2) prongs to stolen valor.

Some individuals claim they served, when they did not.

Then there are those who actually served, but grossly inflate their service. “Tail gunner Joe” is an example of that form of exaggeration. Your claim of “fighting” in Iraq approaches Joe McCarthy’s stolen valor. I don’t know if you crossed the line with your “fighting” claims, and I will wait to hear from others where that line should be drawn. But I believe you are very close to the line, if not actually crossing it.

5. My request that you stop exaggerating your military service

I am asking you to take two steps. First, you should withdraw and reword your TV commercial which falsely claims you “fought” in Iraq. You did not fight. Period.

Second, you must stop exaggerating and inflating your resume.

Exaggeration and inflation are everyday, constant problems for you. If I am the Republican candidate (I am currently in third place and rapidly gaining on my primary opponents in what has become a close three-way race) I will rip you for your inappropriate exaggerations and inflations. Just ask my primary opponents what it feels like to come under my campaign scalpel.

Please feel to respond if you question any of my assertions in this letter. Given the seriousness of my accusations, and the way I have documented them, I will assume silence means you accept my criticism.

Semper Fi.

Andy

AM:sp

Footnotes:

[1]

https://www.concordmonitor.com/First-district-democrats-debate-in-Laconia-19375274?

[2]

https://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/articles/idiocy-war

[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Marine_Corps_MOS

https://www.military1.com/all/article/318809-marine-corps-mos-codes/

[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Logistics_Battalion_8

[5]

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news/local/sniping-breaks-out-at-nh-democratic-party-candidates-forum/article_2df8f9a6-9cd5-11e8-90d6-b3c5b1a08c48.html

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LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

See letter to Maura Sullivan for footnotes.

ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire-based muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With fifty years of background in radio and television and with five decades of intelligence, investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, military and intelligence matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American politics and courts for fifty years and is executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire over 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

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