Blood Fake

Stolen valor has likely been around since wars began. Weak, troubled people are attracted by the allure of heroism so they choose to inflate their standings within their relationships and communities at the expense of others. I am not concerned with the reasons people do this, but THAT people do this. Stolen valor is not victimless. The range of impact from such a story may be the cost of a drink given to the teller of the story in a pub to the story being told in this book which resulted in death. There are always consequences.
This story is about the deepest level of deception upon one spouse from the other. It is about how a husband used stolen valor to deceive, manipulate, and control his primary target using a fake diagnosis of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) as the foundation for his efforts. This person has been engaged in stolen valor prior to this relationship and has continued after it - he is a serial offender of this act. I am the writer of this story, and I am the victim's brother. I've been in a battle of good vs. evil and the evil was winning. I needed to fight for my Christian self to heal, move forward, and maybe find forgiveness. While in this process my goals shifted from personal reaction to a much broader sense of action and awareness.
The current law about stolen valor remains relatively weak. In the end, I want to focus more on the broader picture to see if there may be ways to strengthen the current Stolen Valor Act of 2013 and/or to increase awareness of stolen valor in our communities. Focusing on vengeance against one person will not make my sister's life matter as much as bringing a spotlight into the dark world of stolen valor. Together, let's learn how best to identify it, how to appropriately respond to it, and how to fight for consequential relevance. There are always victims!