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Roger Day paraded alongside 600 genuine war heroes wearing a beige SAS beret and a dazzling selection of 21 military medals and badges. Thousands of well-wishers - including the recently bereaved families of servicemen killed in Afghanistan - clapped and cheered as he marched past.
But organisers became suspicious when they noticed he had medals from campaigns including World War One and Two, Korea, the Falklands, awards for both officers and privates and even a foreign medal.
He was confronted by a friend of one of the organisers at the march in Bedworth, Warks., on November 11 and allegedly admitted his fraudulent behaviour before departing swiftly. But when approached at his home in Earl Shilton, Leics., Mr Day claimed he could not talk about his SAS service because of the ''Official Secrets Act.'' He said: ''I can't comment on that, like I can't give you any real relevant details. I'm still tied under a lot of the Official Secrets Act. They're all proper, pukka campaign medals. Medals I won in conflicts while I was serving with the British force. 'All I can say is south Atlantic the Gulf, Kuwait and one or two other stations.''
Jim Nicholson, 67, who organised the march and served as a private in the Parachute Regiment between 1961 and 1967, on Friday condemned Day as ''shameful''. The grandfather-of-six, who has service medals for Cyprus and Saudi Arabia, said: ''We have had idiots like this try to join in a few times and we tell them to get lost. ''One of my ex-SAS pals challenged him about his decorations, and he admitted he was a Walter Mitty fake.''
The name Walter Mitty and the derivative word "Mittyesque" have entered the English language, denoting an ineffectual person, male or female, who spends more time in heroic daydreams than paying attention to the real world, or more seriously, one who intentionally attempts to mislead or convince others that he is something that he is not
Etymology: A person, generally quite ordinary or ineffectual, who indulges in fantastic daydreams of personal triumphs The term comes from James Thurber's short story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1939), describing just such a character.
How can you help a person with Walter Mitty syndrome or disassociative personality disorder? You can’t: they have to want to change. You may confront them with their self-delusion but this is utterly futile and they will remain in denial. Does the person want help? If not ignore it, their fantasy world serves a purpose and helps them cope. It is no use to challenge people like this. They may claim to have a classical education, a working knowledge of obstetrics or even to be a legal beagle but also claim qualifications in paleontology, have royals in their family tree and currently to be working on a (secret, of course) film script for the C.I.A..
Let them get on with it but don’t waste time debating the issues. Sadly, in other ways they are often talented people and frequently make successful authors due to their imaginations and writing skills.
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And they get work in hospitals, as consultants and nurses, with no qualifications... and in one or two well documented cases have even performed surgery... you can't tell me that is not doing any harm?
Some people (note the emphasis on some, I am not saying all) can and have caused serious physical and emotional damage to others. They often con others into providing support/goods/handouts etc... now that is fraudulent.
So I wouldn't be happy for ALL Walter Mitty types to be allowed to *get on with it*, just some.
Love
Daff xxx
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My hubby has a whole raft of military medals... and he earned them... if our sons or granddaughters needed funds desperately in the future, then he would certainly not turn in his grave if they sold them. (he ain't dead yet, mind, and hopefully not for a long while)
I don't understand your point, Dermot? What is it worse than, exactly?
Love
Daff xxxx
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