Bucks County�s congressman has notified the Philadelphia U.S. Attorney�s Office about a YouTube video of a Bucks County war veteran confronting a Philadelphia man he claims was falsely posing as a member of an elite military special forces unit. 
 
 
 
 In a letter to U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger on Monday, Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick , R-8, Middletown, says the video, which has generated more than 1.5 million views since after it was filmed at the Oxford Valley Mall on Black Friday, could �possibly� contain evidence of a federal crime. 
 
 
 
 Under the Stolen Valor Act of 2013, which Fitzpatrick co-sponsored, it�s illegal for an individual to fraudulently portray him or herself as a recipient of any of several specified military decorations or medals with the intent to obtain money, property or other �tangible benefit.� 
 
 
 
 The video does not show the man attempting to obtain any benefit. And falsely claiming to be a member of the military alone is not illegal. 
 
 
 
 Northampton resident Ryan Berk, 26, who was a sergeant in the U.S. Army�s 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan in 2010-11, confronted the alleged Ranger after seeing him while shopping with his girlfriend and her son Friday. 
 
 
 
 �No one is going to question a guy in uniform, unless they already wear the uniform,� said Berk, who earned a Purple Heart after he was wounded by shrapnel in 2010 while fighting in Afghanistan. 
 
 
 
 The newspaper is withholding the name of the alleged Army Ranger because he has not been charged with a crime as of Monday. 
 
 
 
 A woman who answered the door at the man�s house Saturday night said that he had a military background but declined to provide details. She also said the family had no comment. The woman said she hadn�t seen the 3-minute video. 
 
 
 
 Berk, who is studying criminal justice at Temple University, said he spotted the man in the Army fatigues while he was shopping in a shoe store. But when he got a closer look, Berk said he noticed �little things� that were off about the man�s appearance � the shoelaces on his boots weren�t right, an American flag patch was in the wrong spot on his sleeve, and he was missing a combat patch. 
 
 
 
 These are things that most civilians wouldn�t pick up on, but that no military veteran would get wrong, Berk said. 
 
 
 
 Berk said he didn�t confront the man in the store, but did pull aside the manager and suggested he ask to see military ID if the man asked for a military discount. Berk doesn�t know if the man asked for a discount. 
 
 
 
 What inspired him to confront the man, Berk said, was a 20-minute conversation he overheard during which the alleged soldier told a small boy about his military experiences. 
 
 
 
 �It was fueling my fire. I was getting aggravated,� he said. �I knew 100 percent he was fake but I didn�t want to put him on 100 percent blast immediately.� 
 
 
 
 After the man left the store, Berk turned on his phone camera and called him over, claiming his son admired guys in the Army. Berk did not identify himself as an Army veteran until almost at the end of his video recording. 
 
 
 
 After the man introduced himself, he claimed to be a staff sergeant with the 75th U.S. Army Rangers Regiment, 2nd Battalion. He also claimed to have recently returned to the area from Fort Lewis in Washington State, which is where the regiment is stationed. 
 
 
 
 �I�m what�s called a TAC-1,� he claimed. �All I do is I go out on missions.� 
 
 
 
 Immediately, Berk started peppering him with questions that he said anyone with Army service should be able to easily answer. 
 
 
 
 �Where is your combat patch at?� Berk asked 
 
 
 
 �I gave it to a little kid over there,� he replied. 
 
 
 
 Why is the American flag patch so low on his shoulder, Berk asked. 
 
 
 
 �You got me on that one, bud,� the man replied. 
 
 
 
 When Berk asked about where he received his three Combat Infantrymen Badges, the man first answered that he got all three in Afghanistan. When Berk responded that he would need to be in three different campaigns, the man said that one badge is for service in Iraq and the others for different tours of Afghanistan. 
 
 
 
 �You know, no matter how many you do, you can only get one,� Berk answered. 
 
 
 
 The man replied that his campaign took him �out of mission lines from Afghanistan.� 
 
 
 
 Military websites, including the U.S. Army Human Resources Command website, confirm what Berk said about the correct position of the American Flag patch and that only one CIB would be awarded for service in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn). 
 
 
 
 The National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning Georgia tracks Army servicemen with three CIBs and only 324 are listed. The alleged Army Ranger is not on the list. Army regulation authorizes only up to three awards of the CIB. There are four periods for which an award of the badge can be made: World War II, Korea, Vietnam and other Cold War era actions through March 1995 and the War on Terror 2001-present, according to the U.S. Army. 
 
 
 
 When Berk called the man a phony, accusing him of impersonating a soldier, the man offered to take him to meet his sergeant major, whom he said was also in the mall. He also denied lying about his military service. 
 
 
 
 �If I was a phony, I wouldn�t be wearing this uniform,� the man said. 
 
 
 
 But Berk said he has no doubts that the man was not a Ranger. 
 
 
 
 �He�s impersonating in the uniform people died for,� Berk added. �He was wearing awards that I earned and he didn�t.� 
 
 
 
 Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; 
 
 email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia ||||| The Global Webcomics Web Archive is an initiative developed by librarians at Columbia University and the University of Chicago, in partnership (as Ivy Plus Libraries) with Brown University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University. The collection is curated by Karen Green (Columbia) and Sarah G. Wenzel (Chicago). The Global Webcomics Web Archive aims to preserve selected webcomics and creator websites from all over the world in order to assure the continuing availability of these important, and potentially ephemeral, documents for use by researchers and scholars. This initiative intends to preserve webcomics and websites in a wide variety of styles, subjects and themes, in many different languages, created by a diverse group of artists. Recommend a website for consideration here: https://goo.gl/forms/35juQtDB3gufwDzk1. ||||| §771. Unauthorized wearing prohibited 
 
 Except as otherwise provided by law, no person except a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, as the case may be, may wear— 
 
 (1) the uniform, or a distinctive part of the uniform, of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps; or 
 
 (2) a uniform any part of which is similar to a distinctive part of the uniform of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps. 
 
 (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 34.) 
 
 Historical and Revision Notes 
 
 Revised section Source (U.S. Code) Source (Statutes at Large) 
 
 771 10:1393 (1st par., less provisos). June 3, 1916, ch. 134, §125 (1st par., less provisos), 39 Stat. 216. 
 
 The words “Except as otherwise provided by law” are inserted to give effect to exceptions in other revised sections of this title and to provisions of other laws giving such organizations as the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Public Health Service permission to wear military uniforms under certain conditions. 
 
 §771a. Disposition on discharge 
 
 (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), when an enlisted member of an armed force is discharged, the exterior articles of uniform in his possession that were issued to him, other than those that he may wear from the place of discharge to his home under section 772(d) of this title, shall be retained for military use. 
 
 (b) When an enlisted member of an armed force is discharged for bad conduct, undesirability, unsuitability, inaptitude, or otherwise than honorably— 
 
 (1) the exterior articles of uniform in his possession shall be retained for military use; 
 
 (2) under such regulations as the Secretary concerned prescribes, a suit of civilian clothing and an overcoat when necessary, both to cost not more than $30, may be issued to him; and 
 
 (3) if he would be otherwise without funds to meet his immediate needs, he may be paid an amount, fixed by the Secretary concerned, of not more than $25. 
 
 (c) When an enlisted member of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard who has been called into Federal service is released from that service, the exterior articles of uniform in his possession shall be accounted for as property issued to the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, as the case may be, of the State or territory, Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia of whose Army National Guard or Air National Guard he is a member, as prescribed in section 708 of title 32. 
 
 (Added Pub. L. 90–235, §8(1)(A), Jan. 2, 1968, 81 Stat. 763; amended Pub. L. 100–456, div. A, title XII, §1234(a)(1), Sept. 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 2059.) 
 
 Amendments 
 
 1988—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–456 struck out “the Canal Zone,” after “Puerto 
 
 §772. When wearing by persons not on active duty authorized 
 
 (a) A member of the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard may wear the uniform prescribed for the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard, as the case may be. 
 
 (b) A member of the Naval Militia may wear the uniform prescribed for the Naval Militia. 
 
 (c) A retired officer of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may bear the title and wear the uniform of his retired grade. 
 
 (d) A person who is discharged honorably or under honorable conditions from the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may wear his uniform while going from the place of discharge to his home, within three months after his discharge. 
 
 (e) A person not on active duty who served honorably in time of war in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps may bear the title, and, when authorized by regulations prescribed by the President, wear the uniform, of the highest grade held by him during that war. 
 
 (f) While portraying a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, an actor in a theatrical or motion-picture production may wear the uniform of that armed force if the portrayal does not tend to discredit that armed force. 
 
 (g) An officer or resident of a veterans’ home administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs may wear such uniform as the Secretary of the military department concerned may prescribe. 
 
 (h) While attending a course of military instruction conducted by the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, a civilian may wear the uniform prescribed by that armed force if the wear of such uniform is specifically authorized under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the military department concerned. 
 
 (i) Under such regulations as the Secretary of the Air Force may prescribe, a citizen of a foreign country who graduates from an Air Force school may wear the appropriate aviation badges of the Air Force. 
 
 (j) A person in any of the following categories may wear the uniform prescribed for that category: 
 
 (1) Members of the Boy Scouts of America. 
 
 (2) Members of any other organization designated by the Secretary of a military department. 
 
 (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 35; Pub. L. 99–145, title XIII, §1301(a)(1), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 735; Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title XVI, §1621(a)(1), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1602; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title V, §551(b), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2525.) 
 
 What are your thoughts? 
 
 Share ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| This video, reportedly filmed on Black Friday, shows a veteran confronting an alleged military faker. Via Guardians of Valor 
 
 The Black Friday shopper in Army camo and a Ranger tab caught the attention of Ryan Berk almost immediately. Berk, a former enlisted infantryman and combat vet, smelled a potential faker. 
 
 "I watched this guy talk to this little kid for like 10, 15 minutes. I heard him say he was Special Forces," Berk told Army Times. "Nothing added up with this dude." 
 
 Berk felt he needed to do something, so he turned on the camera and called the suspected faker over — and started recording. The video, initially posted by YouTube account Stolen Valor after Berk sent it to Guardians of Valor, has garnered more than 2 million views. Berk has also posted an extended version. 
 
 The alleged faker, identified as Sean Yetman, has been plagued with angry phone calls and even death threats, according to one woman who identified herself as Yetman's fiancee. 
 
 Filmed at the Oxford Valley Mall near Philadelphia, the video opens innocently enough. 
 
 "Hey, sir! Hey, my son would like to meet you he really admires guys in the Army!," Berk calls out to Yetman. The infantryman would later tell Army Times it wasn't his son, it was actually his girlfriend's child. All three were out shopping for the day. 
 
 Yetman, wearing staff sergeant insignia, enthusiastically joins Berk and the boy and quickly identifies his unit: 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment out of Fort Lewis. Then Berk wastes no time poking holes in Yetman's story. 
 
 Among the mistakes he calls out: 
 
 Yetman is wearing 3 Combat Infantry Badges displayed on his uniform. He initially claimed to have earned them all in Afghanistan. When pressed that he would only be eligible to wear one, Yetman clarified that one was from Iraq and that the second Afghanistan CIB was when "my campaign took me outside of mission lines of Afghanistan." (The reality is that soldiers are only eligible to wear one CIB for fighting anywhere in support of the Global War on Terror.) 
 
 Yetman's flag patch was too low on his arm and his boots weren't properly bloused. Berk also asked where his combat patch was. Yetman claimed he gave it to a kid. 
 
 Asked where he went to basic, Yetman responded, "Fort Jackson." Berk responded: "You know infantry only goes to Fort Benning, right?" Yetmen then claimed he didn't start as a Ranger, but as a "driver of Humvees." He answered a phone instead of providing a valid MOS. 
 
 Yetman maintains he's not a "phony" in the video and at one point it appears both men are going to confront Yetman's "sergeant major," who was supposedly shopping with Yetman that day. 
 
 Instead, Berk starts to yell loudly about Yetman's fakery, 
 
 "You know it's illegal, right, what you're doing?" Berk said. "I've worn that f------ uniform and I've had friends get killed in Afghanistan wearing that f------ uniform." 
 
 Berk's girlfriend can be heard telling him, "Let's go. Stop it." And the video ends shortly after. 
 
 A spokesman at Army Human Resources Command said there is no record of a Sean Yetman in uniform. Attempts to reach him via phone and email were unsuccessful. 
 
 A court records search shows that a man named Sean Yetman, whose home is also listed as Philadelphia, was convicted in 2003 for impersonating a public servant. 
 
 Berk said he alerted the manager to the likelihood that Yetman was a fraud after learning that the Walking Company offered a military discount. He eventually waited outside the store so as not to start a scene there, instead choosing to confront him in the mall. 
 
 Adrienne Lally, Yetman's reported fiancee who declined to speak via phone, told Army Times via email that the blow-back to Yetman and his family has been vicious. Contact information and pictures of the family have been posted. Lally said Yetman lost his job and has had a nervous breakdown. (The Sean Yetman convicted of the 2003 crime is listed as having Adrienne Lally as a potential relative, according to Army Times research.) 
 
 "The phone calls do not stop, and we are now hearing death threats. All of this has us concerned for our children and their safety," she wrote. "He is a good man with a very big heart and this backlash has spiraled him into a deep depression." 
 
 Anthony Anderson, the operator of Guardians of Valor, has tried to delete Yetman's personal information. 
 
 Berk has tried to do the same on his YouTube post. 
 
 "That's a shame," Berk said, responding to the personal threats on Yetman's family. "His kids obviously have nothing to do with it. That's wrong. That wasn't my intention. My intention was to have this guy put on blast so he stops doing it." 
 
 Manpower officials confirmed Berk served from 2009 to 2012 and deployed twice to Afghanistan. He left service a sergeant. 
 
 In talking to Army Times, Berk named two friends of his who had died, and juxtaposed their sacrifice with Yetman's claims. 
 
 "How do their families feel about this guy walking around bragging as if he's sacrificed as much as they have? That's what got me fired up, when he made that comment that he's also lost friends in combat," Berk said. "I wish I didn't curse, but I'm passionate about it. It just wasn't right." 
 
 In 2012 the Supreme Court struck down a law that made impersonating a soldier illegal, citing free speech. In 2013 Congress passed and the president signed a new federal law that does criminalize misrepresenting oneself as having earned decorations or combat medals in order to obtain money or "tangible benefits." 
 
 Lally maintained that Yetman didn't receive any discounts on Black Friday. 
 
 Anderson, who runs Guardians of Valor to highlight those fraudulently claiming to have served, said his site gets just a few new videos every month (not all of which are posted for various reasons) but also gets more email than he can read. 
 
 While Berk disagrees with people threatening Yetman and said he had an idea the firestorm his video would start, Berk didn't back down from his decision to confront Yetman and posting the video, and has since gone on Fox News' Fox and Friends to talk about the incident. 
 
 "I'm just glad it's getting out there, hopefully he's ashamed and doesn't do it again," Berk said. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://militari.ly/1CCkFjx ||||| Marijuana prices can now be published in N.J. 
 
 Marijuana prices can now be published in N.J. Oct 15 
 
 A trip to the Oxford Valley Mall turned into a National Day of Shaming for a shopper dressed in camouflage fatigues on Black Friday. 
 
 But today, the shame turned an even darker shade for the shopper who now is being accused of falsely posing as a U.S. Army Ranger in order to obtain special military discounts at mall stores. 
 
 On Monday, U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) asked the U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia to determine if there was evidence of a federal crime, according to the Bucks County Courier Times. 
 
 The man’s nightmare began Friday and was captured on a video later posted to YouTube, where it has been viewed nearly 1.5 million times. He had just stepped out of a shoe store when he was approached by a real highly-decorated veteran. 
 
 Something about the man’s uniform didn’t look right to Ryan Berk, a recipient of the Purple Heart who served in Afghanistan as a member of the 101st Airborne Division. 
 
 Berk stopped the pudgy uniformed man on the pretext of introducing him to his young son. Berk pulled out his cell phone and hit “record.” 
 
 The man, who wore a name ribbon identifying himself as “Yetman,” was happy to meet the boy – at first. He did not remain in good humor for long. 
 
 Berk peppered Yetman with questions. The man claimed to be a U.S. Army Ranger, one of America’s elite fighting soldiers, and said he had served in Afghanistan and Iraq. 
 
 “I’m what’s called a TAC- 1,” the man said. “All I do is go out on missions.” 
 
 Berk, immediately suspicious, asked about inconsistencies with the man’s battle fatigues. The flag patch was too low on his arm and three Combat Infantryman Badges were affixed to his shoulder. 
 
 Anthony Anderson, an Army veteran who runs the Guardian of Valor website, said the three CIBs would tip off any real soldier. 
 
 “The CIB is a very prestigious award for an infantryman,” said Anderson. “You get shot at to earn that badge. And getting three CIBs is more rare than getting the Medal of Honor.” 
 
 Under Army regulations, only one CIB can be earned for fighting the Global War on Terror. Yetman claimed to have earned one in Afghanistan and another in Iraq. “That would have been impossible,” Anderson said. “Only one is awarded for serving in both. It’s considered the same campaign.” 
 
 Dressed down by Berk, the uniformed man claimed he had “literally just got home from Fort Lewis” and was shopping with his Sergeant Major. Berk let loose with his disdain. 
 
 “Here it is, stolen valor at its finest,” jeered Ryan, as the uniformed man began to walk away. “Why don’t you just admit you’re a phony?” 
 
 Anderson said fake soldiers are becoming increasingly common. They most often pretend for the attention and recognition. Others use the uniform to receive exclusive military discounts at stores and restaurants. 
 
 Anderson said motives don’t matter. Though donning a uniform is protected as free speech, it’s illegal to claim unearned military awards or receive any discount under the pretext of being in the armed services. 
 
 It was unknown whether the uniformed man received any special treatment from any store at the mall. 
 
 “But if he was getting benefits from that he could be prosecuted under that law,” Anderson said, adding there was no U.S. Army Ranger with three CIBs named Yetman listed on any official record. 
 
 Contact Sam Wood at 215-854-2796 or samwood@phillynews.com. Follow @samwoodiii on Twitter. 
 
 Contact the Breaking News Desk at 215-854-2443; BreakingNewsDesk@philly.com. Follow @phillynews on Twitter.
– An ugly encounter between a decorated US military veteran and a guy wearing camouflage fatigues has spawned a viral video—and may lead to federal charges, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Ryan Berk, a Purple Heart recipient who served with the 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan, noticed the shopper wearing fatigues at Oxford Valley Mall in Langhorne, Pa., on Black Friday. Recording video on his cell phone, Berk walked up and pretended his son was interested in meeting a bona fide US Army soldier. Then Berk asked about apparent inconsistencies in the man's uniform, including a US flag patch low on his arm and a highly unusual collection of three Combat Infantryman Badges. (The Military Times lists the inconsistencies and identifies the alleged impersonator as Sean Yetman.) Berk eventually pulled back for a wide shot and said, "Here it is, guys: stolen valor at its finest! He is full of s--t wearing a United States Army uniform." Berk urged him to admit he's "a phony," told him he's breaking the law, and then really got mad: "I've worn that f--in' uniform, and I've had friends get killed in Afghanistan wearing that f--in' uniform!" The video, which has been viewed more than 2.3 million times as of this writing, has inspired a Pennsylvania congressman to seek a federal investigation, the Bucks County Courier Times reports. Wearing a US military uniform is protected by free speech, the Inquirer notes, but is illegal if the wearer claims unearned awards or lies to get a discount. A veteran who runs the Guardian of Valor website says US military impersonators have become more common lately. See the video here.