Amarillo Globe-News
By DAVID STEVENS
Southwest News Services
A Vietnam veteran scheduled to speak at Saturday's POW-MIA banquet
in Borger has canceled the appearance amid allegations that he has misrepresented his
military background.
Larry Barnett of Fritch, who arranged for Ray Jennings of El Paso
to speak at the banquet, said he received a fax from Jennings on Tuesday canceling the
appearance.
"He said he didn't like to come to a place where he wasn't
welcome," Barnett said.
Barnett, a local chapter president of Vietnam Veteran's of America,
said Jennings received an anonymous letter that read, "please do not come, you're not
welcome." Barnett said Jennings believed the message was meant to discourage him from
speaking in Borger. Jennings fax also said he was experiencing medical problems, another
reason he was canceling his appearance.
Repeated efforts to contact Jennings at his home and office on
Tuesday and Wednesday were not successful. A woman who answered the telephone at his home
said he would be in around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, but calls were not answered after that. A
receptionist at Jennings workplace said Jennings was in the office on Wednesday, but
messages left on his answering machine were not returned.
Barnett said he had been unable to contact Jennings since receiving
the fax.
A press release sent to area newspapers earlier this month
described Jennings as a former member of the U.S. Special Forces in South Vietnam. It also
said Jennings had received the Distinguished Service Cross, a medal awarded for heroism
second only to the Medal of Honor. Barnett said all of
the information in the press release was supplied by Jennings.
Bob Jack, a Special Forces veteran who tracks members of the elite
Army group, said he began looking into Jennings background after receiving a copy of a
story about the Borger banquet that was published in The Clarendon Enterprise newspaper.
Jack, a retired Staff Sgt., who lives in Williamsburg, Va., said
terminology in the story initially caused him to question Jennings military service
history.
Jack said he then conducted research that disputes Jennings claims.
Some of that research, he said, includes service records obtained by members of the
Benavidez-Patterson All Airborne Chapter in El Paso in 1998. The records show that
Jennings could not have been a member of Special Forces, Jack said.
"I have reached conclusions that he was never in Special
Forces," Jack said. "He is a wannabe." Jack said Jennings name also is
never included on heavily researched comprehensive lists of Distinguished Service Cross
winners.
Jack said he has tried to contact Jennings, but messages left with
friends and on Jennings home telephone have not been returned. Jack said he believes
Jennings knows that his background is being questioned.
Barnett said a replacement speaker has been arranged, so the
banquet will be held as scheduled at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Student Union Building at
Frank Phillips College in Borger.
Barnett said he does not know if Jennings misrepresented his
service record, but he is disappointed the controversy has erupted.
"This is for POW and MIA recognition," he said.
"It's not a smear campaign."
Jim Boyd of Fort Worth, who said he edits a Texas Vietnam veteran's
publication, said he has known Jennings since the early 1990s. He said Jennings was a past
president of El Paso's Vietnam Veteran's of America chapter and that there is no question
Jennings served two tours in Vietnam.
Boyd said he had never questioned Jennings claims that he'd
received the Distinguished Service Cross and was a member of Special Forces until talking
with Jack last week.
Boyd said he asked Jennings about the allegations and Jennings told
him that efforts to discredit him were political and have been ongoing for several years.
Bob Chisolm, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division Association in
El Paso, said his organization has been investigating Jennings background for about two
years.
He said Jennings appeared at a military event and raised suspicions
when he declined to answer questions raised by members of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Chisolm said the association then sought and received Jennings
military records from the army under the Freedom of Information Act.
Those records offer no evidence that Jennings ever qualified for
the Special Forces, Chisolm said.
Jack said only about 5 percent of Army soldiers who attempted to
attain Special Forces status were successful during the Vietnam War. Soldiers were
required to pass stringent tests and then undergo six months to a year of special training
before achieving the designation.
Jack said he attempts to expose those who falsely claim to be
Special Forces members because they dishonor those who were members of the elite group.
"I have lost too many friends (in combat) to let these people claim to be something
they're not and dishonor us with their stories," Jack said.
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