Carol Lawrence/The Colorado Springs Gazette, via Associated Press Richard G. Strandlof, right, in 2008 at a 9/11 memorial service in Colorado Springs, where he posed as a veteran.

“Stolen Valor is not just lying: it is stealing an identity of a combat hero or a wounded soldier,” said Doug Sterner, a Vietnam veteran who helped draft the law’s language and who has spent years tracking down those who falsely claim to be war heroes. “Why should the Army give out a Silver Star to someone who performs heroically if anybody who wants one can buy a medal, print a citation and claim it with impunity?”

Since Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act, the Justice Department has prosecuted more than 60 people for violating it — penalties can range from up to a year in prison to fines and community service. Mr. Sterner says thousands of cases are reported each year.

But the recent challenges have left the law’s future uncertain.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/us/21valor.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss