A story of deceit has been building in Oxford, according to a group investigating a local man’s claims of military service time.
Nicholas Anthony George showed up to recent local Memorial Day services in a full uniform in Oxford and Addison townships and told a breathtaking story of service to local reporters.
He said he is a retired Green Beret, spending nearly 18 of his 28 years in the Army with the elite Special Forces.
The Oxford man – who uses a wheelchair – claimed he served 14 tours straight, having been on a staggering 757 missions, that he has been shot 31 times, and that his service has earned him two silver stars, a bronze star and six Purple Hearts.
He also said he could speak 13 languages and 76 dialects, and that he served in Panama, Kosovo, Somalia, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Oxford Leader Editor C.J. Carnacchio wrote the initial story with what George told him. After Carnacchio began to research the story and tracking down family members, local veterans started getting in touch. George’s own family started to call him out.
“He likes to tell stories. He likes to make up things,” said George’s mother, Patricia, in a subsequent Leader story.
His mother said he lied about his parents to his wife after he had married, saying they had wealth.
That’s when the Leader, along with Guardian of Valor LLC and Special Forces Poser Patrol (SFPP) – groups dedicated to outing false claims of military and Special Forces service – investigated in full force together.
What the group found was much less captivating than the story George told.
“We received his records back and can state beyond doubt that Nick George is an absolute fraud,” said SFPP representatives.
“It looks like he spent less than (two years) active, and got out a private. That’s a far cry from Sergeant Major that he claims.”
Guardian of Valor found more.
“We continued to piece together George’s web of lies, finding out that he was wanted for a civil case out of Peoria, Illinois. This after finding out he was actually 45, not 55 as he had claimed to the (Leader) reporter and others,” wrote Guardian of Valor investigators in an online posting.
“Once we found out his true (date of birth), we reached out to our Army contacts for his real military records. Once we received them, it was as we had figured, 99 (percent) of his military career was a complete fabrication.”
George’s officials Military records indicated he served from October 1988 through March 6, 1990, served as a combat engineer, never saw combat and was discharged in Germany as a private in the Army.
Since the investigation, George has been banned from the local Oxford American Legion Post 108.
In a follow up story from the Oxford Leader, the headline read, “He’s a fraud.”
