Stolen Valor is divided into 4 parts and an appendix.
Part I (The Image) begins with a chapter about B.G. Burkett’s time in the Army. The next four chapters detail the author’s argument that the image of the Vietnam Veteran was tarnished by a combination of media coverage, Veteran imposters, US citizens’ anger against the draft, and a perception of the veteran as a victim.
Part II (The Trauma of War) looks into the diagnoses of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Vietnam Veterans and how it is treated by the Veteran’s Administration and the rise of war atrocity accusations against Vietnam Veterans. It also does further analysis of the effects of people, the author believes to be Vietnam War Veteran imposters, on the image of the Vietnam Veteran, specifically, the lack of investigation by the news media into the background of these possible veterans. This part delves into what the author believes to be the mislabeling of one of the causes of homelessness, the Vietnam War.
Part III (Stolen Valor) describes what the author believes to be a widespread wearing of Vietnam War specific medals, ribbons and badges by people who did not earn them. The author, using the Freedom of Information Act, was able to retrieve records of individuals who claimed they served in Vietnam during the War and he used this method to denounce people who didn’t have records to support their service, badges, ribbons and medals. In this section, the author also demonstrates his disbelief in the idea that minorities participated in rates higher than their percentage of the populations
In Part IV (Victims and Heroes), the author discusses what he believes to be a myth about the effects of Agent Orange, profiling pilots from the Vietnam War who flew Agent Orange delivery missions in Vietnam and who have not had an increase in health effects since then. In this section, the author also denounces the Vietnam Veterans of America, calling them “Vietnam Victims of America.”
The Appendices provide lists of Medal of Honor awardees, Distinguished Service Cross awardees, Navy Cross awardees, Air Force Cross awardees and U.S. military POWs who survived their captivity.
Wikipedia contributors. “Stolen Valor.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 30 Jun. 2012. Web. 30 Jun. 2012.
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