Hailey Gomez
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz responded Tuesday afternoon at a union conference to accusations of “stolen valor” after facing a wave of controversy from Republicans around his military service.
Walz appeared on stage in Los Angeles, California, to speak at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union’s 46th international convention. During his speech, Walz responded to criticism of the timing around his 2005 retirement from the Minnesota National Guard by stating he was “damn proud” of his service and emphasized that one “should never denigrate another person’s service record.”
“These guys are even attacking me for my record of service. And I just want to say, I’m proud to have served my country, and I always will be,” Walz said. “With my dad’s encouragement, a guy who served in the Army during the Korean War. I signed up for the National Guard two days after my 17th birthday. I served for the next 24 years for the same reason all my brothers and sisters in uniform do: We love this country. Then in 2005, I felt the call of duty again, this time being of service to my country in the halls of Congress. My students inspired me to run for that office, and I was proud to make it to Washington.”
Following Walz’s selection by Vice President Kamala Harris to be on the Democratic presidential ticket, Republicans, including former President Donald Trump’s running mate and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, accused Walz of “stolen valor” for allegedly leaving his battalion in 2005 upon learning of its deployment to Iraq. Vance’s comments followed the Harris campaign’s release of a 2018 video where Walz claimed he “carried” weapons “in war” during a speech on gun control.
“I was a member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and a champion of our men and women in uniform. I’m going to say it again as clearly as I can: I am damn proud of my service to this country. And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record. To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: Thank you for your service and sacrifice,” Walz added.
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Two veterans, Retired Command Sergeants Major Thomas Behrends and Paul Herr, who claim to have served in Walz’s battalion, also publicly criticized the Minnesota governor in a 2018 letter for “betraying his country” by retiring before his unit was set to be deployed to Iraq, according to the New York Post.
Additionally, the Harris-Walz campaign website quietly edited the Minnesota governor’s title last week from calling Walz a “retired command sergeant major” to now saying he “served as a command sergeant major.”
Vance responded to Walz’s public remarks on Tuesday, posting on X that Walz “shouldn’t have lied about it.”
“Hi Tim, I thank you for your service. But you shouldn’t have lied about it. You shouldn’t have said you went to war when you didn’t. Nor should you have said that you didn’t know your unit was going to Iraq. Happy to discuss more in a debate,” Vance wrote.
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