Still At It: Philip A. Keith (November 2019)
Philip Allen Keith: Navy Veteran and Author (January 2016)
Stolen Valor Act of 2013: The Paper Tiger (5/31/2015)
While searching the Internet, I decided to check on Amazon reviews of the book, Firebase Illingworth to see if there were any new comments. The latest comment indicated the author, Mr. Keith was less than truthful regarding his military accomplishments and suggested commentators check out This Ain't Hell.
I did just that and discovered a rather intensive dialogue among what appear to be military personnel who had or are serving in the armed forces. They discussed dates, times and locations of Mr. Keith's tour and the site even posted what appears to be a military document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act that reflects the military service of Mr. Keith. The document confirms that Mr. Keith was in the United States Navy and served one (1) tour in Vietnam. Disturbingly, the military records do not indicate the award of the Purple Heart, while Mr. Keith asserts he earned not one, not two, but three Purple Hearts and there is no record of an additional two tours in Vietnam. Could this simply be an error (albeit one of epic proportions) of reporting by the United States Navy? The conclusionary opinion was Mr. Keith did indeed serve in the United States Navy, but did not earn many of the medals he has displayed on his uniform as evident in the photographs of him or listed in numerous biography's.
Mr. Keith has not responded to the comment on Amazon review, nor This Ain't Hell, but perhaps he has not seen the allegations or is too embarrassed to respond. Maybe he is consulting with an attorney.
I, of course, take this news very personally, because in our last correspondence, he wrote a rather lengthy and scathing response. I have included the portion where he once again asserts his prestigious Purple Hearts and pretty much tells me off:
I am sorry you feel the way you do and I am truly sorry for your family's loss but I'll be damned if I'll put up with you besmirching the work I have tried so hard to do on behalf of so many of my warrior brothers who served in Vietnam. You say" you were not there." True. I was not at Illingworth, but I have lived those 24 hours for over two years. I am sorry you feel bad abut the use of "blown away." Those of us who served in Vietnam used the term all the time: "Did you hear about Joe?" "Yeah, he was blown away last night." If you were KIA by rocket, mortar, grenade, machine gun, AK-47 round or whatever you were "blown away." It was not disrespectful then and it is not disrespectful now. Maybe you served in Vietnam, I do not know: you only listed "US Army 1969-1972." I did serve in Vietnam and I have 3 Purple Hearts in my medal case to prove it and bits of shrapnel still roaming around in my body somewhere and I will die of the Agent Orange crud one of these days, hopefully not too soon. I am not going to engage in a pissing contest with you about this any further.
Pretty harsh words from a man who may have embellished his own military accomplishments.
One of the discrepancies of Mr. Keith's military accomplishments is in regards to his first Purple Heart. He describes how he was "blown out of the sky" in July, 1972 (note: no exact date given) over Hanoi and while apparently seriously wounded and bleeding profusely, managed to bring his jet to a skidding stop on the deck of an unnamed carrier. He then passed out and woke up on the USS Sanctuary with a Purple Heart pinned to his pillow.
Mr. Keith said his right knee cap was destroyed and he had a piece of shrapnel behind his right ear, yet a mere six (6) months later he was fit for duty.
The only trouble with his version of events is that the USS Sanctuary departed Da Nang, Vietnam approximately 15 months prior, on April 23, 1971, and never came back. During May, she visited Hong Kong and then sailed for Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, where she arrived on June 10th, 1971. In commission, in reserve, as of August 31, 1971, Sanctuary was decommissioned on December 15, 1971. The next 11 months were spent at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard where she was converted for use as a dependents' hospital and as a commissary/Navy exchange retail store (source: Wikipedia - USS Sanctuary).
So what, you may ask? So he embellished his military record. What's the big deal. If you are asking yourself that question, I'm not sure I can adequately explain. If you've never accomplished something difficult in your life such as running a marathon, you do not know the feeling of accomplishment. It is deep and personal, because you know the training, time and dedication that went into the preparation and effort. Your feelings of accomplishment are reinforced by people who congratulate you for doing something they could not. Now, imagine someone claiming they ran a marathon, just like you. They told you of the effort and sacrifice they endured to make it happen. Perhaps they even started giving interviews for their accomplishment or displaying trophies. Suddenly, it comes to past they didn't actually run a marathon. Perhaps they've never even been to a marathon, even as a spectator. How would you feel?
Imagine any accomplishment or event in your life that was so significant you would be offended if someone else claimed to have endured the same incident, yet it was all a lie.
This is what many veterans feel when someone, even one of their own, embellishes their military record. Another aspect to explore would be the question, "why?" Why the need to look better than you already are? For an author, it could be an attempt to solicit stories from combat veterans who have a reputation of sharing their stories with only "one of their own." Someone who has been down and dirty just like them. One who has seen the horror and ravages of war.
The easiest way to get them to talk is to convince them you are "one of them." You pad your credentials and military service with a purple heart (or three) so you appear as one who has felt their pain. You legitimize yourself in their world. It's as if one is saying, "You can talk to me. I know what it's like. I've been there," but it is all a lie.
Some veterans refused to cooperate with Mr. Keith while he did research on his book. Purely speculation on my part, but perhaps they saw plausible errors in Mr. Keith's military record and confronted him. In the end, they decided he was a phony and could not be trusted, but again, pure speculation.
I am following various web sites that have reported Mr. Keith as, in their words, a phony. I am waiting for Mr. Keith to provide proof of his military record and not just a shadow box in his house with three (3) purple hearts. Anyone can go to an Army/Navy surplus store or order the medals on line. I would like to see the Navy citation that lists the dates, time and location of the event. Did Mr. Keith lie?
Yes, this is indeed personal, but more importantly, it is against the law. The incidents of individuals who claimed to have served but never have, or served and embellished the military records is so prevalent that Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act of 2013.
The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 (Pub.L. 113–12; H.R. 258) is a United States federal law that was passed by the 113th United States Congress. The law amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a person to fraudulently claim having received any of a series of particular military decorations with the intention of obtaining money, property, or other tangible benefit from convincing someone that he or she rightfully did receive that award. This law is a revised version of a previous one that was struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States for violating freedom of speech in the case United States v. Alvarez.
Did Mr. Keith lie so that he could benefit financially from his books? So that he could be guest speaker at Harvard, Veteran gatherings, and give talks as an author to promote his books? In short, is Mr. Keith in violation of The Stolen Valor Aat of 2013?
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Obituary
http://info@usawarriorstories.com Philip A. Keith, a well-known writer and newspaper columnist, died on March 10 at Southampton Hospital. The resident of Southampton was 74.
Born on August 24, 1946 in Springfield, Massachusetts, Mr. Keith attended school there and then at Harvard University, where he studied history. Having enlisted in the ROTC program at the university, upon graduation in 1968 he was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy. Mr. Keith’s service to his country included three tours of duty in Vietnam. During the first tour he was a naval aviator, flying Phantom F-4s. During one mission he survived being shot down, an action for which Mr. Keith earned his first Purple Heart. His second tour of duty resulted in a second Purple Heart after being wounded during in-country combat. His third tour in Vietnam involved being an intelligence officer and flag secretary to Admiral John McCain Jr., who was commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Mr. Keith served a total of 25 years in the military, including the Merchant Marine and Coast Guard, and retired with the rank of captain. In addition to the Purple Hearts, Mr. Keith was awarded the Air Medal for Gallantry, Presidential Unit Citation, and the Navy Commendation Medal.
In civilian life, Mr. Keith earned Master’s Degrees from Long Island University and the Naval War College. He undertook a business career, which included working for two Fortune 500 firms and doing marketing consulting. He also had a long teaching career with positions as assistant professor of business at LIU and an adjunct instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design.
In more recent years, with a long-held desire to write having previously been untapped, Mr. Keith devoted himself to writing novels. His breakthrough, however, was as a nonfiction author, with the publication by St. Martin’s Press in 2012 of Blackhorse Riders. This true story of an Army regiment ambushed by enemy forces in Vietnam in 1970 won the USA Book News for Best Military Non-Fiction Award, was a finalist for the Colby Award, and earned the silver medal from Military Writers Society of America.
“Phil’s book was about a heroic group of men who served in Vietnam but it wasn’t until later on in the publishing process that I discovered more about Phil’s heroics in that same war,” recalled Marc Resnick, executive editor and vice-president at St. Martin’s Press. “He was both humble and professional, hard-working and funny, and a pleasure to work with.”
A follow-up Vietnam book, Fire Base Illingworth, released by St. Martin’s Press in 2013, was a Gold Medal winner from MWSA. Returning to the sea, in a way, Stay the Rising Sun, an account of the sinking of the USS Lexington during the Battle of the Coral Sea in World War II, was published in 2015 to much acclaim. Mr. Keith’s recent projects include All Blood Runs Red, about the first African-American fighter pilot, published by Hanover Square Press in 2018, which earned the MWSA gold medal, and the forthcoming To the Uttermost Ends of the Earth, a narrative of the battle between in USS Kearsarge and CSS Alabama in June 1864.
“I still remember my first meeting with Phil to discuss his book All Blood Runs Red,” said Peter Joseph, editorial director at Hanover Square Press. “You could see the excitement of a born storyteller, eager to share with readers something new and original that they hadn’t known before.”
Local readers will recognize Mr. Keith for his newspaper work, especially his column, “Mostly Right,” which appeared in editions of the Press News Group. It generated many letters to the editor over the years and earned first place in Opinion Writing from the New York Press Association. When out from behind the keyboard, Mr. Keith was a longtime member of the Southampton Town Planning Board. He was a proud member of VFW Post 5350, American Legion Post 924, the Disabled American Veterans, and Vietnam Veterans of America.
Mr. Keith had many friends in the area, some of whom gathered once a month, usually at the writers hangout Bobby Van’s in Bridgehampton, to tell tall tales and a few true ones. Dubbed “Nights of the Round Table,” the gathering was set to resume soon. Mr. Keith was generous with his support and encouragement of other writers, particularly those with similar military backgrounds.
“It took me 50 years to find the right time, courage, and motivation to do it,” said George Motz of Quogue about his own book. “And it took the initial patience of a close friend, Sir Harold Evans, combined with Phil who worked wonders to get the project over the finish line. Safe to say, it would still be in draft form had Phil not been kind enough to spend his valuable time simultaneously critiquing and encouraging me. His mantra was, ‘Tell your story in your own voice. That's what people want to hear.’"
Mr. Motz added: “As is so often the case with veterans, especially Vietnam War veterans, Phil never went into much detail about his time in 'Nam, although he was certainly proud to have served our country and his service record speaks for itself. I loved the man and will miss his friendship 'til the end of my days.”
Mr. Keith is survived by a son, Pierce, a graduate of Westhampton Beach High School who is now a student at Northeastern University, triplet daughters, Jennifer, Adria, and Tracy; and his longtime partner, Laura Lyons, who he often referred to as his “Muse.”
A funeral with military honors will be held at the Calverton National Cemetery on Tuesday, March 23, at 10.30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers a donation can be made in Philip's honor to USA Warrior Stories
