Revised: May 2016
* See also:
Philip A. Keith: Military Phony? (5/30/2014) &
Stolen Valor Act of 2013: The Paper Tiger (5/31/2015)
I would like to preface this entry by extending an open invitation to Mr. Philip Allen Keith or any of his supporters to provide verifiable, tangible evidence to dispute or to explain any of the following conclusions. The evidence should be in the form of official military records.
Allegation: Mr. Keith,author of military books, embellished and lied about his military record to reflect he was a wounded combat veteran with medals of valor in order to give the appearance of someone combat veterans could relate to and share their stories. Mr. Keith would profit from his impressive military career in the form of book sales, appearances at local schools, libraries and radio shows to promote himself and his books.
As some of you know, my first interaction with Mr. Keith concerned a passage in the book, Fire Base Illingworth. Subsequently, a commentator in the book review section of Amazon.com suggested a Google search of Mr. Keith and indicated Mr. Keith was less than truthful about his military record. A Google search resulted in Mr. Keith’s name posted in the web site, “This Ain’t Hell,” with many commentators questioning Mr. Keith’s military record.
The many biographies on the Internet associated with books written by Mr. Keith contained various and numerous contradictions.
As a retired law enforcement officer, I decided to use my investigative experience to determine how much of what Mr. Keith said was true, false or an exaggeration.
In addition to Mr. Keith’s military record, there are newspaper articles circa 1984, when Mr. Keith, while serving in the Navy Reserve, held a civilian job with LaJolla Securities. In late October 1984, Mr. Keith was arrested and booked for one count of Grand Theft.
According to a newspaper account, Mr. Keith subsequently signed a confession of judgment, paid back the money, and pleaded guilty to a charge of grand theft. In June 1985 he was sentenced to 120 days in a county work furlough program, which allowed him freedom during the day to work. He was confined at night in county custody.
Another newspaper article reported Mr. Keith’s sentence included “restitution of over $9,000 to La Jolla Securities, a $2,000 fine, performance of 250 hours of volunteer work service and five years probation.”
He told close family members, “... the district attorney's investigation into his activities was "a lie," and that he was working on a “secret government project.”
Was this the beginning of a series of embellishments?
The following is a very brief synopsis of a lengthy report that took approximately 5 months to complete:
Mr. Keith Claimed to Have Been a Naval Aviator & Pilot:
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) Military records indicate Mr. Keith began flight school, but finished as a Naval Flight Officer. Despite the fact Mr. Keith identifies himself as a Navy Aviator, there are no records of Mr. Keith having ever earned Aviator wings. Copies of records available.
Mr. Keith Claimed He Retired from the Navy as a Captain (O6):
This claim is supported by a DD-214 provided by the VA Medical Center, however, Mr. Keith’s official military records from The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) Military records indicate he was discharged, not retired at the rank of Commander, not Captain - a direct contradiction from the DD-214 from the VA Medical Center.
Mr. Keith’s Harvard University biography states his “retirement from the Navy was delayed when Desert Storm erupted during which he later earned the Bronze Star Medal for his actions in Desert One.”
Military records from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) clearly indicate Mr. Keith was discharged from the Navy Reserves in 1986. Mr. Keith was no longer in the Navy when Desert Storm occurred in 1991, therefore his “retirement” from the Navy could not have been “delayed.” There are no records on file to indicate Mr. Keith had been recalled from retirement or that he served during Desert Storm/Desert One.
A records check with the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) and the Navy Awards Section showed no record of the Bronze Star awarded to Mr. Keith. Copies of records available.
Mr. Keith has been photographed wearing the Navy Cross:
Mr. Keith has been photographed in a Navy uniform wearing the insignia of Captain 0-6 and numerous medals, including what appears to be the Navy Cross (our nations second highest Medal of Valor). A check with the Navy Awards Section and the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) show no record of Mr. Keith having earned the rank of Captain or the Navy Cross. The award of our nations second highest Medal of Valor would be well documented, with citations describing the action, location, date and time of occurrence. There are no such records for Mr. Keith regarding the Navy Cross.
Mr. Keith Claimed He Was Awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross (2), Purple Heart (3), Air Medal for Gallantry, Bronze Star:
Mr. Keith had the VA Medical Center provide a copy of his DD-214, which lists the above medals and his rank as Captain (Sel) 06. A check with the Navy Awards Section and the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) revealed no record of Mr. Keith having earned any of the listed awards, with the exception of the Air Medal.
Mr. Keith was awarded the Air Medal, but the word “Gallantry” does not appear anywhere on the citation.
Again, an award for the Silver Star, our nations third highest Medal of Valor would be well documented. There are no records for Mr. Keith regarding the Silver Star.
It should be noted the Navy Awards section was asked a second time to research Mr. Keith’s record for a possible second DD-214 assigned to Mr. Keith. Mr. Keith’s name, DOB and SSN were provided. The search result revealed no record of Mr. Keith having earned the above awards and no additional DD-214.
Mr. Keith Claimed He Was Awarded Three (3) Purple Heart(s) – Mr. Keith published a story detailing how he earned two of his Purple Hearts:
Purple Heart #1: Mr. Keith claimed he piloted a Phantom F4 aircraft that was hit by a S.A.M. during a mission over Hanoi in 1972.
Mr. Keith described how he was the pilot and although badly wounded and bleeding, was able to land on a carrier after a missile hit his aircraft. He awoke three (3) days later on a hospital ship in the South China Sea.
According to military records, Mr. Keith was never a Navy Aviator, so it is unlikely that he flew a Phantom F4 - especially alone - over the skies of Hanoi. The Phantom F4 carried a two-person crew: the pilot and the Radar Intercept Officer (R.I.O). Mr. Keith never mentioned another person in the aircraft and clearly insinuates he was the pilot: “How I got that blasted plane back on the flight deck I'll never know.”
The hospital ship he claimed to have been on in 1972 was decommissioned in 1971
Despite requests, Mr. Keith has never provided the exact date he was shot down or the name of the carrier he crash-landed upon. This would be a significant event in one's military career and as such it would have been well documented. There are no military records of this incident to support Mr. Keith's assertion that:
1. he was a Navy Aviator,
2. he piloted an F4 Phantom over Hanoi in 1972
3. his aircraft was hit by a S.A.M.
4. he was awarded a Purple Heart for the incident
Purple Heart #2: In 1974, Mr. Keith was shot while on patrol with a Marine unit:
Mr. Keith described how he, a Navy Aviator, was assigned to MACV and with a Marine unit. While out on patrol in Vietnam, he and the Marines were involved in a firefight and Mr. Keith was struck with an AK-47 round in the chest that exited his back.
MACV was disbanded in 1973 and Mr. Keith was discharged from active duty in the Navy in 1973.
In contradiction to his story, a medical summary report from the VA Medical Center (provided by Mr. Keith) states Keith was struck by a round and suffered “bruising,” a significant contradiction from being struck by an AK-47 round that entered his chest and exited his back.
There are no military records to confirm Mr. Keith was the recipient of the Purple Heart or of this alleged incident.
Mr. Keith Claimed to Have Flown Off the Carrier, USS Constellation:
A search of records for the USS Constellation did not locate a Philip Allen Keith aboard the carrier as a fighter pilot or in any other capacity. This was determined by exhaustive review of the ships Cruise Books, which lists the personnel assigned to the carrier during a particular year. In fact, the name of Philip Keith cannot be located anywhere for the period 1969-1972.
Mr. Keith claimed degrees from various universities. In some biographies, he states he did Masters “work”: True & False
Confirmed by the National Student Clearing House. Copies of records available.
A records check with Harvard University confirmed Mr. Keith earned his undergraduate degree.
A records check with Long Island University indicated he attended the university from 9/1/2001 to 6/16/2003, but never earned a degree.
A records check with UC Berkeley revealed no record of Mr. Keith having ever attended the university.
Mr. Keith attended San Jose State University, where he studied Cybernetic System from 9/4/1975 to 6/1/1977, but did not earn a degree.
Mr. Keith’s DD-214 provided by the VA Medical Center: Highly Suspect/Questionable
When asked for documentation of his military service, Mr. Keith had the VA Medical Center (not the National Personnel Records Center) send a copy of his DD-214. An Assistant Director with National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) compared the VA Medical DD-214 with the official DD-214 on file with the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). While operating within the parameters of extreme confidentiality, the Assistant Director indicated the VA Medical DD-214 and the official one on file with National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) contained serious discrepancies.
Suspect Information Contained in the VA Medical DD-214:
• Retired from Navy
• Rank: Captain (Sel) 06 * *
• Awards as they appear: SS, DFC(2), BS(w/o V), AM(2 S/F, 1 INDIV.) PH(3), MSM, NCM(3), NAM, PUC, NUC(2), NDSM, Viet SM, AFEM(Korea), EXP Rifle, EXP Pistol, Viet CAM, Viet PUC
* Please note - among the many awards listed to Mr. Keith is the Silver Star, our nations 3rd highest Medal of Valor.
** When asked what Captain (Sel) 06 referred to, Mr. Keith wrote (verbatim):
“A Navy selection board chose me for promotion to Captain (O-6). In order to make it permanent, I would have had to agree to served two more years. I had a lucrative offer in the private sector and I was ready to move on, so I got out instead. I did not don or wear captain’s stripes until I was recalled to active duty in 1990 for Desert One.”
The significant difference and discrepancies between the DD-214 from the VA Medical Center and the official DD-214 on file with the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) suggests:
1.The records at NPRC and the Navy Awards Section, two agencies responsible for official files of military personnel, are in error and missing supporting documents and significant awards, resulting in a monumental disservice of epic proportions to Mr. Keith, or
2.The DD-214 provided by the VA Medical Center is a doctored, fraudulent document
As of May 2016, I have received no documentation from Mr. Keith to support or dispute any of the above information.
Thank you for taking the time to read this entry. As always, I welcome feedback of any type. I would appreciate hearing from Mr. Keith, friends, colleagues or associates of Mr. Keith and especially from military veterans.
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
