Phony Veteran: Difference between revisions

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[[File:phonyvet_3487.png|link=VG Cats ~~(Webcomic)~~|frame|Clearly he experienced all the horrors of war firsthand.]]

[[File:phonyvet_3487.png|link=VG Cats|frame|Clearly he experienced all the horrors of war firsthand.]]

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== [[Comic Books]] ==

* In the [[~~Superman (Comic Book)|~~Superman]] comics, Robert DuBois has a mental breakdown and becomes obsessed with the Vietnam War, after learning that his brother, Michael aka "Micky" had gone to fight in his place and became a quadruple amputee. Robert starts claiming that he actually fought in the war alongside his brother. Lex Luthor equips him as the supervillain Bloodsport and sends him up against Superman.

* In the [[Superman]] comics, Robert DuBois has a mental breakdown and becomes obsessed with the Vietnam War, after learning that his brother, Michael aka "Micky" had gone to fight in his place and became a quadruple amputee. Robert starts claiming that he actually fought in the war alongside his brother. Lex Luthor equips him as the supervillain Bloodsport and sends him up against Superman.

* In ''[[Vigilante]]'', Dave Winston (a.k.a. the Vigilante) is horrified when he runs across a man nicknamed 'Sarge' who fantasises about the Vietnam War (the same war Dave served in) and falsely claims to have served.

== [[Film]] -- Animated ==

* Fowler from ''[[~~Chicken Run (Animation)|~~Chicken Run]]'' says he belonged to a Royal Air Force squadron. While he was indeed part of a ''human'' squadron, it isn't at all like the other chickens think, so when Ginger tells him to go pilot the airplane they built ...

* Fowler from ''[[Chicken Run]]'' says he belonged to a Royal Air Force squadron. While he was indeed part of a ''human'' squadron, it isn't at all like the other chickens think, so when Ginger tells him to go pilot the airplane they built ...

{{quote| '''Fowler''': 644 Squadron, Poultry Division - we were the mascots.<br />

'''Ginger''': You mean you never actually *flew* the plane?<br />

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* In ''[[Due Date]]'' Peter thinks that a guy they're talking to is one of these. When he comes out from behind his desk, he's in a wheelchair. And proceeds to beat Peter up. Ouch.

* Movie critic Stephen Hunter has speculated that Travis Bickle lied about being a Viet Nam veteran in ''[[Taxi Driver]]''. Which [[Unreliable Narrator|wouldn't be out of character]] for Bickle.

* 'General' Brad Whitaker in ''[[~~The Living Daylights (Film)|~~The Living Daylights]]''. General Puskin gives a scathing rundown of his actual military record.

* 'General' Brad Whitaker in ''[[The Living Daylights]]''. General Puskin gives a scathing rundown of his actual military record.

* Early in ''[[Payback]]'', [[Villain Protagonist]] Porter passes by a beggar who claims to be a crippled Vietnam veteran. When Porter goes to take some of the "crippled" beggar's money, the guy immediately leaps to his feet and tries to stop Porter. Naturally, it's strongly hinted that he's lying about being a vet too.

== [[Literature]] ==

* Thenardier of ''[[Les Misérables]]'' spent the Napoleonic Wars robbing corpses but boasts about his war heroism, had an inn with a patriotic title, and in [[Les Misérables (~~Theatre~~)|the musical]] is introduced dressed as a Napoleonic soldier.

* Thenardier of ''[[Les Misérables]]'' spent the Napoleonic Wars robbing corpses but boasts about his war heroism, had an inn with a patriotic title, and in [[Les Misérables (theatre)|the musical]] is introduced dressed as a Napoleonic soldier.

* In the [[Posleen War Series]] book ''Hell's Faire'', by [[John Ringo]], when visiting No Name Key in Florida, [[Badass|Mike O'Neal Jr's]] claim of being in the military is initially questioned by the residents, thanks to them having been fooled, previously, by someone claiming to be a veteran to leech off of them.

* While he actually did serve in [[World War One]], [[The Humphrey|Grimes]] in [[Evelyn Waugh]]'s novel ''Decline and Fall'' serves as an example. He is missing a leg, and while he received the injury after the war from being hit by a car, his pupils (he's a schoolmaster) assume that this was a war injury, a notion of which he does nothing to disabuse them.

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* In ''[[Dad's Army ~~(TV)~~|Dads Army]]'', Captain Mainwaring sometimes goes on about his service in the Great War, although he actually served in 1919 after the war had ended. It's especially ironic as he leads a platoon full of genuine veterans, including a Military Medal recipient.

* In ''[[Dad's Army|Dads Army]]'', Captain Mainwaring sometimes goes on about his service in the Great War, although he actually served in 1919 after the war had ended. It's especially ironic as he leads a platoon full of genuine veterans, including a Military Medal recipient.

* Inverted by Pops, in ''[[Time Gentlemen Please]]'', who "didn't fight in World War II... admittedly".

* The beginning of the very first episode of ''[[Cheers]]'' has a kid trying to using a fake military ID to buy beer. A kid who's ''12 at most'':

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'''Sam''': Yeah, that's what they say. "War is gross". ''[gives back the ID]'' I'm sorry soldier.<br />

'''Kid''': ''[beat]'' This is the thanks we get. }}

* An episode of ''[[House (TV)|House]]'' (the episode after House has gone back to working at Princeton Plainsboro, after recovering from {{spoiler|going insane and then realizing that only diagnostics gives him the constant thrill he needs to keep the pain down, now that Vicodin is no longer an option}}) features a very cranky man with one arm, living in the apartment below Wilson's. Allegedly he served in Vietnam, which is where he lost the arm. Subverted in that he actually did serve - just not in Vietnam. And not in the U.S. Army; he's actually {{spoiler|a Canadian citizen}} who lost the arm during {{spoiler|a peace-keeping mission, while trying to save a kid from a landmine in a country ''near'' Vietnam.}} He's irritable for much the same reasons House is: he's in constant pain, due to phantom limb pain; House {{spoiler|fixes this}} and the guy ''breaks down crying with relief'' because {{spoiler|for the first time in over thirty years, he isn't in agony.}} It's never made clear whether he stopped claiming he was in Nam - it's implied, when he's telling House what really happened to his arm, that he just finds it easier to let people think it was Nam rather than deal with the questions that the truth would spur.

* An episode of ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' (the episode after House has gone back to working at Princeton Plainsboro, after recovering from {{spoiler|going insane and then realizing that only diagnostics gives him the constant thrill he needs to keep the pain down, now that Vicodin is no longer an option}}) features a very cranky man with one arm, living in the apartment below Wilson's. Allegedly he served in Vietnam, which is where he lost the arm. Subverted in that he actually did serve - just not in Vietnam. And not in the U.S. Army; he's actually {{spoiler|a Canadian citizen}} who lost the arm during {{spoiler|a peace-keeping mission, while trying to save a kid from a landmine in a country ''near'' Vietnam.}} He's irritable for much the same reasons House is: he's in constant pain, due to phantom limb pain; House {{spoiler|fixes this}} and the guy ''breaks down crying with relief'' because {{spoiler|for the first time in over thirty years, he isn't in agony.}} It's never made clear whether he stopped claiming he was in Nam - it's implied, when he's telling House what really happened to his arm, that he just finds it easier to let people think it was Nam rather than deal with the questions that the truth would spur.

* Richie in ''[[Bottom]]'' frequently tries to pass himself off as a war veteran, but is inevitably undone by his own stupidity and Eddie.

** In "Apocalypse", he claims to have "Hurt my leg in the Falklands Conflict".

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{{quote| '''Eddie''': Ah, yes by 'war' I assume you mean Operation Desert Storm, by 'Burma', the Star of Burma kebab and peep show on the Uxbridge road in which you spent the entire conflict, and by 'desperate rearguard action' I take it you are referring to the time you accidentally went into the same cubicle as Mad Quentin Trousers-Down Pervy O'Blimey.<br />

'''Richie''': I was doing my bit Eddie. I was doing my bit. }}

* Captain Peacock of ''[[Are You Being Served? ~~(TV)~~|Are You Being Served]]'' claims to have fought Rommel in [[World War II]] and (of course) to have been a captain (in the Army, of course); however, he later admits he served in the Royal Army Service Corps--the logistics department.

* Captain Peacock of ''[[Are You Being Served?|Are You Being Served]]'' claims to have fought Rommel in [[World War II]] and (of course) to have been a captain (in the Army, of course); however, he later admits he served in the Royal Army Service Corps--the logistics department.

* In ''[[Boardwalk Empire]]'', Al Capone claims to be a veteran of World War I, and says he served in the Lost Battalion. A real veteran eventually figures him out and calls him on it. Capone's claims are [[Truth in Television]].

* In ''[[~~Its~~ Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'', Charlie figures out that he can get free lapdances if he claims to be a crippled war veteran. He adopts a costume straight out of ''[[Born On the Fourth of July]]''. Frank steals his idea and one-ups him by pretending to be quadriplegic. Ultimately the ruse is pointless, since Frank showers the strippers with money to get even more attention.

* In ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'', Charlie figures out that he can get free lapdances if he claims to be a crippled war veteran. He adopts a costume straight out of ''[[Born On the Fourth of July]]''. Frank steals his idea and one-ups him by pretending to be quadriplegic. Ultimately the ruse is pointless, since Frank showers the strippers with money to get even more attention.

* Basil Fawlty of ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'', of all people, was apparently in Korea: when he threatens a guest with "I've killed men!" his wife adds "he was in the Catering Corps. He poisoned them."

* An episode of ''[[8 Simple Rules]]'' had one of these. Rory was hanging out with a friend while on vacation, and his parents wanted to meet the friend to make sure he wasn't causing trouble. They're very surprised when the friend turns out to be a 70+ year old vet... and surprised again when a police brings both Rory and the old man back, then berates the man for telling "that war vet story" again.

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== [[Video Games]] ==

* Coach Oleander in ''[[~~Psychonauts (Video Game)|~~Psychonauts]]'' was never involved in a war, despite his mindscape; a mental vault reveals that he was actually rejected when he tried to join the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and even the cooking staff wouldn't take him.

* Coach Oleander in ''[[Psychonauts]]'' was never involved in a war, despite his mindscape; a mental vault reveals that he was actually rejected when he tried to join the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and even the cooking staff wouldn't take him.

* The heavy weapons dealer, Phil Cassidy, from the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series wears military-style clothes, and claims to have lost his left arm when he was stationed in Nicaragua. ''GTA Vice City'' reveals that he never was in the army, who turned him down numerous times because of his bad temper and tendency towards alcoholism, and that he lost his arm due to an accident with a homemade bomb.

* [[Subverted]] by the Soldier in ''[[~~Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|~~Team Fortress 2]]''. On the one hand, contrary to his claims, he has never served a day in any regular army, and all those medals on his chest were actually self-awarded; on the other, he ''did'' (if he must say so himself) earn the aforementioned medals by flying himself out to war zones and fighting on his own initiative, and it is hard to argue with his prowess...

* [[Subverted]] by the Soldier in ''[[Team Fortress 2]]''. On the one hand, contrary to his claims, he has never served a day in any regular army, and all those medals on his chest were actually self-awarded; on the other, he ''did'' (if he must say so himself) earn the aforementioned medals by flying himself out to war zones and fighting on his own initiative, and it is hard to argue with his prowess...

** If you check the dates, however, it looks more like he spent much of that time ''murdering German civilians'' after the war was over.

* Played with in ''[[Deadly Premonition]]'' with General Lysander. York calls him out on the fact that he's wearing a ''sergeant's'' uniform. {{spoiler|It turns out he really ''was'' promoted to General in Vietnam, but kept his old uniform out of guilt.}}

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== [[Western Animation]] ==

* ''[[The Simpsons (~~Animation~~)|The Simpsons]]'':

* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'':

** In one episode, Homer claims to be a Vietnam vet in order to get free admittance to the State Fair.

** Subverted by Grampa- when he tells Bart about his experiences in [[World War One]], Barts calls him out on it, pointing out that he couldn't ''possibly'' be that old. Grandpa corrects him, cutting to a flashback of a five-year-old Abe in an over-sized uniform.