Democratic Maryland Governor Wes Moore admitted on Thursday to making “an honest mistake” when he falsely claimed to have received a prestigious Bronze Star on a 2006 White House fellowship application.
At the time, Moore was 27 and he is now attributing the error to his Army superiors, stating he didn’t correct it due to his eagerness to “begin the next phase” of his life. This admission came after a New York Times report highlighted the embellishment.
“These are the facts,” the Maryland governor wrote in his lengthy statement. “While serving overseas with the Army, I was encouraged to fill out an application for the White House Fellowship by my deputy brigade commander. In fact, he helped me edit it before I sent it in. At the time, he had recommended me for the Bronze Star. He told me to include the Bronze Star award on my application after confirming with two other senior-level officers that they had also signed off on the commendation.”
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Moore noted that his deputy brigade commander “felt comfortable with instructing me to include the award” on the application because he was under the impression that the medal for heroic or meritorious service had already been “approved by his senior leadership.”
“In the military, there is an understanding that if a senior officer tells you that an action is approved, you can trust that as a fact. That is why it was part of the application, plain and simple,” the governor explained.
“Towards the end of my deployment, I was disappointed to learn that I hadn’t received the Bronze Star. But I was ready to begin the next phase of my life,” Moore continued.
During his 2022 gubernatorial campaign, Moore was credited with receiving the Bronze Star in media interviews but never clarified that he had not received the award, reports the Associated Press.
In his statement, Moore expressed regret for not correcting the error on his application but did not explain why he failed to address the misinformation during those interviews.
“I sincerely wish I had gone back to correct the note on my application,” he wrote. “It was an honest mistake, and I regret not making that correction.”
According to his official biography, Moore deployed to Afghanistan as a lieutenant with the 82nd Airborne Division in 2005. He was later selected as a White House Fellow, where he advised on national security and international relations.
The revelation of Moore’s embellishment coincides with scrutiny over Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s military service. Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance accused Walz of “stolen valor” for claiming to have carried weapons “in war,” despite never serving in combat during his 24 years in the National Guard.
Walz, 60, has faced criticism for making false statements about his rank in the National Guard and for retiring as his battalion prepared to deploy to Iraq in 2005.
“Over the last few weeks, our country has grown used to seeing what it looks like when a veteran’s integrity is attacked for political gain,” Moore wrote, in an apparent reference to Walz.
“But those who seek to cast doubt on our records misunderstand something fundamental about true patriots, who have put on the flag of our country and put everything on the line to be called Americans: We don’t get shaken. We put our heads down, and we do the work. And that is what I will continue to do,” his statement concluded.
