Steve Slaton, an Arizona GOP legislative candidate, “has much to be proud of,” says the Vietnam veteran who helped draft the Stolen Valor Act. “He had three years of military active-duty service, and that should be enough.”
So why did Slaton claim to be a Cobra gunship co-pilot in the Vietnam War, when he enlisted after the war was over, and served as a helicopter mechanic who was never in Vietnam? (Story here, video below.)
Probably because he’s an underdog in a highly competitive primary, and felt he needed some extra tailwind. But even if he hadn’t been caught embellishing his military record, would it have helped him? Military chops don’t seem to have the political heft they used to.
By the way, Slaton is a Trump fan, and runs a Trump merchandise store. The irony that Trump is a Vietnam draft dodger who has disparaged fallen American soldiers seems over his head.