Honored Texan's Medal Claims Fraudulent?
But his claim of receiving combat medals, including the Navy Cross for exceptional valor in World War II, is now in question.
Herring died in 2004 at age 89, and his grave is in an honored place reserved for people whose actions defined Texas history and culture. Governors, signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence and artist Tom Lea, an El Paso native, all are buried at the Texas State Cemetery.
Herring was eligible for burial there because of 17 years of service as a Democratic state senator from Austin. He worked for Johnson when the future president was a congressman, and he managed the Austin headquarters for Johnson's successful Senate campaign. Herring was U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas during 1951-55, making him the region's top prosecutor.
Herring served in the Navy during World War II. However, his stories of combat injuries and heroism appear to be false.
His online biography, posted by the Texas State Cemetery, states that Herring received the Navy Cross, three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star before leaving the service as a lieutenant commander. The Navy Cross is the second-highest decoration for combat valor, behind only the Medal of Honor.
"His official biography is one of the worst war stories I've ever seen," said Doug Sterner, creator of a Web site chronicling the actions of people who received the nation's top medals for combat valor. Sterner used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain Herring's military records.
Those records state that Herring left the Navy Reserve in 1953 as a lieutenant junior grade, two ranks below lieutenant commander, after 10 years of service. The records also show no medals related to combat duty for Herring.
He did receive medals for participating in campaigns in the Pacific and the Philippines.
Charles F. Herring Jr., who lives in Austin, said his father legally changed the spelling of his name in 1963 from "Hering" to "Herring" and suggested there may be more than one set of military records. However, he said, his father used the more common spelling of "Herring" as long as he could remember.
"We know that our father fought in the South Pacific, as a landing craft commander at invasions at Leyte Gulf and elsewhere," the younger Herring said in an e-mail. "He was lucky to come back alive, and his family is proud of his service."
Herring said that most surviving family members were not alive during the war, have no personal knowledge of the events and have not seen the records.
"If he misstated his record in any way, that would be very sad for us and others," Herring said. "We would regret that and want any misstatement in the record corrected."
Sterner's Web site is used by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to help verify requests for specialized license plates related to military service. Sterner and his wife, Pam, were the force behind the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, a law sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo.
That law makes it easier to prosecute people who falsely claim to have received military medals.
"It's not just the lower-level people who do this stuff," Doug Sterner said.
Sterner also works with other organizations, including the Legion of Valor, which was founded in 1890 and chartered by Congress in 1955. The legion collects information on people who have received the nation's highest medals, including the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross and the Air Force Cross.
Donald Mason, the legion's national commander, said the records provided by Sterner indicate that Herring's biography is fraudulent.
"This is a most egregious case of stolen valor, " Mason wrote in an e-mail to Sterner. "I will strive to expunge from all official Texas records any reference to Mr. Herring's fraudulent claims of combat action and decorations."
Last summer, Mason called the office of Speaker of the House Joe Straus at the State Capitol in Austin. Mason said he chose Straus because of his support of veterans. An attorney in Straus' office told him there was not enough evidence to proceed, Mason said.
"The speaker's office is still working on this issue," said Tracy Young, a spokeswoman for Straus.
She said the office's legal staff is looking for documentation. If it finds evidence that the claims are false, the documentation will be forwarded to staff members of the Texas State Cemetery, she said.
Mason, a retired Navy master chief petty officer, said anybody making false claims should be exposed. He said fraudulent claims of heroism diminish the sacrifice made by people who fought and died in combat.
"We're such a unique organization, and there's only about 540 of us nationwide," said Mason, who received a Navy Cross during the Korean War. "It's an honor and a responsibility to protect and recognize the members."
