We have been tracking Wahya / Cameron since November 2022 when a number of articles were published in the New Hamburg, Ontario region detailing the impact of his claimed combat service in Afghanistan and the personal struggles that followed.
There were a couple of red flags in the stories including the confused details of casualty producing incident occurring in early July 2007 while the nomenclature used to describe his claims caused us to have a closer look.
“One day, when Gagage Wahya was serving in the armed forces during the Afghan war in July 2007, his troop’s (COR342) convoy was ambushed.
“We had an IED that was buried in the ground and in the middle of the road that went off,” recalled Wahya who’s now a fire keeper at Crow Shield Lodge in New Hamburg. Then there were gunfire exchanges for about 20 minutes.
“I struggle with PTSD, with complex trauma,” Wahya said, recounting one of the most troubling experiences he faced in the military. Two people died and six were injured as a result of the incident. “And that’s where a lot of my PTSD comes from,” said Wahya, who still undergoes counselling…
…Wahya was 18 years old when he joined the military and served for almost five years.
The first two years were with the armed forces and the last two and a half were with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The Anishinaabe man was a victim of the Sixties Scoop, a term that refers to the mass removal of Indigenous children from their families into the child welfare system.
“Those were the types of things that I had to go through with verbal abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, and sexual abuse for years and years and years until I emancipated myself and unfortunately went down a path of coping that wasn’t healthy, which was drugs and alcohol,” Wahya said.
He went into service as a teenager thinking it’d solve some of his problems, but instead they “exacerbated” them…
(New Hamburg Independent – 14 Nov 2022)
…Wahya’s banner is amongst the 74 banners that the New Hamburg Legion hung to honour veterans this Remembrance Day… (New Hamburg Independent – 8 Nov 2022)
Somewhat impossible for this individual to have served in Kandahar during the timeframe he claims that he was involved in an IED strike as he was busting the moves in these images from June / July 2007!
Why do individuals like Wahya / Cameron create a faux military persona and claim to have been followed home by the demons of Kandahar and what do they gain from their actions?
Over the course of the past 10 years, it’s become apparent that the vast majority of individuals reported to us are nothing more than grifters & con artists who lie, cheat or steal for their own personal gain.
They have used their “special status” to attend armed forces ceremonies and parades, military themed galas and high profile sporting events as VIP guests. Some have participated in fully funded overseas pilgrimages & adventurous expeditions, more have “advocated” on veterans issues without the requisite knowledge, experience or service.
Many have used their fake military narratives and tales of battlefield injuries to advance their employment opportunities & political aspirations.
Others are involved in intimidation, theft, fraud including accessing veteran/military discounts, questionable charity schemes, embezzlement and dating scams.
It’s our position that Wahya / Cameron is an imposter, he has absolutely no military service and would likely have difficulty finding Kandahar on a map.
His military themed fairy tales, created for his own personal gain, insult the service and sacrifice of legitimate veterans and it’s long past time for him to get on his knees and apologize for his reprehensible actions.
We consider the matter closed and trust that he’ll sort himself out and continue his work supporting his community and the veterans within it…
Updated 31 Jan 2023
