Mr LePotvin liked to tell his stories of searchin’ and killin’ missions in the jungles of Vietnam as an eighteen year old Staff Sergeant paratrooper.
A friend of SVC, thought that perhaps, LePotvin was being less than truthful as his Army timeline didn’t marry up with recorded history. So, we were asked to look at a couple of photographic images…
As per our SOP, we contacted LePotvin and asked him to help us sort out the situation and, we received this in return.
He then quickly dumped all of his social media accounts however, it ain’t our first time at the rodeo and we scooped up anything of interest before connecting with him…
So, we asked our American Partners at “This Ain’t Hell”, the pre-eminent Stolen Valour (or “Valor”) web site in the United States for their assistance in determining fact from fiction.
Those fine folks easily punched holes in LePotvin’s story and they contacted the US National Personnel Records Center (not Centre) as permitted by US law, to obtain his military records.
The Bottom Line
Mr LePotvin was encouraged, by members of the Sarnia Veterans Community, to surrender the bogus medals and apologize for his reprehensible actions.
He’s done the former, and we are still waiting for him to do the latter.
Is that RCAF ink on his right forearm? Weird, as he was never a member of the CAF either….
Robert LUPTON Hamilton, OntarioPaul ABBOTT Sudbury, Ontario area.Robert J McKinnon Calgary, AlbertaMarianne KNAI Longueuil PQ, Esquimalt BC, Dallas TexasKai Corey DUPS Kent County MichiganBradley BELL Calgary Alberta“captain” Simon Derothschild Cornwall On/Montreal QcMario GRENIER, Quebec.Mario GRENIER, QuebecMark OSBORNE, Moncton, NBWilliam GREUSHCOW Ottawa, OntarioAlbert BRUM Honolulu, Hawaii / Hamilton OntarioAndy “Kruzer” KRUZYNSKI Kincardine, OntarioPatrick VANDAL Drummondville, QuebecPatrick VANDAL Drummondville, QuebecWilliam (Bill) MacKenzie Niagara Falls, OntarioCaptain Robert HASTINGS Kingston, OnHendrik Van der pol Summerside, PEIMark S Beres Beachville, OntarioJohann JEPPE Calgary, Alberta.Kenneth LAROCHE Sudbury, Copper Cliff, Orillia OntarioAndy WRIGHT Edmonton Area, Alberta.Dwayne Curtis EISEN Okanagan Falls, BC Stephen EVANS Wallaceburg, Ontario James FRENCH Cloverdale, BC “SIR” Brent HABETLER Lloydminster, Sk
Terry “captain landmine” BIRCH Cornwall, Ontario
Thomas QUIGLEY GTA, OntarioKen POITRAS Winnipeg, ManitobaMatthew CONNOLLY Kentville, NS Robert DESABRAIS Warren, Ontario Hubert MEYERS Fort Frances, OntarioHerne STEELGRAVE was Gary Reginald ROWE aka Herne GALLOWSGLASSJean Charles PERREAULT Levis/Bagotville, Quebec Jean Charles PERREAULT Levis/Bagotville QuebecJacques “Ti-Co” HAMEL Trois Riviere, Quebec Mark S HALDEN St Catherines, Ontario Daniel WHITSELL Windsor, OntarioGerry CONWAY Guelph, Ontario Andrew Robert FARROW KW Ontario / Nanaimo BC Stephen Dennis McDONALD Calgary, Alberta David MacKENZIE Dugald, ManitobaJean Pierre ISORE St Jean sur Richelieu, QuebecJean-Pierre Isore St Jean sur Richelieu, Quebec
Matthew TREMBLAY Thornloe, OntarioJohn Edward JOHNSTON Nipawin, SkRyan FOSTER Calgary, AlbertaRichard IVIE Calgary, AlbertaDaniel “Fon-Fon” LAFONTAINE Quebec City, QuebecWilliam Edward LANG Pembroke, OntarioOskar KONTORSKY GTA, OntarioWayne JOHNSTON Toronto, OntarioJoe FRAGA Surrey, BCHelmut KRES Edmonton, Alberta Eric JANSSENS Orono/Bowmanville, OntarioJames M DOBSON Windsor, Ontario Robert COOPER Wetaskiwin, AlbertaDennis C SURRENDI Nanton, AlbertaIan DEWAR aka DEWAR-ADAIR Hamilton, OntarioJames WELLHEISER Ayr, OntarioElwyn/Elwin EVANS Teulon, ManitobaDavid Jeffrey DODD Peterborough, OntarioCurtis ROUSH Smithville, OntarioDavid C TOWNSEND PEIDonald LEMMOND aka TYRELL Hamilton, OntarioByron S RODRIGUEZ North Battleford, SkArnold LePOTVIN Sarnia, OntarioRichard FANCY Halifax, NSLawrence PATTERSON Amherst, NSRobert Wayne KELSO Antigonish, NSEarl Clarence WOOLERY III Markdale, OntarioPeter Miklos TOTH Red Deer, AlbertaBob KELLY Leamington, OntarioFranck GERVAIS Cantley, QuebecArt MURRAY Cornwall, OntarioGerry MORGAN Chatham, OntarioMichael McNaught Kingston, OnSean BALDACCIN aka MARTIN aka HILTS Northbrook, OntarioDale GRAY Oshawa, OntarioDavid Christie Whycocomagh, NSSteven A MARTENS Scotch Creek, BCCarl DALE Kingston, OntarioIan NEWBY Aldergrove, BCArt LEONARD GTA, OntarioPascal MIRON Repentigny, QuebecAshley ZEDNER GTA, OntarioMichel- Eric CASTONGUAY Levis, QuebecAlexandre / Andre ASTLE Pembroke, OntarioPeter PASANEN Burnaby, BCRobert N White Petroli, OntarioClayton DONOGHUE Orillia, OntarioRobert “Bobby” COLLINS Saanich, BC
What I just don’t get is why all these morons continue to pull the same shit, i.e – They are ALWAYS either JTF2, ex-airborne or snipers with the RCR or PPCLI. (Or ex-SEAL’s, Delta or SAS) Next up, they almost ALWAYS have a ridiculous rack of medals and almost always have at least ONE medal for Valour.
Do they not realise that real soldiers in an Army as small as ours can easily find out if they actually served anywhere quite quickly? Do they not realise that real soldiers can ask a few questions to them and be able to smell bullshit from their answers?
One of my favorite responses from these dicks is “My file is sealed.” Oh really asshole? Guess what? ALL our “files” are “sealed” and cannot be accessed until a specific number of years have elapsed after our deaths unless we specifically make the request to obtain a copy. You want to try pulling off being a poser successfully,(although a real soldier will still be able to suss you out easily with a few questions) then stop trying to be a super soldier. Be a grey man.
Don’t be a sniper/airborne jumper/special forces guy. Be a regular infantryman in a line Company and make certain you do not claim a rank higher than Corporal.
Next, if you want to try and make yourself look like a soldier who actually did something, make your rack common – A GCS, CPSM, SFOR and CD. No one would look twice at that rack and raise alarm bells but you still get to have some medals to impress the “civvies” at the Remembrance Day parades. Study the uniform of the unit you intend to pose as to make sure your buttons and bows are of the right type and placement is correct. Avoid the temptation to score a sand or maroon coloured beret and skip over the jump wings / pathfinder pins on eBay.
I know the urge to look like a real war hero is strong, but these accoutrements almost always send real soldier’s fake soldier radar up. Avoid Legion’s and service clubs at all costs – real soldiers and Veterans will be there and your odds of getting caught increase by a factor of 10.
Avoid the online military forums completely. There, you will only find real soldiers and Veterans going back 50-60 years and your fuckery will be sussed out rapidly with such a large collection of troops who have served in virtually every time period. branch and trade from WWII to present. Alas, the egos of these shit stains is simply to gargantuan to allow themselves to fabricate themselves as a regular, run of the mill soldier who served in relative ignominy in a line Company. Their need to be viewed as a real war hero is simply to strong for them to create their Veteran persona in a common light.
Those of us who served honourably, but not as “war heroes” are extremely proud of our service and feel no need to embellish.
I did my part and am proud of that.
I have friends who earned MMV’s and SMV’s whom I respect greatly, but to steal those distinctions you have never earned, in this Veteran’s opinion, is the ultimate in scumbag.
Sadly, SVC will be doing this work as long as we have a military, as pathetic individuals will continually be popping out of the woodwork as long as there is glory and honour there for the stealing.
In the Summer of 2017, SVC was asked to have a look at Mr Milan Kres’ claims after he made some outrageous claims on multiple Airborne and Special Forces webpages and forums.
He claimed to have been an airborne soldier and special forces operator who had deployed world wide and lost men in battle.
Mr Kres has absolutely NO lawful entitlement to these medals and and what they represent.
Nice try shit ball… Not really!
When questioned by legitimate soldiers, Kres produced his serialized Canadian Airborne Regiment coin as proof of service. The coin pictured, is a poor copy of the original version and can be bought online $24.99 / engraving is extra…
What we do know, Kres was militia member with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment in the late 1970s, he left the Reserve Force after a short period of time, and then did all of his soldiering on-line, at military surplus stores and in the tattoo parlour.
Former Private Kres has yet to apologize for his actions, surrender the bogus items, and he continues to be seen at military related events in the Edmonton area.
Lest we forget.
*** UPDATE – 4 August 2020 ***
Way back in 2017, SVC was asked to look at the claims being made by Milan Helmut KRES of Edmonton Alberta. He claimed to have been an airborne soldier and special forces operator who had deployed on operations world wide and lost men in battle.
His claims resulted in considerable discussion in veterans forums and we took every efforts to contact him in order to sort out the situation.
His response?
Kres deleted the images of the medals, insignia and certificates and went silent.
Perhaps, he heard foot steps after SVC initiated the “Shameless Sunday” showcase of unrepentant posers, fakes and embellishers who had yet to responsibility for their actions.
After 3 years of silence Mr Kres contacted us last week and stated that he wanted to make amends and asked what steps he had to take in order to do so.
As the window to pursue criminal charges against him had long since closed, Kres was advised that a public apology for his reprehensible actions would be a starting point.
He was further advised that surrendering the bogus medals, badges, insignia and certificates for appropriate disposal action would confirm his commitment to never use them as props in a game of military make believe.
A SVC representative met with Kres on 4 August 2020 and took control of assorted bogus items. These items will be properly disposed of / placed on display in military facilities as appropriate or applicable.
We were sent links to a story in which David Eugene Christie detailed his exploits in South East Asia / Vietnam. The conflict between the stories and recorded history was apparent from the start, and our research team took action.
What we have learned, Christie was a member of the Royal Canadian Navy & he was shown the door very shortly after completing recruit school (serial 6934) at CFB Cornwallis, NS. He was never qualified as a radioman or “medic” however, he claims he volunteered to deployed to the Republic of Vietnam with a “non-combatant” platoon of medical evacuation lifesavers and he was personally responsible for saving over 100 lives.
Christie says that he spent 15 months in country with 1st Div/2nd Reg Medevac Unit #6934, quite the coincidence that his medevac unit would have the same number as his recruit school serial…
Now, why would he be wearing a WW2 medal group and the hat badge of a unit he never served in?
Obviously, many people have been negatively impacted by his lies including family, friends & legion mates. We understand that they are all shocked to discover that’s he’s not the man they thought he was.
Mr Christie most likely believes that what he has perpetrated is essentially, harmless and victimless however, his published fairy tales resulted in considerable grief to the surviving sister of then, 19 year old Ranger Sergeant Rob McSorley, a Canadian who was killed in action in Vietnam while serving with L Company (Ranger), 75th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division.
Rob’s sister wrote “ This fellow makes me very angry! How dare a fake like him even mention Rob’s name. This is disgusting!! My brother was an honourable man & unfortunately died at a young age – a little over a week past his 19th birthday. Even after all these years, it is still painful & I miss him every day. Mr. Christie has no honour & he should refrain from mentioning my brother’s name in future as he didn’t know him or experience what he went through as he wasn’t there. Mr. Christie, if you’re reading this, please own up to being a fake. In other words, be a MAN!! My brother was more of a man at 18/19 than you will ever”
Sgt Rob McSorley KIA 8 April 1970 http://www.virtualwall.org/dm/McsorleyRG01a.htm
We live in Cape Breton, and for about the last 10 years he (Mr Christie) has been “dressing up” and attending as a “veteran”- Remembrance Day Ceremonies in communities in our surrounding areas as well as schools.
Christie claims that his CO from his Vietnam days, travelled to Cape Breton to award him his Vietnam Campaign Medal..
Christie’s personal shrine which includes a WW2 “six pack” and assorted privately purchased medals of no legal standing.
Time to apologize for your reprehensible actions, surrender the bogus items and just fade away Mr Christie…
Mr Elwyn/Elwin David EVANS of Teulon / Komarno MANITOBA claims he served in 2 Squadron of the SAS and was taken POW in Vietnam however, Australian Government records tell a different story. The Aus SASR and the NZ SAS served in Vietnam, and there are legends that the UK SAS may have fought alongside them. However, there were No Diggers or Kiwis taken POW during the Vietnam War, and it isn’t a great stretch of the imagination to say that there were no UK POWs either. Mr EVANS is just another just another poser who believes standing next to legitimate veterans, serving CF and RCMP members validates his claims…
Evans has never heard the Odd Angry Shot, the closest he got was the Routine Painful Shit!
Regardless of his claimed country of origin and service, Evans isn’t a recipient of the Military Cross (MC)! He’s rockin’ Sergeant’s rank badges, and during his time of his “service” in Vietnam only Officers below the rank of Major and Warrant Officers were eligible recipients…
He’s not listed on any of the MC databases (UK, Aus, NZ). This dude is an imposter who has worn a pseudo-uniform adorned with unearned medals & insignia and spews tales of his adventures in SE Asia for a gullible audience!
Military Cross (MC)– A third tier gallantry medal, roughly equivalent to Canada’s Medal of Military Valour (MMV), awarded by the UK, Australia, New Zealand and previously Canada.
The MC was/is awarded for exemplary gallantry in the field, and was available only to Warrant Officers and Officers prior to 1993. This would preclude “Sergeant” EVANS for being so recognized during the Vietnam War.
All MCs are named with the recipient’s name and year of the award. Mr Evans claims that his medal is a replacement that he received after the original one was destroyed in a fire!
General Service Medal 1962 (GSM) – The GSM, occasionally referred to as the General Campaign Medal, was awarded for “minor” campaign service (1962-2007). The medal always has an accompanying bar(s) detailing the specific campaign(s). The most common bar would be ‘NORTHERN IRELAND” however, there was a “SOUTH VIETNAM” bar awarded to a very limited number of Australian Army and Air Force Personnel.
All GSMs are named with the recipient’s Name, Rank, Corps / Regiment.
Interestingly, EVANS is wearing 2 General Service Medals side by side!
United Nations Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP) Medal – a service medal awarded to individuals who served a minimum of 90 days as a member of the UN Force in Cyprus after 26 March 1964. Evans claims that he earned this medal as a member of the 6th (Welch) Bn of the Parachute Regiment in 1963-4. Documents show that 6 Para was amalgamated with 4 Para in 1947 and subsequently designated 1 Para in 1948, making it difficult for Evans to deployed to Cyprus with 6 Para in any capacity as that unit didn’t exist. For the record, 1st Bn The Parachute Regiment deployed to Cyprus Mar-May 1964 and then returned to garrison duty in Bahrain.
SV-C has searched the London Gazette, which lists the details of UK national level honours and awards, EVANS in not listed asMilitary Cross (MC) recipient. Nor, is he listed as an Australian recipient of the MC. As the MC was awarded only to Warrant Officers and Officers until 1993, this would certainly preclude “Sergeant” EVANS for being so recognized during the Vietnam War.
Elwyn Evans contacted us in December 2019 and demanded that we remove the posts detailing his medallic fuckery™ from all SVC platforms or, he would be taking legal action against us.
So, according to Evans, over the course of 4 years (1963-1967) *He joined the Brit Army, *Trained as an infantryman, *Qualified as a paratrooper, *Served as a Peacekeeper in Cyprus, *Was promoted to Sergeant, *Earned his blade badge with the SAS, *Fought in Vietnam with the US Army @ Ia Drang in 1965, *Taken prisoner by the Viet Cong, *Escaped from captivity, *Fought his way back to friendly forces, *Awarded the Military Cross, *2 tours of duty in Northern Ireland and, *Emigrated to Canada. Cool story Bro!
As per our SOPs, we invited him to prove us wrong.
Evans then provided us with a long list of his “proof of service” including images of his now expanded group of medals and an image purporting to be him as a Sergeant in the UK Special Air Service Regiment.
The 8 of the medals Evans wears are privately purchased, commemorative medals of no legal standing, they are self awarded, make believe embellishments “recognizing” his fictional military service.
The trinkets include the British Forces Campaign Medal, the Prisoner of War Medal General Service Medal, the British Army of the Rhine Medal, the Parachute Regiment medallion, the Cold War Medal, the Special Forces Medal, the Veterans Star and the Vietnam Veterans Medal…
Anyone can purchase them for on line for a few hundred bucks plus shipping and handling.
Like convicted Valour Thief Peter Miklos Toth of Red Deer Alberta, Evans figured that parading with CF members and the RCMP on Remembrance Day 2016 would bring some legitimacy to his medallic fuckery™
The uniform, insignia and head dress that EVANS is wearing are nothing more than a fantasy creation. 2nd Special Air Service (SAS) was disbanded shortly after the 2nd World War, therefore the insignia are incorrect regardless, he’s not old enough to have soldiered during WW2!
The winged blade badge of the SAS would be sewn on a tan beret, and not what appears to be either the head dress of the United Nations or the UK Army Air Corps. The distinctive parachute wings are SAS specific and awarded only to members of the SAS Regiment.
He is also a convicted prohibited weapons manufacturer however, POW medals aren’t “awarded” for a custodial sentence at Stoney Mountain Prison…
Oh, we almost forgot the picture, remember the one with showing Evans as a SAS Sergeant in 1964? A quick image search shows that it’s actually Israeli Defence Force SF operators rehearsing just prior to the Entebbe Raid in 1976.
SVC now believes that Mister Elwyn David Evans has jumped to more time periods than Marty McFly!
Evans has also been show cased on our partner’s page in the US.
Evans aka Ellis resurfaced on 10 March 2022 with a new name. The fantasist is wearing the same old rag bag, make believe uniform and spewing his military themed fairy tales of combat in Vietnam as a member of the SAS.
Two individuals, both who publicly claimed to be veterans of the PPCLI lead to the creation of Stolen Valour Canada. Mr Carl Dale is one of them!
Four and an half years later, SVC staffers have turned over, SOPs have been refined & our network of like minded groups has evolved in strong partnerships to address this world wide problem.
We have been attacked by cowards and their enablers, threatened with violence and legal action & our main social media platform was nuked due to false allegations that we “encouraged drug use”.
Despite the challenges we have remain committed to our mandate to expose fakes, posers and embellishers…
Now back to Mr Dale,
*He claims to have served in the Canadian military, but when challenged, he states that nobody has heard of him in the Canadian military because he was “on loan” to the US 101st Airborne and served with them for most of his term of service.
*Claimed to be a sniper, and wore the patches on his CAV vest, but two instructors who have served with the Canadian military for years have never heard of him
*in 2014 he claimed to be serving under a “Queen’s Order” and was on loan to the US Military, assisting a Colonel Baker at 29 Palms with a top secret plan to conduct an air drop into a country “overseas” (by the way…he could tell me it was Pakistan…wink, wink)
*Claimed that Colonel Baker was sending him top secret satellite photos for his review on his email account (an unsecured internet connection that he was pirating from his neighbor!)
*He had been seen around town wearing a Captain’s uniform, and at one point claimed to have been promoted and was, for a few weeks, wearing a Major’s uniform, only to return to the Captain’s uniform
*Claimed that Colonel Baker sent a Blackhawk helicopter to Trenton to pick him up for an airdrop over 29 Palms — he was acting as an instructor to the US paratroopers (’cause the US doesn’t have anyone who could do that). He told five people in Kingston that he left at 0700 hours, that it took two hours to get there, they did the drop, and he was home by 7:00 p.m.. When he was asked how he could be in California in two hours, he replied that Blackhawks are really fast and that they don’t have to fly on commercial air routes.
*His first mission involved crawling on his belly for three days to get into position to snipe a “foreign general” in some unknown country, that he was not expected to return from the mission but that he did his job and he was a hero
*He told everyone he was away for deployment last year on the aforementioned drop into Pakistan — either he is the biggest security risk that the Canadian/US military has ever encountered or he is, as we all now know, a pathological liar.
*He also claims to have swiped a 50 caliber sniper rifle that he has hidden at his father’s home.
*He now works as a general contractor in the Kingston Ontario area and claims to be a licensed electrician, licensed plumber, licensed pipe-fitter and journeyman carpenter — he does not hold licenses in any of these fields that anyone can verify.
And, from our US partners
https://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=39656
Mr David Jeffery DODD was the second individual falsely claiming to be a Patricia in 2014, his actions lead to the creation of SVC
Dodd in no longer telling his Remembrance Day “My buddy died in my arms; I can still feel her blood on my hands” stories.
We have Senior Chief Don Shipley’s confirmation that Mr Mark Halden, who has been known to wander around St Catharines, Ontario wearing choker whites trading war stories for free drinks, was never a SEAL. (RECORDED HISTORY)
Halden was born in 1955 so, it’s most unlikely that he was a 18 – 20 year old USN Naval Flight Officer /F4 Phantom back-seater flying in the Vietnam War. The USN stopped flying combat missions in 1973 although, an aircraft carrier remained on station until 1975. (SIMPLE ARITHMETIC)
His claim of being blowed up in Beirut in 1983 doesn’t really matter either as he was never there. But, he has no problem insulting the service and sacrifice of those who were there.
Victims of the Marine Corps Barracks bombing Beruit Lebanon 23 Oct 1983.
From a SVC Supporter
Mr Halden was encouraged by SVC to stop his military masquerading, apologize for his reprehensible actions, surrender the bogus uniform / insignia for appropriate disposal action and just fade away…
On the morning of 3 Dec 2018, Halden emailed us a series of images, confirmed that uniform / insignia would be sent to the US Consulate in Toronto, and committed to never wearing any uniform again.
SVC will follow the words of US President Ronald Reagan from 1986 “Trust, but verify” / “Doveryai no proveryai”
Gervais pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful use of military uniforms and unlawful use of military decoration while dressed as a sergeant while attending Remembrance Day services at the National War Memorial in 2014.
