Remember Tim Poe, the stuttering soldier from last night’s America’s Got Talent? He claimed he was hit in the ear with an RPG and sustained brain damage that caused him to stutter?
UPDATE: The Associated Press is reporting on the story. Read it Here.
“Sgt. Poe’s official military records do not indicate that he was injured by a grenade in combat while serving in Afghanistan in 2009, as he reports,” Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, a spokesman for the Minnesota National Guard, said in a statement.
Olson noted that Poe did not receive the Purple Heart, which is given to those who are injured in enemy combat. Poe didn’t claim he had received the award.
“We looked very closely at his record,” Olson said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “We did not find something to substantiate what he said.”
An NBC spokeswoman said the network and Poe had no comment.
Reportedly some members of his unit are calling him a fraud. A military blogger, This Ain’t Hell, verified a “statement” from the Minnesota National Guard, that Tim served, but was not injured by a grenade nor was awarded a purple heart. Check out the comments on this Facebook page. IDK.
STATEMENT FROM THE MINNESOTA NATIONAL GUARD
~~ Attributable to Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, Spokesman for the Minnesota National Guard ~~
Sgt. Timothy Michael Poe served in the Minnesota Army National Guard from Dec. 3, 2002 until May 26, 2011, and performed as a supply specialist.
His military records indicate that he served with the Minnesota National Guard in Kosovo from Oct. 10, 2007 until July 15, 2008, and was deployed to Afghanistan from July 28, 2009 to Aug. 30, 2009.
Sgt. Poe’s official military records do not indicate that he was injured by a grenade in combat while serving in Afghanistan in 2009, as he reports. The Minnesota National Guard can also confirm that he was not awarded the Purple Heart Medal for wounds sustained in combat.
If this story is true, there should be some sort of major statement from the military soon. If not, I’m calling this a rumor that got out of hand.
