Monday, November 21, 2005

Another phony vet uncovered, a suburban alderman

This time it's in Marengo, IL.

From the Northwest Herald:

Community members and veterans expressed surprise and outrage over alderman Werner "Jack" Genot's confession that his war record was a figment of his imagination.

Prompted by mounting questions over his service record and factual errors in his accounts, Genot confessed in Sunday's paper that he concocted his well-known story that he was a Marine veteran of the Chosin Reservoir battle during the Korean War and spent more than 10 months as a prisoner of war.

"I'm just like everyone else in town. It shocked everybody," said Eugene Boxleitner, adjutant of American Legion Post 192, where Genot has been a member for 28 years.

Genot had been known for decades as a battle-hardened veteran. He was elected as a 4th ward alderman in 2003, and has been the face of the county's Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots for 21 years.

He spoke regularly at veterans events and told his tale to schoolchildren and area media.

Marine Corps League State Commandant Mike Ruffner, formerly commandant of the McHenry County chapter, was not impressed with Genot's confession. He said Genot sounded like he was sorry that he got caught.

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