An evaluation of Professor Fetzer's latest evidence

For whatever reason, Professor Fetzer has made - finally - an attempt to bolster his claims of military service with hard evidence. In evaluating his provided DD-214 alongside another DD-214 from the same period and of the identical revision (1 November 1955), however, several irregularities are evident.

• The typography and line breaking between the two forms are inconsistent. For example compare Box 4, "DEPARTMENT, COMPONENT AND BRANCH OR CLASS"; and Box 25a, "SPECIALTY NUMBER AND TITLE".
• The bottom text is aligned differently on Professor Fetzer's document.
• The designation "INDIV-1" does not appear on the comparison document.

The most interesting factor is that on Professor Fetzer's document, every section is filled in by typewriter absolutely straight and level, until we arrive at the Remarks section, in which the entire paragraph tilts down about 5 degrees to the right. While I remember how tricky it could be to fill in a form cleanly with a typewriter, this is not how typewriters worked: if one line was crooked they were all crooked.

His supplied discharge certificate presents additional problems. For example, when posing with the document, the signature of Robert Baldwin bleeds into the line underneath:

However, in the scan provided in a separate blog post at https://jamesfetzer.org/2019/12/the-50000-challenge-can-jim-fetzer-prove-he-served-in-the-united-states-marine-corps/, the signature is razor sharp and just manages to miss this line:

Finally, it should be noted that Professor Fetzer's signature on his supplied DD-214 is not a good match for the one on his veteran's ID. Look at both of them and decide for yourself.

While I will stop short of accusing Professor Fetzer of forgery, any critical thinker can see that this evidence is inconclusive at best. Fetzer is invited to resolve these discrepancies if he is so inclined.

Finally, I must say that the most interesting thing about the information supplied by Professor Fetzer is the revelation of what a mess his garage is. He should get a head start cleaning it out, seeing as how it will belong to somebody else pretty soon. (These photos are suspect since Fetzer is walking around in short sleeves after several days of near freezing weather at his house, but never mind.)

Source of Fetzer's fake service photos identified

We now know that James Fetzer never served in the USMC (and could not possibly have served when and where he says he did). We know that the only "evidence" of military service he can offer is a handful of tiny, blurry photographs that do not resemble him.

And now, thanks to a contributor who has asked to remain anonymous, we also know the true identity of the young man in the southwest corner of that page: it is a manipulated photo of none other than the late senator John McCain (who, as we all know, did serve).

When the features are overlaid together, it's clear that these are the same person:

Pretending to be a veteran is tasteless, but to steal valor from such a distinguished American veteran is truly reprehensible. It's not too late for Jim Fetzer to retain some of his dignity and admit his history of military impostorship. And, I genuinely wish that I was wrong and that Fetzer would provide some convincing evidence that he served. But I am not hopeful for either of those outcomes.

A note on finances

The question has been raised, in comments on Professor Fetzer's blog, whether I in fact have the financial means to make the award I have offered. I can offer this:

While I need to protect my financial information, my finances are the last thing you need to worry about. The offer stands: $10,000 to the individual, or $20,000 toward James Fetzer's legal fees (whichever the recipient prefers), to the first person who produces convincing and verifiable evidence that James Fetzer served in the United States Marine Corps.

An evaluation of James Fetzer's "evidence" of military service

Previously in this blog I presented evidence which shows that James Fetzer's claims of military service are, to put it kindly, questionable. In a recent article on his blog, Professor Fetzer takes great offense to these findings. He talks a great deal about how smart he is and how much he's achieved, but unfortunately, he never gets around to presenting any evidence that he served.

In fact the only thing he does present is a photo collage, purporting to show him in military dress:

Except for the photo in the upper-left hand corner, none of these people resembles James Fetzer. The photos of service members are too blurry to identify any specific person. 

Perhaps most absurd, Fetzer claims that the photo in the three o'clock position depicts him with his first wife. You will recall that Fetzer also claims that he somehow fathered a child in California in 1965 while serving in Japan, perhaps the most remarkable feat of conception since the Blessed Virgin Mary. Perhaps he'd care to explain why his son Bret resembles neither of the people in that photograph?

Interesting that Bret's male pattern baldness, which is genetically passed from one's father, somehow did not strike Professor Fetzer himself. Bret's true father may resemble one or more Pasadena milkmen; the former Mrs. Fetzer is invited to weigh in on this question.

A person who has truly served in the United States military will be in possession of a discharge document, or other service documents, or something - anything - that would substantiate their service. James Fetzer is in possession of none of these. It is bizarre that he continues to tell such transparent and obvious lies, and makes one wonder whether he's been lying about it for so long that today he believes it himself.

$10,000 for proof that James Fetzer served in the USMC

James Fetzer, famous conspiracy researcher, has claimed -- repeatedly -- to have served in the United States Marine Corps sometime between 1962 and 1966. But consider the following:

• There is no DD-214 filed, in any US jurisdiction, for James Henry Fetzer. All discharges from the US military receive one of these.
• Despite extensive research, no individuals have been located who seem to remember serving with Fetzer.
• There are no photographs in existence of Fetzer in military dress (Fetzer claims to have included some in his books, but these are not verified).
• Fetzer's son, Bret, was born in 1965. It is impossible to conceive a child in California while serving in Japan, as Fetzer has claimed to do.

• Fetzer lists himself as a lieutenant in the above (fake) news story, while simultaneously claiming to have been a captain by 1965. He could not have been both. 
• The (fake) news story above lists four grandparents, which is remarkable, considering that Fetzer's mother died when he was 11 years old.
• The godparents mentioned in the above (fake) news story appear to be a fabrication, there being no record of any such people in existence.
• Fetzer has been overweight for years, and today is clearly obese. It would be extraordinary for a US Marine, known for physical fitness, to permit their physical condition to decline to this extent.

In light of the foregoing, I issue a simple challenge:

To the first person to present irrefutable evidence that Professor James Henry Fetzer served in the US Marines between 1962 and 1966, I will award either $10,000 to that person, or $20,000 toward Fetzer's legal fees, as he defends himself in lawsuit filed by a Sandy Hook parent.

There is only one rule: the evidence must be verifiable and convincing.

Post what you have in the comments.