Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) has apologized for mistakenly listing himself as a Bronze Star recipient on an application he submitted to the White House more than a decade ago.
Moore, a rising Democratic star, served in the Army Reserves from 1996 to 2014. He deployed to Afghanistan from August 2005 to March 2006.
He has received numerous awards for his service, including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, but when he applied for a White House Fellowship in 2006, he cited the Bronze Star Medal for his service.
“For my service, the 82nd Airborne Division awarded me the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Action Medal,” Moore wrote in his application, according to documents obtained and released by the group.The New York TimesOn Thursday.
According to the Air Force Personnel Center, the Bronze Star is awarded to service members who “have performed heroic acts in ground combat.”
But a Times investigation found that Moore never actually received the prestigious award.
Moore said in a statement Thursday that it was a “simple mistake” to write on his White House Fellowship application in 2006 that he had received the prestigious military award.
“While I was serving overseas in the Army, my brigade vice commander encouraged me to write a White House Fellowship application,” Moore said. “In fact, he helped me edit it before I submitted it. He was the one who nominated me for the Bronze Star at the time. He also had two other senior officers verify their signatures on the award and then instructed me to include the Bronze Star award on my application.”
Moore's mentor, Lt. Gen. Michael Fensel, According to The New York Times, Fenzel told Moore that he had been approved for the medal and told him to include it on his application. Fenzel told the paper he only learned this week that Moore had never been awarded the Bronze Star.
“In the military, there's an understanding that if a senior officer says an action has been approved, you can trust that as fact,” Moore said Thursday. “That's why it was part of the application. Plain and simple.”
The governor noted that he learned he had not been awarded the Bronze Star because his officer evaluation report listed him as being in the top 1% of officers in Operation Enduring Freedom.
But Moore has had opportunities to correct the record in the past, including during a PBS panel discussion with Gwen Ifill in 2008 and an appearance with Stephen Colbert on “The Colbert Report” in 2010.
“I am proud to have served in the United States Army, proud of the men and women who served alongside me in combat, and I love our country. I will never compromise on that. The military taught me to put the safety of others before my own, to never leave anyone behind, and to live by the principle of 'mission first, people always.' These are the values that drive my work as Governor, and that will not change,” Moore said Thursday.
“I have spoken openly and honestly about my military service throughout my career and am deeply proud of it. But as people continue to find new ways to deny my service to our country as a military man, it seems I must once again set the record straight.”
Moore also appeared to endorse Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (Democrat), who is seeking the White House as Harris' running mate.
Like Moore, Waltz's military service has come under intense scrutiny, particularly from Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance.
Vance has accused Walz of lying about how long he served in the National Guard.
“Over the past few weeks, our country has become accustomed to seeing the integrity of our veterans attacked for political gain,” Moore said. “But those who seek to call our country's record into question fundamentally misunderstand the true patriots who have given everything to carry our flag and to be called Americans. We will not waver. We will keep our heads down and do our jobs, and I intend to continue to do so.”
