Military impostor

A military impostor is a person who makes false claims about their military service in civilian life. This includes claims by people that have never been in the military as well as lies or embellishments by genuine veterans. Some individuals who do this also wear privately obtained uniforms or medals which were never officially issued to them.
In British military slang, such impostors are called "Walts", based on James Thurber's fictional character, Walter Mitty, who daydreamed of being a war hero. In the United States since the early 2000s, the term stolen valor has become popular slang for this behavior, named for the 1998 book Stolen Valor. Other terms include "fake warriors", "military phonies", "medal cheats", and "military posers".
Lying about military service or wearing a uniform or medals that were not earned is criminalized in some circumstances, especially if done with the goal of obtaining money or any other kind of tangible benefit, though laws vary by country.

Behaviors

Military impostors engage in a broad range of deceptive behaviors, all intended to garner recognition from others. An impostor may make verbal statements, written claims, or create deceptive impressions through actions, such as wearing a uniform, rank insignia, unit symbols, medals, or patches.
Generally impostors fall into two broad categories: civilians who have never been in any branch of the military, and real veterans who make false claims exaggerating their experiences or accomplishments. Impostors in the latter category may claim any of the following:

Being the recipient of awards that were not earned
Having a longer service duration
Having a more favorable discharge
Holding a higher rank than one actually held
Having served with a different branch of the military
Having served with a different unit that is more famous
Being a different role or occupational specialty
Involvement in a war or specific engagement one was not present for
Performing a brave or valorous act that never happened
Participation in "special" or "secret" operations
Being a prisoner of war.

While many individuals outright fabricate some or all of their military service history, others employ equivocation tactics, ambiguous language, omission of important details, or similarly misleading behavior that avoids making a technically false statement they can be called on, but still gives a deceptive impression. A common example is stating one was in a branch of the military during a specific war. In many contexts, such a statement implies that the speaker was deployed to a combat zone, even if in reality they never saw combat. A similar misleading statement is boasting about being a member of a branch or unit that is well known for its combat prowess and heroic achievements, when the speaker was purely in a logistical role without any combat experience. Similarly, they may emphasize their many years of service, while failing to mention that most or all of it was spent in the reserves with no deployments. They may also casually drop terms or jargon in their writing or speech that is unique to the military or to specific types of service role.
Impostors also frequently claim to be part of "classified" operations as an excuse for why they cannot provide details when confronted, or why there is no record of their actions or service.

Motivations

Historically, when military record-keeping was less accurate than it is now, some men falsely claimed to be war veterans to obtain military pensions. Such men added a few years to their ages and claimed service in obscure units. Most did not make extravagant claims, because they were seeking money, not public attention that might expose them. There were numerous U.S. media reports in the 1950s of men claiming to be Confederate veterans over 110 years old, and most articles debunked these stories, saying the men had exaggerated their ages and made fraudulent pension claims years earlier and then found themselves in the spotlight after the last genuine Civil War veterans died off. Walter Williams, noted below, is considered one of these impostors, though some people continue to believe his claim.
In the modern world, reasons for posing as a member of the military or exaggerating one's service record vary, but the intent is almost always to gain the respect and admiration of others. Philosophy professor Verna V. Gehring describes such people as "virtue impostors," in that they don't necessarily adopt the identity of another person, but instead adopt a false history for themselves to impersonate virtues and characteristics. Many are only motivated by social recognition, attempting to exploit the reverence and respect for veterans in their country. These individuals often become absorbed in a fantasy of being a veteran that they attempt to live out in real life, sometimes even inserting themselves into public events or ceremonies, or volunteering for interviews with journalists about their alleged experiences. Others are motivated by more direct gains, such as impressing employers, casting directors, audiences, investors, voters in political campaigns or romantic interests.
Occasionally impostors use their claims in an attempt to intimidate others, such as claiming to be a trained sniper or ex-special forces, or use their fabricated experiences as a pretense of authority for their opinions on political matters. False claims of military service are also used by panhandlers to increase donations, sometimes coupled with real or fake injuries that are implied to be combat-related.

Detection

Military imposters are frequently caught and exposed due to mistakes and inconsistencies in their stories or behaviors. For example, they may be too young or too old to have been in the war they say they were or too young for the rank they claim to be, might inadvertently profess to have been in two different places at once, or might state factually incorrect information about the war they allegedly were part of. Among imposters that wear uniforms, they often make mistakes about the placement of patches, insignia and medals, and may have some from the wrong branch or from old campaigns they could not possibly have taken part in. Real veterans often can spot mistakes more readily, especially if they were part of the same branch the imposter claims to have served in.
Some countries have ways of verifying military service and certain claims within it. In the United States, most real veterans that have been separated from the military for any reason have a DD Form 214 they can present – although other forms are possible, ex. DD-256 – which indicates their branch, rank, unit, MOS/AFSC, awards, and other information. Alternatively, requests can also be made to the National Personnel Records Center using the Freedom of Information Act to verify service. Other claims can be verified against public lists, such as recipients of the Medal of Honor or the prisoner of war list from the Vietnam War. Several websites are specifically devoted to verifying the claims of alleged military imposters, and if discovered to have lied, proceed to shame the perpetrator publicly.

False accusations

Accusations do occasionally backfire, with real veterans accused of being imposters. Doug Sterner, a US veteran of the Vietnam War, who catalogs military awards, and Stolen Valor author B.G. Burkett, note that some modern veterans have become hypersensitive to imposters, leading to vigilantism or even turning detection into a "hunting game." A common error is placing too much emphasis on the neatness of a uniform or certain quirks about how it is worn, which is not necessarily compelling when a veteran is older and has been out of the service for several decades. Another is making too many inferences based on older regulations, such as gender restrictions that were in place in the past. Even FOIA requests to the National Personnel Records Center, considered the most thorough type of verification for US veterans, are not perfect and sometimes fail to find a record even if the veteran is genuine. Sterner states, "There’s some people that feel good about confronting people, and making themselves look big by trying to take them down. But when they do that, they’re going to make mistakes."

Criminal laws

Laws vary between countries regarding false statements about military service or the wearing of uniforms or medals.

Australia

Under the Australia's Defence Act, 1903, as amended, it is a federal crime to falsely claim to be a returned soldier, sailor or airman. It is also a crime to wear any service decoration one has not earned. Exceptions are made for formal occasions such as ANZAC and Remembrance Day parades, where family members, not in uniform, can wear relatives’ medals. Uniformed service members can wear their own, and ancestors’ medals. Medals earned by another person are worn on the right breast instead of the left.

Canada

In Canada, section 419 of the Criminal Code makes it a crime to wear a uniform from the Canadian Forces or of any other navy, army or air force, without authority as well as any awards or marks not earned. It additionally makes it a crime to possess any fraudulent discharge papers, commissions, warrants or military ID, including those that are forged, altered or belong to someone else.

China

In the People's Republic of China, it was an offence to wear military uniform without authority, or possess any fraudulent discharge papers, commissions, warrants or military ID, including those that are forged, altered or belong to someone else, and shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, surveillance, or deprivation of political rights; if the circumstances are serious, it will be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years. This crime refers to the act of fraudulently pretending to be a soldier's identity or job title in order to obtain illegal benefits, and damage the prestige of the armed forces and their normal activities.
According to the provisions of Article 372 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic Of China, anyone who commits this crime and the circumstances are serious shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than ten years. The so-called "serious circumstances" generally refers to the impersonation of soldiers many times, including those who do not change behavior after repeated instruction; those who pretend to be soldiers in illegal and criminal activities and cause bad influence; those who pretend to be military leaders at all levels, confidential personnel, etc.