A Virginia pastor seems to have decided that bearing false witness once wasn’t enough. Now, George Hunley has apparently been caught lying again.
A YouTube video that is going viral apparently shows George Hunley, who was going by the name Mark Joston (near the end of the video, the nametag on the uniform has the name Hunley on it), being confronted by an Army veteran while attending a convocation at Liberty University near Lynchburg, Virginia. The Army veteran uploaded the 32-second video to YouTube, where others quickly dismantled “Joston’s” claims.
“Joston” claimed to be a Navy SEAL who had been awarded the Navy Cross (with Gold Star in lieu of a second award), Silver Star (with Gold Star in lieu of a second award), Bronze Star (with at least one Gold Star in lieu of a subsequent award), and four awards of the Purple Heart. “Joston” had also claimed to have been awarded a number of other medals, including the Navy’s Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, three awards of the Presidential Unit Citation, and the Combat Action Ribbon with two Gold Stars in lieu of subsequent awards.
According to the website valor.defense.gov, eight Navy Crosses have been awarded to Navy personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan during the War on Terror (37 more were awarded to Marines). No Joston or Hunley is listed among the recipients of the Navy Cross. HomeofHeroes.com reports that 398 individuals have received the Silver Star for actions in the War on Terror, but again, no Joston or Hunley is listed among the recipients – and there have been no two-time recipients of the Navy Cross or Silver Star in the War on Terror reported by either site.
How badly did “Joston” stink at lying in his second public bust for violating the Ninth Commandment? To put it mildly, “Joston” apparently does not appear to know much about the medals he falsely claimed – one of those medals, the Good Conduct Medal (with four Gold Stars in lieu of subsequent awards), is only awarded to enlisted men. A rear admiral, a high-ranking officer, would be ineligible for the award.
In February, Pastor Hunley was the subject of national news coverage when he claimed to have been shot by an African-American man while trying to be a Good Samaritan. His fibbing was quickly found out, and he was arrested for making false statements to police. According to Newsplex.com, a March 24 court hearing resulted in a 90-day delay to allow him to be evaluated at an outpatient mental health clinic.
Under the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, Hunley could have faced up to six months in prison for the false claims about being awarded the medals, but a 2011 Supreme Court decision invalidated that law. A revised version of the law was passed in 2013, requiring that the false claims of receiving awards be used to acquire some tangible benefit.
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