My dad, the man who adopted me, enlisted in the Army during World War II. He did all four combat jumps in the European Theater with the 82nd Airborne and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. My dad didn’t talk much about his service, but he was proud to have fought for America to defeat Hitler. He inspired me to enlist in the Navy as a radar man aboard the USS Glover.  

I learned a lot serving my country. There is a code of honor among those who wear our country’s uniform. You don’t lie. You don’t embellish your service. 

I’m concerned that Governor Tim Walz has violated that sacred code. Reports tell us Walz has falsely claimed he is a retired command sergeant major, but that isn’t true. He has claimed he carried a weapon in war when he was never there.

Let me be clear: I respect the 24 years of service Governor Walz gave to the National Guard. We all should. My concerns are not about what he did but what he has falsely claimed he has done. Reports from his former battalion leader tell us the governor’s political stories don’t match the records documenting his service. He owes America some answers as he runs for the second-highest office in our land. 

Walz’s outright fabrications about his service tell us he does not share the values we hold as Americans, especially telling the truth and being accountable. If elected, Walz would be next in line to be Commander-in-Chief. His tall tales currently should disqualify him from that. 

Many American men and women have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Hundreds of thousands have died fighting in combat. Each person’s service is admirable – and to claim a sacrifice, like fighting in combat when you didn’t or falsely stating you’re a certain rank that you’re not, is more than an exaggeration, since everyone serving knows their rank and whether they served in a combat zone. It’s a lie that disrespects every American who has served. 

In the military, truth matters. Your actions and words carry weight. The brothers and sisters with whom you serve depend on you. We take an oath to our country and the principles of democracy. These ideals mean nothing if you lack the integrity to uphold them. If you cannot be truthful with yourself and others about what you’ve done, how can you uphold our nation’s values? 

This is not the first time the Harris/Walz team has desecrated the truth. They’ve made twisting the truth a habit. Kamala Harris lied and covered up Joe Biden’s deterioration. As a result, even today, our Commander-in-Chief is incapable of doing his job, putting the lives of our men and women on active duty in peril. Now, Harris wants to ignore Tim Walz’s deceptive claims about his service. 

At this critical moment, when Russia, China and Iran are on the move and millions of American families are hurting, our nation needs leaders we can trust. We can’t put our nation’s future in repeatedly dishonest hands. 

At the Democratic Convention in Chicago, Harris and Walz added to their pattern of deception. They ran and hid from their left-wing record and its failures. They pretended they didn’t cause the inflation that is crushing families at their dinner tables. They said they had nothing to do with the open border that allows criminals, rapists and gang members to flood our country and take the lives of Americans. They were shocked anyone would hold them responsible for releasing criminals to walk our streets or defunding the police – and unleashing a national crime wave. 

Vice-President Harris and her liberal running mate are not telling the truth about Tim Walz’s military service. They are not telling the truth about their radical record. 

Yet, recently at their convention, they promised us that if we just gave them four more years, they would put more big government to work to heal the sick, raise the dead and fix every problem America has — most of which they’ve created. Their record of deception is a giant red flag: We can’t trust them to keep their promises in the future if they are not honest about their past. 

Rick Scott is a Florida senator. He has previously served two terms as the state’s 45th governor. 

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.