Pro-Trump ‘War Hero’ Featured on Fox News Never Actually Served in War

A military veteran glowingly featured by Fox News earlier this month for his pro-Trump artwork and his record as a “war hero” admitted Thursday to lying about his military service. John Garofalo, 72, was featured in a Bryan Llenas report as having served seven years as a Navy SEAL, receiving 22 commendations, including two Purple Hearts, and having been listed twice as missing in action during Vietnam. Garofalo, who personally carved a presidential seal to gift President Trump, is a “tough, tough man,” Llenas said, after calling him a “hero” during an interview. Fox News anchor Eric Shawn later remarked: “God bless John Garofalo. We certainly hope maybe the president is listening.” However, when the Navy Times reached out to Garofalo on Thursday, he confessed to having lied about his military service. “What I did I’m ashamed of, and I didn’t mean to cause so much disgrace to the SEALs,” he told the Times. Fox News has since removed the video, which went viral on Facebook, and issued a statement apologizing for the error. (UPDATE: On Friday afternoon, Llenas issued an on-air correction.)