Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland last week accepted a Bronze Star for his Army service in Afghanistan nearly two decades ago, putting to rest a controversy over the award that had trailed him through his career.
For years, Mr. Moore faced questions about whether he had wrongfully said he had a Bronze Star. Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel, a former officer who vouched for Mr. Moore to receive the award this fall and who had recommended him for the award in 2006, pinned the medal to Mr. Moore’s suit in a private ceremony on Friday at the governor’s mansion in Annapolis. “I’m so happy to be in a position to right a wrong,” Mr. Fenzel said during the ceremony, according to The Washington Post. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.
In August, The New York Times reported that Mr. Moore had listed the award on an application for a fellowship at the White House in 2006, although an Army spokeswoman said there was no record showing that the governor had received the prestigious medal. During his political rise before his campaign for governor in 2022, some television presenters had introduced him as a Bronze Star recipient, and he did not correct them.
Mr. Moore said that the line in his fellowship application was an “honest mistake” that had resulted from a mix-up with Mr. Fenzel.
Mr. Fenzel told The Times in August that he had advised Mr. Moore to note the award on his application, saying he told Mr. Moore that he and other generals had approved the medal. But the medal was not awarded. He added that until this August, he was unaware that Mr. Moore had never received the award.
The Bronze Star is given for meritorious service in combat zones. The Defense Department awarded more than 160,000 Bronze Stars to those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The award is commonly given to high-performing officers, indicating excellence. It has long been considered a serious breach of protocol for service members to claim an honor they were not bestowed.
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