ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Thursday Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said he “made an honest mistake” in failing to revise a White House fellowship application 18 years ago when he said he had gotten a Bronze Star for his military service in Afghanistan that he never received.
Moore’s comment tracked a New York Times story referencing a copy of that White House application.
According to The Times, Moore claimed on the application in 2006, when he was 27, upon receipt of the document in line with a Freedom of Information Act request.
In a statement, the governor said that his deputy brigade commander serving abroad in the Army had urged him to apply for the fellowship. Moore stated at the time the deputy brigade commander had recommended him for the Bronze Star and advised him to mention the accolade on his application “after confirming with two other senior-level officers that they had also signed off on the commendation.”
But Moore said he was let down to find he had not gotten the Bronze Star toward the end of his mission. Moore stated he was “focused on helping my fellow veterans, a mission I continue to advance as governor,” upon getting home.
“Still, I truly wish I had gone back to change the note on my application,” Democrat Moore said in a statement. “It was an honest error; I regret not fixing it.”
Service members who perform meritorious service in combat areas are entitled the Bronze Star.
In his speech on Thursday, the governor mentioned that his officer assessment report showed him as a top 1% officer in Operation Enduring Freedom.
“My deputy brigade commander felt comfortable with guiding me to include the award on my application for the Fellowship because he received confirmation with the approval authority that the Bronze Star was signed and approved by his senior leadership,” Moore wrote.
In the military, the governor also noted, “you can trust that as a fact if a senior officer tells you that an action is approved.” it is why the application included it, just simply.
Moore was presented as a Bronze Star recipient during 2008 and 2010 TV appearances, but he did not contradict the hosts. When questioned about that during the 2022 governor’s contest, Moore responded angrily against claims that he had failed to rectify the impression the TV interviewers had created.
He told The Baltimore Banner: “Well, I hope that wouldn’t be something where I have to be positioned to be able to correct that person on the spot on live national television if there were things said about me in my bio that were incorrect.”
Moore reportedly said in a July 2022 The Baltimore Sun article that the two TV appearances were among “hundreds of interviews” he had conducted over years and were subsequently being used “in desperate attacks” against him as he ran for governor.
The Times also spoke with the officer Moore mentioned who, in an interview set up by Moore’s staff, advised he put the award on his application. Moore had first objected to the notion of referencing the Bronze Star, according to Michael Fenzel, now a lieutenant general assigned as the United States security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
According to Fenzel, he had informed Moore that he and others had authorized the medal; the newspaper noted that it would be fitting to incorporate it into his application and would be handled by the time his fellowship started.
