JD Vance Vs Tim Walz: ‘Stolen valor’ row: Tim Walz said he carried weapons; ‘When, which war,’ JD Vance’s counter

The military record of Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz came under scrutiny as his rival JD Vance said if one does not go to the war, then he can’t claim that he served in the military. JD Vance said Tim Walz dropped out of the army and took retirement in 2005 before his unit was deployed in Iraq.
“He (Tim) says, ‘We shouldn’t allow weapons that I used in war to be on the American streets’.Well, I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you even in war? What was this weapon that you carried into war given you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq? He has not spent a day in a combat zone. What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you’re not,” JD Vance said triggering a fresh controversy.
JD Vance said when he was asked to go to Iraq, he wet and he is very proud of that. “You know what really bothers me about Tim Walz? When the United States Marine Corps … asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do and I did it honorably, and I’m very proud of that service,” Vance said.

‘Like denigrating the worth of a woman’s citizenship…’
Transport secretary Pete Buttigieg said denigrating the worth of a soldier’s service based on whether he deployed to a war zone is like denigrating the worth of a woman’s citizenship based on whether she happens to have children.
“Come to think of it, denigrating the worth of a soldier’s service based on whether he deployed to a war zone is… kind of like denigrating the worth of a woman’s citizenship based on whether she happens to have children,” Pete wrote.
Did Tim Walz serve in military or not?
Yes, Minnesota governor Tim Walz was in the military for 24 years but he was never sent to the war zone. But in old videos that resurfaced in the past two days, Tim Walz could be heard claiming that he carried weapons in war, which has been fact-checked and labeled as false.
Walz retired from the National Guard in 2005 and never served in a combat zone.
“Walz did make a comment speaking to a group, he’s done it a couple of times, where he has used language that has suggested that he carried weapons in a fighting situation,” CNN’s Jake Foreman said. “I know from coming from a military family there is a difference between being in a combat area, being involved at a time of war, and actually being in a position where people are shooting at you,” he added.
Harris campaign defended Tim Walz’s past claim and said Walz carried, fired and trained other on how to use “weapons of war innumerable times.”
“Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country — in fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country,” the statement said.