As Twitchy reported, both The Washington Post and The New York Times have issued corrections, indicating that Nathan Phillips did not serve in Vietnam as he claimed.
When the first, edited clip of the Covington Catholic High School boys emerged, a lot of reporters relied on the reporting of Indian Country Today for their background on Phillips, and that’s likely where most news sources got the idea that Phillips was a Vietnam combat veteran.
Indian Country Today has details on the elder in that viral video.
His name is Nathan Phillips, a Vietnam veteran who holds a regular ceremony for Native American veterans buried at Arlington National Cemetery. https://t.co/hpx8YUUqLu
— Elahe Izadi (@ElaheIzadi) January 19, 2019
Now, Indian Country Today is going all the way back to 2008 to correct an article in which Phillips described how he was spit on when he returned home from Vietnam.
— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) January 23, 2019
Nathan Phillips uses my dads pain and sacrifice to game the system and sell a narrative he didn’t earn. God it makes me so mad I don’t know where to put it.
— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) January 23, 2019
“Phillips also described coming back to the U.S. as a veteran of the Vietnam era” — but back from where? Not Vietnam.
Now the article has this note:
Note: This article has been adjusted from it’s original version to show that Nathan Phillips was a Vietnam-era veteran and that he was spit on while in uniform as opposed to when he was returning from combat.
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Pardon us for being skeptical, but how are we supposed to believe he was ever spit on by anyone? And what does “as opposed to when he was returning from combat” mean in that context? Returning from combat where?
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the resume of a "baby-killer who was spat upon when he returned home from service" <checks notes> in California as a refrigerator technician. pic.twitter.com/nH1gq0XvWw
— Sandy (@RightGlockMom) January 23, 2019
Don Shipley got the DD-214.
Self-described "recon ranger" Nathan Phillips was a rifleman for two days and a refrigerator mechanic in Lincoln, Nebraska and El Toro, California the rest of his service. Retired a private.https://t.co/exSIHBGWS9 pic.twitter.com/vJg4WtYzcz
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) January 23, 2019
I saw someone else call him a "freon ranger". I liked that one the most.
— Richard (@fortydelta) January 23, 2019
While we’re at it, Vogue published an absolutely fawning piece on Phillips (“The Power of Nathan Phillips’s Song”) by someone who claimed to know him personally but had no idea he hadn’t served in Vietnam.
I wrote a new essay about Nathan Phillips, who I am honored to personally know, and the power and gift of the American Indian Movement song he played at the start of MLK weekend. https://t.co/CnnIN5kTDg
— Rebecca Bengal (@rebeccabengal) January 21, 2019
Hi Ms. Bengal:
There is a possible error in your story.
You wrote that Phillips "joined the Marines and served as an infantryman in the Vietnam War," but the Washington Post reports he never served in Vietnam.
What is your source?
Thanks. https://t.co/beIjP7Ssfg
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) January 22, 2019
No response, but the entire line has been stealth deleted.
Was this un-noted correction in accordance with your editorial policies, @taylorantrim @voguemagazine?
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) January 22, 2019
Maybe this explains it. pic.twitter.com/Kmczp3WU6b
— Brian Blick (@blickdaddy) January 22, 2019
Related:
'Color me shocked'! New reporting suggests Nathan Phillips is an even worse guy than you thought https://t.co/h8kOmowuNT
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 23, 2019
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