Moore says he made an ‘honest mistake’ by not amending his Bronze Star application

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Thursday he made an “honest mistake” by not correcting his White House scholarship application 18 years ago, when he wrote that he had received a Bronze Star for military service in Afghanistan, though he never received it, after the New York Times obtained a replica of the application and reported on it.

The newspaper, which obtained the document under the Freedom of Information Act, said Moore made the request in 2006, when he was 27.

In an announcement, the governor said he was encouraged to fill out the scholarship application by his deputy brigade commander, who had served overseas within the Army. At the time, Moore said the deputy brigade commander really helpful him for the Bronze Star — and told him to incorporate the award in his application “after confirming with two other senior officers that they had also signed the commendation.”

At the top of his deployment, nevertheless, Moore said he was upset to learn he had not received a Bronze Star. When he returned home, Moore said he “focused on helping my fellow veterans, a mission I will continue as governor.”

“Nevertheless, I sincerely regret not going back to correct the note in my motion,” Moore, a Democrat, said in an announcement Thursday. “It was an honest mistake, and I regret not making that correction.”

The Bronze Star is awarded to soldiers for meritorious service in combat zones.

Featured Stories

The governor, in his statement on Thursday, noted that he was ranked in the highest 1 percent of officers within the Operation Enduring Freedom officer evaluation report.

“My deputy brigade commander had no qualms in recommending that I include the award in my scholarship application because he had received confirmation from the approving authority that the Bronze Star had been signed and approved by his seniority,” Moore wrote.

The governor also wrote that within the military “there is an understanding that if a senior officer tells you an action has been approved, you can trust it as fact. Therefore, it was part of the request, quite simply.”

The award was mentioned in media interviews when Moore was running for governor in 2022, but Moore never said in those interviews that he had not received the honour. In an interview with the New York Times, the governor said for the primary time that he regretted not correcting interviewers who described him as an award recipient.

The newspaper also spoke with the officer who Moore said really helpful he include the award in his application this week in an interview arranged by Moore’s staff. The officer, Michael Fenzel, who’s now a lieutenant general serving because the U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, told The Times that Moore initially opposed the thought of ​​mentioning the Bronze Star.

Fenzel said he told Moore that he and others had approved the medal and that it could be appropriate to incorporate it within the application, the newspaper reported, and that the application could be reviewed until the fellowship began.