Jordan Olson made up his military battle injuries and rank, got a hero's welcome home

Photo: U.S. Army

Army Spc. Jordan Olson wore sergeant stripes, an 82nd Airborne Division patch, a Parachutist Badge and the Combat Action Badge on his uniform when he stepped off a plane in Wisconsin the other day to a hero's welcome from about 60 war veterans, family and friends. And he said his kidneys were injured by a roadside bomb explosion.

Problem is, those patches and the injury story were fiction. Jordan, the Army told the Appleton Post-Crescent, is a specialist assigned to the 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Fires Brigades. He was posted to road-clearing duty in Afghanistan. And he wasn't injured in combat.

The man admitted he was a fraud after news accounts of his stories and homecoming prompted closer scrutiny from alert readers -- and the Army.

"Once I saw all the people there, I felt guilty," Olson told WFRV-TV on Tuesday. "I know I wasn't the rank I was. I knew there was some stuff I shouldn't have had on my uniform."

Jordan's going to have a whole of explaining to do when he rejoins his unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State after leave. But his mother told the Appleton paper that, regardless of his fanciful stories, her son's service in the military still makes him worthy of honor.