Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance has renewed his attacks on Governor Tim Walz’s military career, which his Republican opponent accused him of having during the 2022 gubernatorial campaign. He accused Walz of “stolen valor” because he left the military before his regiment was deployed to Iraq.
The Ohio senator compared his service to that of the governor in Michigan on Wednesday, saying he served honorably in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps. Vance, former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee, was assigned as a public affairs correspondent. Neither Vance nor Walz served in combat.
“Do you know what Tim Walz did when his country asked him to go to Iraq? He left the Army and let his unit go without him, for which he was heavily criticized by many of his soldiers. I find that disgraceful,” said Vance, who was on active duty from 2003 to 2007 and deployed to Iraq in 2005 and 2006.
The second-term governor of Minnesota and Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate retired from the Army National Guard as a command sergeant major in May 2005 to run for Congress in southeastern Minnesota’s First District. Walz defeated incumbent Republican Representative Gil Gutknecht in November 2006.
The timing is clear: Walz’s congressional campaign issued a statement in March 2005 saying he intended to continue running despite a possible mobilization of Minnesota National Guard soldiers in Iraq. Walz filed his retirement papers with the National Guard in May 2005. The unit’s first call-up occurred in July 2005, and the regiment was deployed in March 2006.
Walz’s service in the National Guard began in 1981, the day after his 17th birthday, military records show. The governor recently recounted driving to Nebraska with his father, a Korean War-era veteran, to enlist. Like his father, Walz said he expected to go to college on the GI Bill, and that’s what he eventually did.
Walz renewed his membership in the National Guard several times and signed up for another six years in 2001.
In the years following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Walz was a senior noncommissioned officer and master sergeant, according to military records. He lived in Mankato and served with the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery, based in southern Minnesota. The battalion deployed to Italy in 2003 to guard against potential threats in Europe while active duty forces were stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, Walz said.
