Wes Moore says he regrets not correcting interviewers who called him a Bronze Star recipient

AUSTIN, Texas– Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says he's regretful over failing to correct past interviewers who wrongly claimed he was a Bronze Star recipient. 

Moore, a rising star in the Democratic Party who served as an Army captain in Afghanistan, has been the target of critics after it was revealed he had included the prestigious military honor in his 2006 application for a White House fellowship, according to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by The New York Times. Subsequently, he did at least two interviews where he was identified as a Bronze Star recipient but did not correct them at the time. 

"It was an honest mistake that I made nearly 20 years ago, and I own it," Moore told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday. 

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"When I was just coming back from a combat deployment, when I was now being thrust into a national media that I'd never been in before, when I was still very much dealing with a lot of the consequences of conflict," he continued. "Should I have, in a long introduction, gone back and said something? In retrospect, I probably should have… And I take responsibility for that."

Moore was misidentified as a Bronze Star recipient in a 2008 interview by the late "PBS NewsHour" host Gwen Ifill and in a 2010 interview with comedian Stephen Colbert on "The Colbert Report."

Moore remains proud of his service and said his love for the country is "undying."

"I joined the military when I was 17 years old. I chose to raise my hand and serve with the uniform of this country, the flag of the country on my shoulder, and to serve with one of the most elite units in the entire United States military," Moore said. "I led soldiers, I led paratroopers in combat, and I was rated as a top 1% officer. My senior rater said I was the best lieutenant that they worked with in all of Operation Enduring Freedom, in the entire Afghanistan campaign." 

"I am deeply proud of my service. I'm deeply proud of the work that we did. I'm deeply proud of the work that I did, that I'm doing now to support veterans and veterans' families now as the governor of Maryland. And I will always do that, and I will always be very proud of the service I did," he added. 

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Moore first admitted his mistakes to the Times, but that didn't stop his critics from linking him to the controversy surrounding Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose military service record has been scrutinized since he joined the 2024 Democratic ticket. 

The subject was broached during a conversation at the Texas Tribune Festival where he was asked whether Walz as well as his GOP rival Sen. JD Vance were having their military service "maligned."

"It's happened to me," Moore told NPR's Michel Martin. "Less than 1% of this country has worn the uniform of this country. And so when we're talking about veterans issues, frankly, when you're having a national conversation with this country, it's more of a voyeuristic conversation because people haven't experienced it."

"I look at what's happened to so many of these soldiers and airmen and Marines and sailors, how you're watching this pushback from their service. Like, these are not people who raised their hands when the country asked. Like, these are not people who were willing to not just leave their families, but willing to leave their bodies when the country asked," Moore later said. "And so, you know, I don't have patience nor tolerance to be lectured by anybody, particularly from people who have no idea what they're talking about and have no idea about the emotions that are going through that soldier or sailor or airman and Marine's mind as they're getting ready to say goodbye to their family, not knowing that's the last thing they're going to be able to say to them."

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"And so whether we're talking about Sergeant Major Walz, someone who's devoted 24 years of his life wearing the uniform in this country and willing to leave it all on the line, or whether we're talking about Corporal Vance, people who raise their hands as the country asked, I frankly just think that we have to remember that ‘Thank you for your service’ cannot just be a statement. There needs to be meaning behind it. And when we have two people who truly were willing to pay the highest price to be called American and who now we know that the next vice president of the United States will be someone who has worn the uniform of this country, no matter who wins in this thing. I just say there's a deep sense of pride as a veteran that I have in that."

According to the Minnesota National Guard, while Walz served as command sergeant major and long referred to himself as a retired command sergeant, he "retired as a Master Sergeant in 2005 for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy." 

Moore later addressed his own dust-up, explaining how he was instructed by his commanding officer and a former White House fellow to include the Bronze Star in his application. 

"He told me that I was going to be awarded it. He instructed me, ‘Put it on your application,’ and the paperwork [for the Bronze Star] never processed," Moore said. 

"Because that never happens in the army," Martin sarcastically chimed in. 

"Yeah, because paperwork issues never happen in the army," Moore also quipped with a chuckle. "And people have said, 'Well, why don't you go back and correct it,' something that happened 20 years ago? The truth is I forgot about it. The truth is that I was just happy to make it home. The truth is that I didn't serve because I was looking for a medal. I didn't serve because I was looking for an award. I serve because I love my soldiers. I serve because I love this country."

Moore added that he was "humbled" that his commanding officer, who learned that the governor never received his Bronze Star after hearing the reports, told him he was going to "resubmit" him for the honor. 

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Despite his remorse, the Democratic governor chalked up the attacks against him as "foolishness."

"I don't have time to play these games. I'm too busy trying to make the lives of Marylanders better. I'm too busy trying to make sure that our veterans are taken care of," he said.

"I don't have time for foolishness. I never have. I never will. And so I think the thing that we do- what real patriots do- we keep our heads down and do the work, and that's how I respond to this," he later added.