In late August 2005, J.D. Vance deployed to Iraq and started a blog with observations about his service.
The effort on Blogspot is thin on posts but remains live with comments open (yes, many of them are brutal).
“I’m a little homesick, but mostly happy to be here and finally contribute, even if only a small part, to our country’s mission,” J.D. Vance (under previous name J.D. Hamel) posted at the time.
Vance, serving as combat correspondent for the public affairs office, was “lucky to escape fighting” as CNN reported. Since then, Vance has ramped up attacks on Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz for “stolen valor,” ironically denouncing Walz for never seeing combat.
“Do not pretend to be something that you’re not,” Vance told reporters, according to Politico. “I’d be ashamed if I was him and I lied about my military service like he did.”
