Military

Is the American Civil Liberties Union against displaying crosses on federal property? (W/photo of veterans' cemetery.)

Has the ACLU raised objections to U.S. service personnel praying based on a photo showing a group of Marines with bowed heads?

Email chain letter claims the ACLU has filed lawsuits to remove all crosses from military gravesites and to prohibit military personnel from praying. The email further states that "thanks to the retched [sic] ACLU and our new (Obama) administration," Navy chaplains can no longer mention Jesus' name in prayer.

Photo purports to show a Veterans Day flyby of T-38 Talon jet fighters in a formation spelling out 'USA' over the "Taj Mahal" building at Randolph Air Force Base.

Authentic emailed image of a U.S. military helicopter accomplishing a precarious rooftop landing and pick-up in Afghanistan.

Email purportedly written by a U.S. Army captain claims Barack Obama shunned rank-and-file soldiers during his July 2008 visit to military installations in Afghanistan.

Emailed photo shows a U.S. soldier wearing a black patch which reads "Doing the work of..." over the flags of France, Germany and Russia.

TRUE. Emailed photo shows President Bush running beside U.S. Army Sgt. Mike McNaughton, who lost his leg in a land mine explosion in Afghanistan.

Emailed photos not released by the U.S. government show the December 2003 capture of Saddam Hussein in Tikrit, Iraq. They appear to be genuine.

Viral message claims President Obama has ordered changes in military funeral protocol resulting in the folded flag being presented to next-of-kin "on behalf of the Secretary of Defense" instead of "on behalf of the President."

Authentic: Emailed images show Christmas wreaths adorning the headstones of fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

Email flier says Christmas cards can be sent to wounded servicemen and women at Walter Reed Army Medical Center by addressing them 'A Recovering American Soldier.'

Viral status updates on Facebook call for honoring fallen U.S. Marine Cpl. Derek Wyatt, who left behind a wife and newborn son.

Circulating via forwarded email, a tribute to Vietnam War hero and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Ed Freeman, who died at the age of 80 in Boise, Idaho on August 20, 2008.

Email tribute to Darrell "Shifty" Powers, World War II hero and member of the "Band of Brothers" made famous by the Stephen Ambrose book and HBO miniseries of the same title. He died on June 17, 2009.

Emailed photos of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor were purportedly discovered on a roll of film from an old Kodak Brownie camera.

Bogus passage allegedly penned by former North Vietnam General Vo Nguyen Giap attributes U.S. loss of the Vietnam War to homefront disruption caused by biased media.

Did Senator Hillary Clinton refuse to meet with the Gold Star Mothers during their February 2001 lobbying junket in Washington, D.C.?

Emailed image purporting to show a U.S. soldier in Iraq tending a small plot of grass grown from seeds sent by his wife back home.

Email rumors allege that Fonda purposely betrayed U.S. POWs in Vietnam to their captors.

AUTHENTIC: Circulating via email, a vintage 1918 photograph by Mole & Thomas captures an aerial view of 18,000 enlisted men and officers forming a "Human Statue of Liberty."

Authentic images circulating via email capture the formation of condensation clouds around jet aircraft flying near the speed of sound.

Circulating via email: critical comments about Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry by former military personnel.

Forwarded email criticizes Senator John Kerry's record as a Vietnam War hero/dissident.

Forwarded email states that three of Republican presidential candidate John McCain's sons are in the military, and one, Jimmy McCain, served as a Marine infantryman in Iraq.

Emailed images show U.S. forces uncovering a Russian MiG-25 Foxbat jet fighter found buried in sand in Iraq.

Email flier purports to demonstrate that there were more U.S. military casualties under the Bill Clinton administration than there have been during the Iraq War under George W. Bush.

Emailed "news story" claims the Obama administration is quietly planning to replace the military oath of loyalty to the Constitution with a pledge of loyalty to Obama himself.

Was Fred Rogers, longtime host of the children's TV show Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, a trained sharpshooter with dozens of kills to his credit as a Marine sniper (or Navy Seal)?

Viral image purports to show a battle-ready team of Navy SEALs, fully armed and wearing skull masks.

Forwarded email criticizes Barack Obama's handling of the Somali pirate hostage crisis in April 2009, alleging that the President hindered the on-scene commander's ability to effect a rescue by withholding authorization to use deadly force.

Forwarded email urges 'patriots' to boycott Oscar Mayer hot dogs because the company allegedly refused to ship its products to U.S. Marines stationed in Iraq

Short text attributed to Rush Limbaugh points out the unfairness of 9/11 victims' families being paid greater benefits than family members of American military personnel killed in action.

Emailed photos evidently snapped by a U.S. soldier document a "sandstorm from hell" at Al Asad airbase in Iraq on April 26, 2005.

TRUE. Sears, Roebuck & Co. maintains full job benefits and partial pay for military reservists called to active duty for the Iraq war.

Dramatic still photo shows a great white shark lunging out of the water towards a diver dangling precariously from low-flying helicopter.

Email flier accuses Starbucks of refusing to donate free coffee to U.S. Marines on the, er, grounds that the company is against the Iraq war "and anyone in it."

Emailed photos show a memorial statue by Iraqi artist "Kalat" purportedly honoring the American troops who liberated his country.

History and folklore clash in this email tale about the origin of the touching and famous bugle call.

Email flier purports to describe the lifelong duties of the Honor Guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Does the volume of pizza deliveries to the White House and Pentagon increase during major military operations? A look at the Domino's Theory.

Forwarded email purporting to originate from U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs attorney Michael G. Daugherty warns veterans to avoid dealing with an unaffiliated organization called Veterans Affairs Services (VAS).

Forwarded email shows rude response sent by online retailer Discount-Mats.com in answer to a product inquiry from an American soldier stationed in Iraq.

Displaying yellow ribbons to honor U.S. troops fighting overseas has become such a ubiquitous and familiar symbol that many people assume its origins to be quite old. Folklorists say its history stretches back little more than 20 years.