The Post & Email Corrects the Record…

Dear Ms. Rondeau:

It has been many months since last we corresponded, and I hope this finds you well.

Your recent series of articles concerning the experiences of Walter Fitzpatrick has been of great interest to me, since as I am myself a service academy graduate (USMA ’78) I am understandably sensitive to such subjects. But from that same perspective, no small amount of what you have written also strikes a level of dissonance unlikely to be noticed by those who have not had the service academy experience. Much of what you have written about Fitzpatrick over the last several years simply did not feel credible. But as feelings are purely subjective, I largely ignored them until today.

My prior concern was spurred to actual action by your article titled, “Fitzpatrick Files Criminal Complaint Against Prison Employees Who Physically Threatened Him,” published yesterday, 30 June 2015. In that article you published a transcription of his “grievance” wherein his signature block reads:

“Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III
Commander, U.S. Navy Retired
Distinguished Military Graduate
U.S. Naval Academy, class of 1975
B.S. Naval Science
M.B.A./Technology Management”

Now, it has been a habit of yours in past articles to falsely (I would hope inadvertently) promote him to the rank of Commander which, of course, he never held. And this might be forgivable since in casual conversation, referring to a Lieutenant Commander as “Commander” is accepted shorthand. But for an officer to personally sign a formal document with a rank he does not hold and has never held is actually a rather spectacular violation of military regulation.

This signature block was problematic in other areas as well. I have queried several USNA graduates of Fitzpatrick’s and my generation, and none admit to have ever heard of either “Distinguished Military Graduate” or a USNA major of “Naval Science.” Additionally, I seemed to recall you had in other places made assertions regarding his very high class standing, and was quickly able to retrieve your article from 31 July 2014 titled, “Retired Lt. Colonel To File Lawsuit Against Obama if Verdicts Not Vacated Against Fitzpatrick” in which you asserted that “Fitzpatrick is a decorated, honorably-discharged 24-year Navy veteran who earned numerous commendations and graduated third in his class at Annapolis in 1975.”

After only a few minutes of searching, I was able to find online a copy of the “Annual Register of the United States Naval Academy” for LTCDR Fitzpatrick’s class. You can find this document online here:http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015081726377;page=root;view=image;size=150;seq=5

Please take your time reviewing the document, as you will discover the following details. First, Walter Fitzpatrick did not graduate with his class because he had not met the necessary academic standards for graduation. The USNA Class of 1975 was graduated on 4 June 1975, but Fitzpatrick was held back for two months of remedial classwork, finally graduating on 30 July. His class consisted of 815 people, of which 811 actually graduated. And far from graduating “third in his class at Annapolis,” Fitzpatrick’s “Order of Merit” was 800. This is not 3^rd from the top, it is 15^thfrom the bottom. His cumulative GPA stood at 2.15 out of 4.0.Furthermore, his major was actually “American Political and Military Systems.” There was no major in “Naval Science.” As to his claims of being a “Distinguished Military Graduate,” I have proved unable to show that such a distinction has ever existed at USNA.

As you are a journalist, I know how important it is for you to correct such egregious errors of fact in your personal reporting. I would suggest you have a good talk with your researchers and/or fact checkers.

Warmest regards,

Frank Arduini
USMA ‘78
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Before we were able to perform the necessary research to determine whether or not our reportage was inaccurate, we received the following second email from RC the same evening at 10:13 p.m. EDT:

LOL.

You are so predictable. So what does a fake journalist do when caught in a huge lie? Why attempt to hide the evidence. It won’t work Sharon. You have been nailed in a lie. It is too late to undo it.

By the way. Did the government check arrive on time this month?

RC

Since this writer receives no “government check,” RC must have been referring to someone else’s benefits.

At 10:30 p.m. EDT, a second email from Arduini was also received:

To: Sharon Rondeau (editor@thepostemail.com)

Dear Ms. Rondeau:

It has come to my attention that the archive which hosts the digital version of Walter Fitzpatrick’s Class Register has now been blocked for “privacy concerns.” It would appear that someone is trying to cover up the fact that false information has been widely spread online concerning his class rank, his major, and the circumstances of his failure to graduate with his class as the result of academic sufficiency.

Certain as I am that you are already preparing your own public correction of the errors in your previous reporting, I would hate for you to be unable to access the document now that a cover-up is underway. Find attached, therefore, screen captures of four of the relevant pages from the now concealed document.

They include:

The statistics for Fitzpatrick’s class that show the total class size to have been 815 midshipmen.

The “Major Code Symbols” proving that there was no such major as “Naval Science.”

The first page of the “Order of Merit” drill role proving that Fitzpatrick did not graduate third in his class, Francis Xavier Hartmann J. did.

The page with Fitzpatrick’s actual entry proving he graduated 800th in his class, two months late, with a cumulative GPA of 2.15 out of 4.0, and with a major that reflects in the “Major Code Symbols” as “American Political and Military Systems.”

These screen captures will also be published online at The Fogbow and other social media outlets.

I am always here to help.

Frank Arduini
USMA ’78

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The email contained the following attachments:

When The Post & Email clicked the links provided by the Obots, we received only error messages and were unable to access the information.  We asked two Navy veterans if they were able to access the applicable USNA database but did not receive a response from either one.

As Arduini, RC and O’Shaughnessy correctly stated, the responsibility of a journalist is to obtain both or multiple sides of a story to ascertain and report the truth.  Because Fitzpatrick is currently in prison, The Post & Email could not immediately obtain a response from Fitzpatrick.

On July 5, The Post & Email wrote a letter to Fitzpatrick, including copies of the emails and attachments sent by Arduini, RC and O’Shaughnessy to ask if their claims were accurate.

On July 31, the first letter from Fitzpatrick in several weeks arrived, dated July 15, in which Fitzpatrick wrote:

The Post & Email also furnished the screenshots provided by Arduini to a trusted military source, who affirmed their accuracy in regard to Fitzpatrick’s academic rank and graduation date.

The “LOC,” or “Letter of Commendation,” to which Fitzpatrick referred in his letter can be read here:

WFF NavalAcademyCommendation

The letter recognized Fitzpatrick as having strong “leadership” skills which Fitzpatrick stated ranked him third in the category.  The letter indicates that he was selected as one of 28 graduates exhibiting that quality.

A photo of Adm. William P. Mack handing Fitzpatrick the Letter of Commendation can be viewed here:

WFF Adm. Mack handing LOC to Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III – Midshipman

Therefore, when The Post & Email reported that Fitzpatrick graduated “third in his class,” it should have stated, “third in his class for leadership.”  In checking some of the recordings we possess of interviews with Fitzpatrick, we note that he said, “I graduated third in my class for leadership,” and The Post & Email erroneously later conflated the two terms.

In his July 15 letter, which appeared to have been written hurriedly, Fitzpatrick did not address the subject of available “majors” at the time of his attendance at the U.S. Naval Academy.

We asked a former U.S. Marine heavily involved in veterans’ issues as to whether or not a lieutenant commander referring to himself or another of the same rank as “commander” is inappropriate, to which he responded, “It’s no big deal.”

We thank Arduini and O’Shaughnessy for bringing our error, which was inadvertent, to our attention with civility.  We do not know the source of RC’s claim that we attempted to “hide the evidence,” as we were never able to access it.

Perhaps RC would be willing to clarify to which “government check” he was referring in his second email.

Now that Fitzpatrick’s academic records have been made fully public, The Post & Email asks:  Where are Obama’s?