David Flippo Blamed Staff For Exaggerating His Military Record. His Own Hat Tells a Different Story.

Nevada Republican David Flippo speaks during a primary election night watch party in Reno, Nevada.William Hale Irwin/AP Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. Last week, The Washington Post reported that David Flippo’s congressional campaign falsely claimed on multiple occasions that the Nevada Republican earned a Bronze Star with valor as an Air Force officer. Flippo’s response was to blame anonymous staffers who he claimed had accidentally conflated two different awards he received for his service in Iraq. But there is a major problem with that explanation: For years, Flippo wore a hat that suggested he earned the Bronze Star with valor—the rare award he admits he does not have. Specifically, as first reported by the conservative outlet Nevada News & Views, Flippo frequently wore a hat that included a Bronze Star with two V-shaped emblems next to it. Pictures of him wearing the hat were included on his campaign website and in posts on its social media feeds. According to veterans, the emblems on the cap bear a striking resemblance to the valor devices—or V devices, as they are known in military circles—used by the US military to show when awards are earned for valor. Lately, he appears to have stopped wearing that version of the cap. The Bronze Star hangs below a red and blue ribbon. For those who received the award with valor, a small V is normally attached to the ribbon. In Flippo’s case, his hat featured two Vs next to his Bronze Star. (The other V could have been related to the Outstanding Unit Award with valor he received; that award was given to his unit as a whole rather than for individual acts of heroism.) Part of a photo on Flippo’s campaign website showing two V-shaped emblems next to his Bronze Star.Flippo campaign website Flippo’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Text messages sent to two numbers listed for Flippo in public records went unanswered. Flippo’s campaign answered some questions from the Nevada Independent for an article published on Friday that covered his military service, but it did not respond to those about the V-shaped symbols he has worn. Daniel Casentini, a retired Air Force Master Sergeant who was interviewed by Nevada News & Views, told me via email that photos he has reviewed appear to show V devices next to Flippo’s Bronze Star. “I cannot conceive of any explanation for why Flippo would display two V devices unless he was implying he earned a Bronze Star with a V device,” he said. After reviewing photos of Flippo wearing the hat, a former Army Ranger told me Flippo was “clearly representing” that he was awarded a Bronze Star with valor. “He was publicly knowingly misrepresenting the award he received,” he added in a text message. “He lied.” Scott Maryott, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who lives in northern Nevada, where he volunteers at the VA and teaches a university course on military history, asked, “Why would you put those Vs that represent valor on your hat in the first place?” He also wanted to know why Flippo no longer appears to be wearing them. “He could say, ‘I made a mistake putting them on my hat,'” Maryott said. “That’s okay. Be honest.” A photo posted to Flippo’s Instagram account in 2024 featuring the V-shaped emblems.Instagram The news about Flippo’s Bronze Star comes in the final weeks of a competitive House race in his Reno-based district. In 2024, Trump won the district by 14 points. But Flippo’s many weaknesses as a candidate—including the fact that he moved to Reno only this year—have helped put the seat in play for his Democratic opponent, Teresa Benitez-Thompson, a former state Assembly majority leader. On Wednesday, veterans in Nevada filmed a forthcoming ad AFL-CIO-funded ad criticizing Flippo. As I reported earlier this week, Flippo is also facing questions about the source of the nearly $2.5 million he has reported putting into his 2024 and 2026 congressional campaigns. Flippo told the Post that he received a standard Bronze Star, as well as the Outstanding Unit Award with valor. Flippo said that his campaign team mistakenly conflated the two awards when it claimed he had a Bronze Star with valor. Rory McShane, the founder of the political consulting firm through which Flippo has routed most of his campaign spending, accused the Post of “trying to fabricate a scandal” based on “an honest mistake that has been apologized for.” The false claim that Flippo received a Bronze Star with valor, when he actually received a standard Bronze Star, may sound like a minor distinction. In the military community, it is not. “A Bronze Star with a V device indicates you were directly involved in combat, under hostile fire, for the actions the Bronze Star is being awarded for,” Casentini explained. Maryott shared a similar perspective. A standard Bronze Star is “for showing up” and “performing successfully in a combat zone,” he said. “With valor, it’s a far different level.” During the Iraq war, about 100,000 Bronze Stars were awarded. Only about 1 in 40 came with the additional valor distinction. The former Ranger explained that a Bronze Star with valor is so different from the regular version that it might as well be a different award. On Friday, the Nevada Independent published the citation for Flippo’s Bronze Star, which was shared with the outlet by a campaign spokesperson. Among other achievements, the citation states that, while in Iraq, Flippo “was the first to promptly respond” to extinguish flames and provide “life saving medical care” to a soldier with severe burns on his body. Maryott said that Flippo clearly deserved a Bronze Star for the conduct described in the citation but not a valor device. Flippo was photographed wearing the hat as early as August 2023, when he was running for Congress for the first time. He continued to wear the hat with the apparent V devices until at least June 2026. Recently, Flippo has been photographed multiple times wearing a similar hat that has neither a Bronze Star nor the apparent V devices. Maryott said that it is strange for an officer to go out of their way to tout a standard Bronze Star. “If you’re an officer and you served overseas during this operation you probably got a Bronze Star,” said Maryott, who has a Bronze Star of his own. “I would never lead with that.”