Stretching the truth when it comes to military service for one's personal benefit is something not taken lightly by deserving veterans.

Last week, Pennsylvania state senators felt the same way and advanced a bill to expand penalties for people who wear decorations and medals that falsely represent their military record. It's currently a summary offense in this state for someone who falsely uses U.S. military uniforms or emblems for their personal benefit.The bill, which now goes to the House, would make it a second-degree misdemeanor if that person falsely wears a Congressional Medal of Honor, a Navy Cross, an Air Force Cross, a Silver Star or a Purple Heart. A second-degree misdemeanor is punishable by up to two years in jail.Just two weeks ago, Albert L. Seely, 67, a Boston-area veteran, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to six months in prison and three years of supervised release for falsifying his Vietnam War service records. He was also ordered to pay restitution to Veteran's Affairs for fraudulently receiving the $174,000 in benefits paid to him.A former U.S. Marine who served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1967, Seely filed his discharge papers with the Veterans Benefit Administration in 1970 but misrepresented the dates and places of his deployment in Vietnam and also falsely listed numerous commendations, including two Purple Hearts, a Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star.Lying about service records has been going on for decades. In 1959, a newspaper investigation on the birth records of Walter Williams, who had been hailed as America's last surviving Civil War veteran, revealed that he was only 5 years old when the war broke out. The story claimed Williams was "a Confederate veteran only in his memory-clouded mind."Hollywood legend Tom Mix, who made his mark in Western movies, rode into infamy after reporting that he was with Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders during the Battle of San Juan Hill in 1898. Truth is, Mix did ride alongside Roosevelt in the president's 1905 inaugural parade but never went to battle with him. In fact, Army records listed him as a deserter.Even our modern-day reality television has exposed military service fraud. Three years ago, Timothy Poe, a competitor on NBC's "America's Got Talent," earned sympathy from the show's viewers and judges when he said he suffered a brain injury and broken back after he was "hit by a grenade in Afghanistan."Shortly after the show aired, officials with the National Guard confirmed there was no record of Poe being injured by a grenade and that he only served one month overseas. He later issued a tearful apology for the false claim.Whether you're a politician running for office, or a veteran with "a memory-clouded mind," you'd better make sure those boasts and claims are right before posting them. The fraudulent end game can be degrading and bring a boatload of embarrassment.By JIM ZBICKtneditor@tnonline.com