The Harris campaign sneakily changed running mate Tim Walz's biography after he was caught lying about his rank. 

The tweak is a clear sign of the potency of stolen valor accusations against Walz, whose military background has featured heavily in the Harris campaign's messaging.

Previously, Walz's biography described him as a "retired command sergeant major” but the language has been changed to say he once served at that rank.

“The son of an Army veteran who served as a command sergeant major, Walz was the ranking member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, where he passed legislation to help stem veterans’ suicides,” the bio now says.

Walz bio stealth edited

The bio still does not reflect Walz's actual rank of master sergeant upon retirement. Walz lost his promotion when he quit the National Guard to run for Congress.

Nevertheless, Walz has frequently described himself as a retired command sergeant major, including on his official biography as governor of Minnesota. 

"After 24 years in the Army National Guard, Command Sergeant Major Walz retired from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005," his official page says.

Pattern of embellishments

Besides claiming an inflated rank, Walz has also come under fire for suggesting he served in combat despite never entering a conflict zone.

In resurfaced comments during his 2018 campaign for governor, Walz claimed to carry weapons "in war".

Walz has also frequently claimed to be an Operation Enduring Freedom veteran, leaving an impression that he went to Afghanistan. In actuality, Walz served in a support role at a base in Italy.

"Coward"

Walz's embellishments are particularly damaging because he left the National Guard just before his unit deployed to Iraq.

In a campaign press release at the time, Walz acknowledged that he had a "responsibility to not only to ready my battalion for Iraq, but also to serve if called on.”

While Walz stayed behind, two young men in Walz's unit never came home alive. Kathy Miller, the mother of a 19-year-old soldier killed by a bomb, Kyle Miller, said Walz "took the coward's way out."

"My son stepped up to the plate. All our sons stepped up,” she told the Daily Mail. “My son wasn’t even 21 years old. He couldn’t even buy alcohol. Yet he took the step to serve our country, while Walz found the best way to run away."