A GOP rep was awarded a Bronze Star for his bravery in Iraq. Those he reportedly saved can't remember him being there
Mills was honored after he administered 'life-saving care' to fellow soldiers Joe Heit and Alan Babin at 'great risk to his own life' while under 'intense enemy fire' in Iraq, NOTUS reports, citing the document recommending Mills receive the award. Mills enlisted in the Army in July 1999 at 19 years old and was honorably discharged in August 2003.
But Heit told NOTUS that Mills 'didn't save' his life, and that he didn't even suffer life-threatening injuries.
'I don't recall him being there either,' he added.
Henry Barbe, a medic who flew in via helicopter to help evacuate Babin, also told NOTUS he doesn't remember Mills being there.
'From what I understand about Mills is he might have been in the unit. I don't remember him being involved in the medevac,' Barbe said. 'To be fair, I was worried about the patients. I don't remember him, and from what I understand, other people don't remember him.'
Chris Painter, the platoon sergeant, said he can 'pretty much confirm 100% Cory Mills was not up at the bridges at the location of everything.'
'Now, if he came to the company position to assist in escorting Babin to the BN aid station, I don't know...but he wasn't at the bridge [where] it all happened I do know that,' Painter told NOTUS.
Army documents recommending Mills for the award also state he saved Joe Ferrand, a sergeant who had been 'grabbed by an enemy insurgent' in a separate incident, according to NOTUS. But Ferrand previously claimed Mills' involvement in the incident was a 'fabrication' and said that the act 'never took place,' in a written statement to government officials.
In response to these claims, Mills told NOTUS that 'no soldier writes their own DA Form 638,' referring to the document used to recommend soldiers for awards.
'It is a recommendation for award and soldiers cannot recommend themselves,' Mills said. 'The form must be reviewed and signed by commanding officers.'
Mills also conceded that it was 'true' that Heit 'did not have life-threatening injuries' and attributed the discrepancies to how chaotic the day was.
'I was on the ground,' Mills said. 'It was a chaotic day and understandable that others may have different recollections of events.'
The questions around his Bronze Star have been relayed to the Office of Congressional Ethics, Department of Justice, a U.S. attorney's office in Florida and the FBI, the source told NOTUS.
This isn't the first time Mills's military accomplishments have been questioned.
Last year, Mills's Republican challenger Michael Johnson handed out flyers accusing him of lying about his military service and committing stolen valor, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports. Mills denied the claims at the time.
'I'm tired of the slander and the defamation," Mills told the News-Journal. "I ran for office to be able to serve the American people, not to defend something I did 20 years ago over and over and over.'
Mills was elected to Congress in 2022 and has since proven a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump. Mills even attended his hush money trial last summer alongside fellow lawmakers including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Representative Byron Donalds.
The Republican lawmaker also made headlines February after his romantic partner Sarah Raviani filed a police report claiming she had been assaulted by Mills at his Washington, D.C. apartment.
'(Her significant other for over a year) grabbed her, shoved her, and pushed her out of the door,' the police report obtained by NBC Washington states.
Raviani, a cofounder of the group Iranians for Trump, then allowed police to listen in on a phone call between her and the congressman in which he allegedly instructed her to 'lie about the origin of her bruises.'
Mills 'vehemently denies any wrongdoing whatsoever.'
The Independent has contacted Mills's office for comment.
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