Everyone knows that to get anywhere on reality shows like 'America's Got Talent' you need to have a heart wrenching tale of personal turmoil, or it can certainly help a great deal. So imagine how much everyone warmed to Sgt. Timothy Michael Poe after he rocked up to the auditions this week and gave the judges his story.
He spoke of his time in military service in a taped segment, saying "I had volunteered for a team to go out and clear buildings and help out with the wounded. There was a guy who come up with a rocket-propelled grenade. I saw it coming down, and by the time I turned and went to jump on top of my guys, I yelled 'grenade' and the blast had hit me."
Heart-warming stuff, but not strictly accurate according to E! Online. A statement from the Minnesota National Guard said "Sgt. Poe's official military records do not indicate that he was injured by a grenade in combat while serving in Afghanistan in 2009." Records do show that Poe was was in service, joining in 2002 and being sent to Kosovo between 2007 and 2008 and then spending a month in Afghanistan during 2009. Shock jockey Howard Stern was disdainful of Poe's lies on his radio show, saying "You could be the most f**ked-up liar on the planet, but you never lie about military service, this lie is so wrong on so many levels."