A National Archives records search confirms Lopatcong Township's Tom McKay enlisted as a Navy reservist, silencing residents who had cast doubt on his service.
An embattled mayor in Warren County raised eyebrows earlier this year when he said he could not remember details of his time in the U.S. Navy, and refused to show proof that he had been in the service, as he had claimed during his election bid.
The mayor, Tom McKay of Lopatcong, was already facing a recall effort. And now, his evasiveness fueled speculation among critics that he might be lying.
But records obtained by lehighvalleylive.com solve the mystery.
After numerous inquiries and federal Freedom of Information Act requests, the National Archives on Thursday produced a document showing McKay served in the Navy as an enlisted reservist from 1968 to 1970 in the New York City area.
In campaign flyers from 2014, Lopatcong Mayor Tom McKay said he is a Navy veteran. (Courtesy photo)The findings stunned the mayor's critics, particularly because the National Archives had said on numerous occasions it could not locate any service records. They were only uncovered after weeks of inquiries by lehighvalleylive.com.
"It doesn't make sense to me" said resident Kathy Devos, who had questioned McKay's service. "Why not just tell me that? Why make such a big deal of this and make everybody jump through hoops? Why not just say it?"
The 66-year-old mayor said Thursday he had "no idea" why his service became an issue. He issued a statement recommending his critics develop "a more honest approach to life and other people."
"Understanding why people fabricate negative misinformation on good people so as to discredit or harm them is very difficult for most of us who are decent, honest human beings," he said. "Sadly, there is no shortage of such activity in our area."
"Again, I forgive these misguided souls as I believe many are weak people who seek to please others who they consider their superiors, hoping such people will improve their situation in life. In addition, I find that there those who live lives of carefully crafted fiction who routinely falsely discredit others, who they know are innocent via transference (accusing them of possessing their own negative personality traits). Such individuals appear fearful and desperate to hold on to position and/or things, important to their ego."
Doubting Tom
Questions about McKay's service arose in April when Devos, one of his political opponents, said during a council meeting she wanted to extend "an olive branch."
She told the mayor she wanted to submit his name to the SteelStacks in Bethlehem, which for Memorial Day was honoring veterans with photos and details about their service around the campus. Devos said she needed his service dates.
The mayor said he would provide his honorable discharge papers.
At the following month's meeting, resident Ed Shuster -- who at the time was one of the leaders of a recall campaign against the mayor -- asked if McKay would release his discharge information. McKay said he wouldn't because of the recall.
"I'm not going to do it," McKay said. "I talked to my attorney and he said don't."
"If you are a veteran, and I'm not saying you aren't, I don't know," Shuster said at the meeting, "If for some reason you aren't -- are not ... that is a terrible insult to all the veterans that have and are now serving in this country."
"That's right," McKay said, "that would be."
A Facebook page started in support of the mayor during the recall campaign posted two photos of McKay as a sailor.
"In a disgraceful dive to new lows," the post says, "Tom's adversaries have launched a new conspiracy challenging his service in the United States Navy. ... These accusations are an affront to servicemen across our nation and should not be tolerated by anyone, regardless of their political leanings."
In June, McKay told lehighvalleylive.com he couldn't remember the exact dates of his service, but that he entered in 1967 or 68 and was discharged three years later.
A records request was submitted to the National Archives based on McKay's name, branch, birth date, social security number and the years he provided.
Search for records
The request sought proof of McKay's discharge and was conducted through the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, part of the National Archives.
That is the most likely place for a military service record of that era to be found, said Doug Sterner, a Vietnam veteran and archivist from Pueblo, Colo., who is recognized for verifying military records and detecting fraud.
Search results can never be 100 percent conclusive, he said, and "the onus is on the individual to present some kind of evidence that they did indeed serve."
In response to the request, submitted June 15, the archives and Veterans Administration said they could not locate any records on McKay. That was the same response provided in response to other requests made in May and provided anonymously to lehighvalleylive.com, which verified their authenticity.
Despite coming up empty, a technician with the archives said the request by lehighvalleylive.com had been forwarded to the FBI, which is sometimes able to confirm services numbers or locate records that may be missing.
When a reporter visited McKay's home Wednesday, a day before his record was found and released, the mayor initially refused to show proof of service, but relented. A certificate of honorable discharge showed that he left the Navy in 1970.
A copy of the photo used in supporters' Facebook post shows his training group at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. McKay said he served as a storekeeper with shipboard supplies and other goods at a Naval station in Queens, New York.
The service record returned by the National Archives shows his only active duty was during training.
No benefits
Besides the campaign flyers -- each with only one brief line saying he served -- there is no sign McKay has used military service to claim perks.
Records show no veterans tax exemption on his property, which on Wednesday was decorated with American flags and other patriotic tchotchke.
"I don't claim a veterans preference ... that would be inappropriate," he said in June, saying he has enough money to cover expenses. McKay previously worked as an anti-money-laundering examiner for the Federal Reserve.
Those who had raised questions were surprised at the service confirmation and said the mayor's actions fostered their skepticism.
"There was just doubt because he didn't remember so much about his record," Shuster said.
Thomas McKay's military records
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.