A popular high school history teacher from Massachusetts has been fired from his job after it was revealed he had been lying for years about being a US Army veteran and being awarded two Purple Hearts.
Andrew Gaboury, 36, had taught social sciences at Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton for four years.
At the time of his hiring in 2014, Gaboury claimed that he served for eight years as an intelligence and counter-intelligence analyst and that he was deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Uzbekistan as part of the global war on terror.
History teacher Andrew Gaboury, 36, was fired from his teach job after lying about his military service for four years
The Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton, Massachusetts where Gaboury worked after claiming that he served as an intelligence and counter-intelligence analyst
The school newspaper even published a laudatory article, titled ‘Gaboury goes from military to history classroom,’ which touted the rookie teacher’s purported military service.
‘I’m so pleased to have a man like Mr Gaboury to be on our staff. He had a lot of experiences and was well educated. He even served for our country’s military,’ Principal Kathleen St. Laurent was quoted as saying at the time.
But Gaboury was no decorated war hero and had not served in the military at all.
The US National Archives and Records Administration in St Louis had no mention of Gaboury in the records
Fox25 Boston this week untangled the teacher’s web of lies concerning his non-existent military career after being tipped off that Gaboury had been lying about his biography.
The station reached out to the US National Archives and Records Administration in St Louis and was told that there was no mention of Gaboury in the records.
On Thursday, the 36-year-old teacher came clean to Fox 25 about his deception in an email, saying he had been desperate for a job after being unemployed for a year.
When the principal asked about his military service during the job interview, having mistaken him for another applicant, Gaboury said he did not correct her.
‘I made up time in the Army,’ he wrote. ‘Over the intervening years I added details as people asked. I am deeply sorrowful for this and did not see a way out.’
The Bridgewater resident claimed he tried to join the Army in 2002 after graduating from high school but was disqualified because of unspecified medical reasons.
The Boston news station also has obtained a receipt purportedly showing that the bogus veteran in December purchased online $95 worth of war medals, including a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
Coyle and Cassidy High School and Middle School President Mary Pat Tranter told the Taunton Daily Gazette that when she first confronted Gaboury on Wednesday about the allegations against him, he denied the claims.
Gaboury admitted that he made up stories about serving in the Army and earning two Purple Hearts because he needed a job
Gaboury was ousted from the school on Thursday, effective immediately, for lying about his military service on his employment application.
In his email, the 36-year-old said he has two sons and that he and his wife had recently finalized their divorce.
Although Gaboury acknowledged his wrongdoings, he also sought to downplay the matter, describing it as a personal ’embarrassment’.