When Sgt. Christopher Wilson died in combat, his family clung to any information or memories they could find in order to make sense of their abrupt, intense loss. That information came from a war buddy, who described holding Wilson in his final moments and attempting to stop the bleeding of Wilson’s fatal stomach wound.

But what if that ‘war buddy’ was lying the whole time? What do you do when the memories of your lost son or daughter was a complete fiction made up by another soldier who wasn’t even there?

That is what the Wilson family who confided in Spc. Brandon Garrison have to wonder now that Garrison as been outed as a liar and fraud by his own unit.

Garrison was deployed and wounded in Afghanistan as a supply clerk eight years ago. In his post-war career, Garrison as appeared on HBO and quoted in Stars and Stripes to describe Wilson’s death and wax poetic about transitioning into civilian life in spite of enormous obstacles like PTSD and physical disability. Garrison was even recently gifted a service dog and new home through a charity.

According to his former unit, Garrison’s claim he held Sgt. Wilson in his final moments was a complete fabrication. In fact, Garrison was never in combat and was nowhere near Wilson when he died. Wilson didn’t even die of a stomach wound. The legitimacy of his physical disability and respiratory issues have also been called into question thanks to soldiers discrediting Garrison’s account of working nearby burn pits and blowing out his eardrums in battle.

Garrison was exposed by members of his former unit after they confronted him privately over Facebook. Garrison blocked their messages, so they decided to contact the media outlets that once gave Garrison a platform for his lies.

From Military.com:

In July, the local television news station confronted Garrison in the front yard of his donated home. He stormed off on camera — without the cane he had been leaning on in past news segments — and appeared to angrily shove open his front door.

Later, he called the crew back. He stood in his front yard wearing wraparound sunglasses and read a statement. There was no mention of Halliday or Wilson by name.

“I’d like to apologize first and foremost to the family members and service members who were affected by the inaccuracies of my interview eight years ago,” he said. “I take full responsibility for that.”

Garrison has yet to directly apologize to Wilson’s family.