High school teacher fired after lying about military service, Purple Hearts
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Andrew Gaboury, 36, lied about being a decorated war hero with two Purple Hearts when he was hired as a history teacher at a Massachusetts high school. (Coyle Cassidy High School)
A Massachusetts high school teacher who claimed to be a decorated war hero with two Purple Hearts has been fired after school officials discovered he was lying, officials said.
Andrew Gaboury, 36, was hired to teach at Coyle Cassidy High School in Taunton four years ago. During the interview process and in the following years, he claimed that he was a war veteran with many accolades to his name.
The school newspaper even wrote a profile on him touting how he transitioned “from military to history classroom.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}However, school officials say, it was all a lie.
Boston 25 reported that it contacted the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration in St. Louis after the school newspaper ran the story. They were told there was no record of Gaboury receiving two Purple Hearts, much less actually serving in the U.S. military.
During the investigation, Gaboury reportedly came clean in an email to the news station.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I made up time in the Army. Over the intervening years I added details as people asked. I am deeply sorrowful for this and did not see a way out,” he wrote.
The teacher told Boston 25 that he wanted to join the Army out of high school but was disqualified for medical reasons.
In a statement on Thursday, the high school said Gaboury was fired, effective immediately.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Coyle and Cassidy High School Administration today (Thursday, March 01, 2018) learned that faculty member Andrew Gaboury misrepresented his service in the United States Military on his application for employment, and as a result his employment was terminated, effective immediately,” the statement said.