BREAKING NEWS – Lansing, Michigan – A group of Michigan veterans are calling on a Democrat running for Congress to apologize for wearing part of a U.S. Army-issued uniform during a Veterans Day event despite having never served in the military.

Fox News Digital has obtained a letter signed by 28 veterans and addressed to former Michigan state Sen. Curtis Hertel, the likely Democrat nominee for the state’s competitive 7th Congressional District, accusing him of giving the impression that he served in the military and committing an act of “stolen valor” by wearing the jacket.

The letter specifically focused on Hertel’s attendance at a Nov. 11 wreath laying ceremony at the Michigan Veterans Memorial in Lansing, when he wore a now-retired U.S. Army-issued physical fitness jacket while speaking at the event despite not being listed in its programming.

Hertel addressed the letter publicly at one of his rallies. “If men can identify as women, and women can identify as men, I see no reason why I can’t identify as a highly decorated war hero.”