Jose , California , watching it in horror on TV with a few other people , '' Strandlof told CNN 's Anderson Cooper . He was at a homeless shelter at the time . Strandlof denies being a pathological liar . He says he suffered from `` some severely underdiagnosed mental illness '' and that he got caught up in the moment around `` people who are passionate and loved what they did . '' He told CNN he had put on a `` production , which I 'm sorry for . '' `` Hopefully the people that I hurt can in some way gain closure from that , and I myself do n't know what I can do short of leaving them alone and not being in their lives , to make that happen , '' Strandlof said . He said he 's not sure exactly how he 's hurt people . `` It 's not for me to say , and time will tell , '' he said . Hal Bidlack , a former Air Force lieutenant colonel , is one of those people . He ran for Congress as a Democrat and had Strandlof appear with him
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Richard Strandlof said he survived the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon . He said he survived again when a roadside bomb went off in Iraq killing four fellow Marines . He 'd point to his head and tell people he had a metal plate , collateral damage from the explosion . Richard Strandlof says he did n't mean to cause harm when he lied about being a military veteran . Crowds ate up his story . He canvassed Colorado appearing at the sides of politicians . Inspiring and seemingly authentic , he spoke on behalf of veterans at the state Capitol . It turns out the whole thing was a lie . He was n't at the Pentagon . He was never a Marine . He never served his country . He never graduated from the Naval Academy . He claimed his name was Rick Duncan . He formed a group called the Colorado Veterans Alliance , and the FBI is now investigating whether he embezzled money as a result . Watch Strandlof defend himself '' Where was he on 9/11 , the day he said he witnessed heroism firsthand ? `` I was in San