"America's Got Talent" Timothy Poe in hot water over war injury claims

CEBU, Philippines - Timothy Michael Poe won over the crowd and the judges of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” even before he began to sing, with his moving story of blocking a grenade blast in 2009 to save his buddies in Afghanistan — an act of heroism he said broke his back and left him with a brain injury.

The truth, according to an ex-wife, was that Poe was never hurt on the battlefield.“It’s embarrassing,” said Shannon Conroy, who was married to Poe from November 2005 until this April.

The Minnesota Army National Guard has likewise issued statements contradicting Poe’s account on the television show, igniting a firestorm online, especially among veterans and on military blogs, over Poe allegedly claiming glory and sympathy to which he’s not entitled.

The Guard says its records show Poe never was injured in combat in Afghanistan or Iraq.

In the “America’s Got Talent” episode that aired Monday, Poe told judges Howie Mandel, Howard Stern and Sharon Osbourne that he spent 14 years in the military that included being attacked in Afghanistan.

Military records however show he served with the Guard from December 2002 through May 2011, as a supply specialist. (FREEMAN)