Doesn't matter his motivations.
He. Broke. The. Law.
Whether he knows it or not is irrelevant, the Stolen Valor Act specifically prohibits the wearing of military medals if not earned by the individual who wears them.
Period.
It doesn't matter whether he simply thought they complimented his wardrobe, if they belonged to his grandfather, or if they were sent to him by his great-aunt's hairdresser's son's brother-in-law.
If he did it for any reason, or even if he wore them for no reason,
He. Broke. The. Law.
It doesn't "honor" a veteran to wear their medals for them. It doesn't "honor" a veteran to wear medals that you didn't earn. On of the greatest men I know lost his son in Iraq--and he would would never wear his son's medals or uniform. He simply wears one of his sons' dog tags, everywhere he goes.
I don't realluy care what Garcia's motivations were.
He. Broke. The. Law.
Worse yet, not one single person on the Idol set had any inkling that what he was doing was illegal, nor did any of them have the sense to imagine some people would take umbrage with it, since he never explained why he wore them.
I too, am an Iraq vet, with over 15 years of service, and the fact that he's wearing medals that don't belong to him does upset me greatly. By wearing them like costume jewelry, he cheapens the honor that those medals display to the rest of the world. Given that 99% of Americans would be hard-pressed to identify even one of them, putting up with his wearing them cheapens the meaning to the veterans who have earned them.