Posted on 06/23/2006 1:49:55 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) -- A 60-year-old man faces a federal trial for wearing military medals or decorations that prosecutors say he did not earn.
William James Richardson, of North Fond du Lac, is charged with a misdemeanor of knowingly wearing a badge authorized by Congress for the country's armed forces without authorization, the federal court in Milwaukee said.
Trial was set for Aug. 3 by Judge Aaron E. Goodstein at a hearing on Tuesday.
No plea has been entered yet.
Richardson said that former members of the Fond du Lac American Legion, of which he is a member, have been harassing him. He said they're making a bigger deal out of his case than is necessary.
"They're trying to make a federal case out of a misdemeanor case," he said.
He would not say whether he wore medals he did not earn.
John Stateson, a World War II veteran, served on the Fond du Lac American Legion firing squad with Richardson. He said he reported Richardson to the Federal Bureau of Investigation after Richardson tried to join the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
"He wasn't a veteran of foreign wars," Stateson said.
He said he believed Richardson served in the U.S. Army for two months in Germany but was not eligible to be a member of the VFW.
Bud Ruckman, a former member of the Fond du Lac American Legion, said he had spoken with Richardson several times because he felt Richardson was wearing medals that he had not earned for years.
"I confronted him and said, 'Bill, you're wrong,'" he said.
Stateson said Richardson continued to wear the medals in public, including a Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest award for valor.
Ruckman said that Richardson was still a member of the Fond du Lac American Legion. He said he and five other members left the group or transferred because they did not agree with a decision to allow Richardson to stay on as a member.
Stateson and Ruckman said wearing medals that have not been earned is a disgrace to veterans of war and people who have lost loved ones in wars.
"That's a mockery. That's a slap in the face," said Ruckman, a World War II and Korean War veteran. "He's a disgrace to the families who lost family members."
http://www.fdlreporter.com
Was this John Kerry? John Kerry arrested?/s
I wonder if Kerry is next? lol
Overkill? - NO
What's John Kerry doing in Wisconsin??
my thoughts exactly.. LMAO
How about we do something more relevant to our time than this old man...let's start by finding what, if anything, treason means in this day and age. The New York Times and the person who leaked the SWIFT data mining operation should be so charged on Monday morning.
He's only 60 and has apparently been pretending to have been awarded medals which he hadn't earned. Mentally ill? Perhaps, but definitely not that old a guy.
Since he has been accused of breaking is federal law, it's got to be handled by the FBI or some other federal agency.
Let me guess. The guys name is Murtha, right?
Now that a SERIOUS Legion post. My post has an honor guard that fires salutes at funerals, and they're pretty quick to suspend members who get out of line at the bar, but they haven't resorted to firing squads yet. ;~))
Sure why not! It's about time we make a poster boy out of one of these phonies.
I thought this was an article about Kinky Friedman wearing his father's medals.
Or Mayor Nagin...
As I read the article, it appeared to me that the guy reported him to the FBI when he tried to join the VFW.
Probably just cr@ppy, confusing and hard to understand reporting as always from the AP. *Rolleyes*
At least he has a bright future as a Democrat candidate.
Why wasn't the FBI interested in prosecuting whoever forged the National Guard memos that cost Dan Ratherbiased his job?
There was forgery of an officer.
Did they arrested John Murtha?
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