Marine charged with faking war wounds for gain
By DAVID DISHNEAU, Associated Press Writer David Dishneau, Associated Press Writer
Mon Sep 21, 12:22 pm ET

SABILLASVILLE, Md. – On a sultry day in July 2008, Marine Sgt. David W. Budwah strode in his battle fatigues to the front of a picnic pavilion to tell three dozen young boys what he did during the war.

With his clear gaze, rigid posture and muscled, tattooed arms, Budwah looked every inch the hero he claimed to be. He said he was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when a homemade grenade exploded, wounding his face and arm when he dove to shield a buddy from the blast.

"We're here to make sure of the freedom you have every day," Budwah told his audience at Camp West Mar, a wooded American Legion compound about 60 miles northwest of Washington.

But the Marines say Budwah is a liar, a fraud and a thief. They are court-martialing the 34-year-old Springhill, La., native, alleging he was never in Afghanistan, wasn't wounded and didn't earn the combat medals he wore — or the many privileges he enjoyed.

Budwah joined the Marines in October 1999 and spent nearly all of the next six years with a radio communications unit in Okinawa, Japan, according to the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Va., where Budwah has been stationed since February 2006.

Phony heroes aren't unusual. Thousands of complaints pour in annually to the FBI and civilian groups about impostors flaunting store-bought medals.

Their very prevalence exposes something else — a nation so eager to embrace its war fighters, especially the wounded, that it sometimes fails to discern between the real heroes and the fakes.

"In every society in history, the warrior is glorified," said phony-hero debunker B.G. "Jug" Burkett of Plano, Texas. "The second you say you're a warrior who has performed heroically in combat, everybody perceives you differently."

Burkett, 65, a Vietnam veteran and author of the 1998 book, "Stolen Valor," said the urge to honor the wounded can cloud a person's judgment.

"I tell reporters that when you've got a guy who's vocal — 'Let me tell you how I won my Silver Star' — your antenna should go up," Burkett said. "The real guys typically don't talk about it."

Budwah's case is remarkable because he is an active-duty Marine facing military justice, not a civilian charged with wearing unearned medals. Of nearly 3,100 courts-martial last year in the four major armed services, only 27 were trials for wearing illegal decorations. Just two involved Marines.

Prosecutors say Budwah wore unauthorized medals and accepted VIP invitations to rock concerts, major-league baseball games, banquets and other events meant to fete wounded warriors.

He faked post-traumatic stress disorder in hopes of leaving service early and was sent to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, where he bluffed his way into 33 events from late July through November 2008, according to charges obtained by The Associated Press through an appeal of its Freedom of Information Act request.

Bethesda hospital spokesman Chris Walz said the staff tries to involve as many patients as possible in such activities, which range from free NFL tickets to speaking engagements like Budwah's at Camp West Mar.

The charges include making false official statements, malingering, misconduct and larceny. Budwah faces up to 31 1/2 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted on all eight counts at a trial set for Oct. 20. at Quantico.

Budwah, who declined to enter a plea at his Aug. 5 arraignment, denied wrongdoing in a brief telephone interview in April. "The allegation is not even true," he said, declining to comment further.

Defense attorney Marine Capt. Kelly Repair and prosecutor Marine Capt. Thomas Liu also have declined to comment.

Recent prosecutions of active-duty service members include Dontae L. Tazewell, a Navy hospital corpsman sentenced in January 2008 in Norfolk, Va., to two years in prison for wearing an unearned Purple Heart and other decorations. Tazewell falsely claimed he had rescued six Marines and recovered the bodies of four others in Iraq.

Prosecutors portrayed him as a failing sailor so desperate to remain in service that he fabricated the story.

Navy corpsman Robert White, got 45 days in the brig after pleading guilty in December at Great Lakes Naval Station, Ill., to wearing a Purple Heart he bought. A former girlfriend testified White obtained the medal after he was shunned by his peers for assaulting her, the Navy Times reported.

People fabricate military injuries for many reasons, including laziness, greed, sympathy and psychosis, said Loren Pankratz of Oregon Health & Science University, who wrote about PTSD impostors in his book, "Patients Who Deceive."

"A more common theme would be somebody who would represent sort of the antihero — the guy who's given his all and yet been abused and misunderstood," Pankratz said.

Burkett said others are simply con men.

Walter E. Boomer, who served as assistant commandant of the Marine Corps from 1992 to 1994, vaguely remembers meeting Budwah in November when they were guests at a Grand National Waterfowl Association benefit on Maryland's Eastern Shore. They shot at ducks, drank and dined with other VIPs and shotgun manufacturing executives.

"I accepted his story at face value," Boomer said. "Nothing that I recall would have set off alarm bells."

Budwah again managed his way to the center of attention at a September 2008 boxing event in Glen Burnie, Md. Organizer Scott Wagner said the highlight of the night was when he brought Budwah and dozens of other military hospital patients into the ring for a standing ovation.

"Were they injured or not? I don't know and I really don't care. If half of them were injured, I still feel good about it," he said.

A year after Budwah's speech to the youngsters at the American Legion camp, Spencer Shoemaker sat stunned in the family's kitchen as he read the charges against his Marine idol for the first time.

Shoemaker, then 10, was so impressed he had his picture taken with Budwah and kept a treasured newspaper clipping about the visit. He said Budwah's talk made him want to join the Marines.

"Well, it's better that I know," the boy said after a long silence. "It did tear me down, but I'll still join the Marines."

His father Michael, a construction worker, seethed at the news about Budwah.

"He scammed America," Shoemaker said. "He scammed a kid."

"I tell reporters that when you've got a guy who's vocal — 'Let me tell you how I won my Silver Star' — your antenna should go up," Burkett said. "The real guys typically don't talk about it."

Good advice. I run into guys every now and then who broadcast their war record like that. It always sets off my poser radar. That and the unusual number of Snipers, SEALS, and "Green Berets" I run into.

It's too bad civilians and reserve posers can't be given such a stiff sentence. Too many bs'ers.

It's amazing that people are duped by scumbags such as this. Posers, short- dickers one and all.

A couple friends and I were talking about posers a few days ago. Some of the people present, had never been in the sercvice. They were amazed someone would make things up or claim awards they never earned.

quote:

It's amazing that people are duped by scumbags such as this.

Simple, MOST civi's dont know d1ck about the Military.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CiviLegg,

And some former military folks don't get it, either.

I wrote an E-mail to a local reporter who does stories about military folks in the local paper. I remember reading about her stating she was in the Army once.

The article I had issue with was about a WW II Marine, complete with pictures. WAY too many inconsistencies to get into here, but some of them were his eleven Purple Hearts (eight is THE max anyone has ever gotten). One of the ribbons he wore in the uniform picture was the American Campaign Medal, which required him to serve a full year before the Pearl Harbor attack. He said in the article he enlisted (as underage) in January 1941.

None of the visible ribbons were in proper order. The one most glaring ribbon on display was his S/W Asian Service Medal (ODS/S), right in the middle. It stood out like a sore thumb. Othersdisplayed weren't created or issued until the '70's & '80's, yet he said in the article he served until 1946.

He said he fought at the Battle of Bougainville in the Pacific (Nov 43), yet in the small collage of pictures was his San Diego boot camp photo from 1944.

Like I said, WAY too many consistencies.

When I E-mailed the discrepancies to the reporter, she blasted me for slandering the service men and women of our military.

She did it again a couple of weeks later with another WW II veteran. In his photo, he had a number of US Medals of America "commemoratives" in his shadowbox that she said he had been "awarded" (to include his "Cold War Victory Medal", etc.).

The E-mail I wrote on this next unverified article that she wrote went to her editor instead.

All I asked initially was that she check her stories better in the future, for which I got her scathing reply.

I still read her articles and look for inconsistencies, but haven't found any for a while. Maybe she finally got the message: "Trust, but Verify."

Guys, I guess I should start my post here with the standard disclaimer - so for the record I'm not accusing anyone of anything, period.

My situation is precisely as described here - my antenna (and gut instincts) are working overtime. I am in the position that a local (civilian) organization that I have close personal ties with is considering getting a speaker that frankly causes me some concern. Nothing obvious as in the cases we frequently see here. More subtle - such as the use of a military rank when the occasion or situation isn't even remotely related to the military. So, I Googled the person and find that every instance of him speaking, appearing, etc., has his rank plastered all over it, but there is no military bio to be found, no mention of his actual service, etc.

Any suggestions on how to further pursue this in a professional, respectful manner? And again to do so under the assumption that he's right, I'm wrong?

Thanks guys!

O4Psyoper
I find that the guilt feeling works very well for me.
I have a feeling hitting me now about a man running for SC state Asjudant General.
We still elect ours. The only state to do so.
He has been in the news here because he was having a raffle drawing to give away an AK to people that pay 25 bucks to go to his rallies.

58 years old claiming 2 tours in Viet Nam. It is possible with that age. No other real qualifications. The job is a 2 star posting.
He is overweight and wants to keep the guard home from the middle east and do law enforcement duty rounding up illegals.

I would love to get ahold of his DD-214.

quote:

Originally posted by O4Psyoper:
Guys, I guess I should start my post here with the standard disclaimer - so for the record I'm not accusing anyone of anything, period.

My situation is precisely as described here - my antenna (and gut instincts) are working overtime. I am in the position that a local (civilian) organization that I have close personal ties with is considering getting a speaker that frankly causes me some concern. Nothing obvious as in the cases we frequently see here. More subtle - such as the use of a military rank when the occasion or situation isn't even remotely related to the military. So, I Googled the person and find that every instance of him speaking, appearing, etc., has his rank plastered all over it, but there is no military bio to be found, no mention of his actual service, etc.

Any suggestions on how to further pursue this in a professional, respectful manner? And again to do so under the assumption that he's right, I'm wrong?

Thanks guys!

Sir,
Is he still active or retired? Try looking in the AKO white pages. While it is not all inclusive and not all retirees are in there, being there would be a point in his favor.
Otherwise, anyone can request his service record from St Louis. Just depends on how much time and effort you want to invest in finding out.

It would also not at all be inappropriate for the organization that wants him to speak to ask for a biographical sketch of his life and service to include in a program and/or introduction. Perhaps you could introduce that idea to them...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: redleg13f,

quote:

Originally posted by WENDELLKEITHDUNCAN:
O4Psyoper
I find that the guilt feeling works very well for me.
I have a feeling hitting me now about a man running for SC state Asjudant General.

You'd think he'd have top produce it, to prove his qualifications. Maybe a letter to the editor campaign is in order. Pressure the papers to put his feet to the fire.

It's stupid when somebody who has never served in the military lies about their service. It is SO MUCH WORSE when somebody who actually HAS served lies about their service.

This guy makes the Corps look bad.

quote:

Originally posted by O4Psyoper:
Guys, I guess I should start my post here with the standard disclaimer - so for the record I'm not accusing anyone of anything, period.

My situation is precisely as described here - my antenna (and gut instincts) are working overtime. I am in the position that a local (civilian) organization that I have close personal ties with is considering getting a speaker that frankly causes me some concern. Nothing obvious as in the cases we frequently see here. More subtle - such as the use of a military rank when the occasion or situation isn't even remotely related to the military. So, I Googled the person and find that every instance of him speaking, appearing, etc., has his rank plastered all over it, but there is no military bio to be found, no mention of his actual service, etc.

Any suggestions on how to further pursue this in a professional, respectful manner? And again to do so under the assumption that he's right, I'm wrong?

Thanks guys!

Well PsyOps, for the first step in uncovering, identifying, and posting "posers"; personally, I would go to Chuck and Mary Schantag, the owners of POWNETWORK. Chuck and Mary do wonders in uncovering those who think they are a gift to the clandestine operatives; to include claiming to be former POW.

Chuck is a former Marine with the River Rats in Nam, and was, if I remember right at one time a tunnel rat. Not positive on that, but he is one of the surviving %100 DAV/VA.

FWIW, I do have a pretty accurate listing of those who are former POWI also have a list of those known who are claiming to be former POW as well as former SF, Rangers, SEALS, and can verify in a short time the validity of most character posers out there. For the SF wannabe, I have what we call the Yellow Book and the White Book, which are, the "Who's Who in MACVSOG" and "Who's who in the SFA and SOA", respectively. If anyone has a question of someone and their claims please fire away, If I don't have the correct data, I know who does and how to get it.......Ringo

Take care, stay safe, keep smiling, happy hunting, and may the good Lord keep a watchful eye over you at all times............Jim Ringland
Then I heard the Lord saying; :/Whom shall I send, who, will go for us?" and said I, "Here, am I, send me."....Isaiah 6:8-6:13........Ringo
LORD: Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth AMEN!! unkn.
www.sfac82.org/Sends

Mornin' Jim

Mornin' Don. How are things out your way?

Doin' fair to midland, all things considered. Took Karen camping and scuba diving last weekend, then saw Crosby Stills and Nash in concert. I think we over did it, she's awfully tired...I think the meds slow her down. How's Marilyn?

I met a guy in a bar in Salt Lake who was telling me he joined Ranger bat just after Vietnam ended, and that he was in for 4 years and got out after his combat jump into panama. He got offended by my pointed questions about where he attended training and what battalion he was attatched too, what his class number was and where he was stationed, and he could tell that none of his answers were making any sense to me. I didn't call him out til after he told his fat drunk girlfriend that I probably wasn't even in the army, then when I showed him my ID he took it out of my hand and threw it accrossed the bar. At that point I decided to educate him on what decade Panama took place and what decade Vietnam took place, and thanked him for his service, what ever that may have actually been.

quote:

At that point I decided to educate him on what decade Panama took place and what decade Vietnam took place

What? I thought Panama was the capital of Taiwan...

quote:

Originally posted by pharoah_1701n:

quote:

At that point I decided to educate him on what decade Panama took place and what decade Vietnam took place

What? I thought Panama was the capital of Taiwan...

Nope, yer WRONG! It's a song by Van Halen...

I thought Panama was red and Acapulco was gold.