Wearing unearned medals is protected by 1st Amendment, appeals court rules

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. The defendant claimed: Silver Star, Purple Heart, Navy & Marine Corps Medal with Gold Star, & more

The Marine Corps News (on September 16, 2007) published an article about “Five Fakers.” The fifth was E. Joe Swisher from Cottonwood, Idaho: “The lie,” the News reported, was that “Swisher claimed he was a Korean War hero who took part in highly classified, secret missions to free U.S. prisoners of war. He claimed to have earned the Silver Star, Purple Heart, Navy and Marine Corps Medal with Gold Star, and Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Bronze ‘V.’”

He also, falsely claimed being on an expeditionary force to free POWs in North Korea and that he sustained multiple shrapnel and gunshot wounds while in Korea (September 1955). In his June 2004 VA hearing to obtain benefits, he testified under oath and claimed to be suffering from combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder from the alleged 1955 combat in Korea. To bolster his account, Swisher wrote a book: A Marine Remembers – chronicling his fictitious experiences which quoted from the movie The Sands of Iwo Jima – to give his story apparent authenticity.

The reality was that he served in the Marine Corps on active duty from 1954 to 1957 (all after the resolution of the Korean War). He was never assigned to nor traveled in Korea. His rank and training would have prohibited him from serving on an expeditionary force reserved for Green Berets. During his tour, he was demoted from Corporal to private first class (PFC) after being court-martialed for disciplinary problems. Finally, he was discharged without distinction of any kind in 1957.

Silver Star, Purple Heart, Navy and Marine Corps Medal with Gold Star, and Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Bronze ‘V.