Yesterday, most of us were introduced to Craig Pusley. He’s the Marine veteran who made national news after standing guard in front of Hughson Elementary School in Modesto, Calif., on Wednesday in a desert camouflage uniform to help children feel safe following the massacre of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The tale got ugly when questions were raised about the military service he was described to have in media coverage. Numerous stories said he left the Corps as a sergeant after pulling two combat tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. I…
Browsing: Donald Laisure
With the Stolen Valor Act under scrutiny by the Supreme Court today, it seemed like a good time to bring a story out of the mothballs. In 2009, I covered a story for Marine Corps Times that falls squarely in the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction category. The short of it: A man who claimed to be a retired four-star Marine Corps general had previously been married to convicted murderer Susan Atkins, ex-wife of the notorious serial killer Charlie Manson. I know this because I went to great lengths to prove it. Donald Laisure claimed in the Marine Corps Association’s membership registry that year…
