On Memorial Day in Harrisburg PA, an army soldier spotted 75-year-old Robert Ford wearing a Marine uniform as he walked down the street. The soldier suspected the uniform was phony (the hat was wrinkled and the belt buckle looked too ornate for the rank). So the soldier got the attention of a nearby police officer and both men confronted Ford, accusing him of being a fraud.
"He's not a real Marine!" the officer shouted to the crowd gathered for the PennLive/Patriot-News Artsfest of Greater Harrisburg. "Stolen valor!"
"I was humiliated," said Ford, of Marysville.
Harrisburg Police Officer Accuses Veteran, 75, Of 'stolen valor'
Robert D Ford, of Marysville, was accused of being a fake by a Harrisburg police officer after wearing his Marine uniform to ArtsFest on Memorial Day. But PennLive has verified Ford's military service. The police department is still investigating a complaint filed by Ford.The only problem is Ford did serve in the Marines from 1958 to 1964. He earned the rank of lance corporal.
Ford said the police officer quizzed him about where he went to boot camp and tried to "push me into a confrontation… He wanted me to react so that he could then take some sort of action against me."
The Mayor of Harrisburg says the officer acted "appropriately."
Image: PennLive video
