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A senior enlisted Marine was busted down to sergeant last month after he
wore military decorations -- including the Purple Heart and Combat Action
Ribbon -- that he was not authorized to wear, according to a charge sheet
obtained by Military.com.

Per a plea agreement, then-Sgt. Maj. Charlie Clawson was reduced in rank
after a Sept. 13 court-martial found him in violation of nine
specifications of wearing awards or devices that he did not earn, a Marine
Corps spokesperson confirmed to the publication.

His charges also included providing a false statement and engaging in
"conduct that is prejudicial to good order and discipline," the latter of
which he faced nine specifications of, one for each unearned award or
device he wore, the charge sheet said.

According to the charges, Clawson wore the items over a nearly five-year
period, to include when he was the senior enlisted leader of the 1st Light
Armored Reconnaissance Battalion aboard Camp Pendleton, California.

Military.com contacted Clawson on Friday afternoon for comment. He said he
wanted to consult his lawyer before speaking with the press. The
publication followed up on Monday afternoon via phone call and text, but
did not hear back from Clawson by publication.

In total, Clawson was sentenced for wearing the following unauthorized
decorations, ribbons or insignias: Purple Heart; Combat Action Ribbon --
which is awarded to Marines for actively participating in conflict with
the enemy; Joint Meritorious Unit Award; NATO service medal; Kosovo
Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Sea Service
Deployment Ribbon denoting seven tours; Navy and Marine Corps Overseas
Ribbon; and Navy and Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia.

Each count of unauthorized decorations was paired with a specification of
Article 134, a wide-ranging Uniform Code of Military Justice law that
covers unbecoming conduct, according to the charge sheet.

Clawson was also charged with making a false official statement when he
submitted -- "with intent to deceive" -- a doctoral degree and transcript
from Liberty University in 2019 that was "totally false," according to the
charge sheet.

Maj. Hector Infante, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps Training and
Education Command, confirmed Friday that Clawson was sentenced during a
court-martial Sept. 13 under all of the specifications included in the
charge sheet.

Clawson wore the unauthorized decorations between Jan. 1, 2019, and Oct.
20, 2023, a period of roughly four years and nine months, according to the
charge sheet.

During this time, Clawson served in several leadership positions,
including as the sergeant major of the Marine Corps Air Facility and the
Manpower Management Division, both of which are in Quantico, Virginia,
Infante confirmed. He has been assigned to Headquarters Battalion,
Training and Education Command, since 2023.

"Of note, he is only administratively attached to TECOM," Infante said in
an email.

Anthony Anderson, an Army veteran and founder of Guardian of Valor -- an
organization that investigates false claims of awards and service, said
that he was "a little shocked" when he reviewed the charge sheet, given
Clawson's high rank.

"From what I've seen over the past decade or so, it's probably one of the
biggest cases of stolen valor on active duty, especially coming from
someone at the highest enlisted rank in the Marine Corps," Anderson told
Military.com in an interview Monday.

Clawson was not charged under the official Stolen Valor Act, a 2013 law
that covers fraudulent claims, typically from civilians or veterans, of
valor awards like the Medal of Honor, Purple Heart and combat devices,
among other decorations. However, the term has been used to colloquially
describe false claims of service over the last two decades.

Anderson said that, in his experience, it is rare for an active-duty
service member to wear unauthorized decorations while in uniform -- or at
least be caught for it -- citing only "a handful" of other cases he had
seen in the years he has been investigating these claims. He said he was
particularly surprised at Clawson's unauthorized wear of the Purple Heart
and Combat Action Ribbon.

"You're portraying to people that you've served in combat and you were
wounded," Anderson said. "And that portrays a type of respect and
[admiration] from other Marines that would look up to him for that. That's
probably what he was after."

Clawson also wore the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, which
was awarded during the early days of the conflict to service members who
deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and other places, according to Pentagon
policy. That award was eventually replaced with individual campaign
medals.

The Marine Corps released Clawson's actual awards and decorations to
Military.com on Monday. Those records showed two sea service deployments
instead of the seven he claimed. The records did not specify where those
deployments were, but they did not include the Afghanistan or Iraq
campaign medals.

His records also did not show a Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon or
Kosovo Campaign Medal. He earned two Meritorious Service Medals and five
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, among other decorations.

Clawson enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1996 and held the military
occupational specialty, or MOS, of motor vehicle operator, according to
his records.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/10/28/marine-sergeant-major-
demoted-wearing-purple-heart-combat-action-ribbon-and-other-awards-
without.html