RONALD L CRUMLEY

MR CRUMLEY

22 October 2009 article published in the Pueblo Chieftain

http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/10/22/news/local/doc4adfe62f07c1e474213421.txt

CBI asked to investigate man's death

Ronald Crumley had been accused of lying about his military record.


By ANTHONY A. MESTAS
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN



SUGAR CITY - The Crowley County veterans affairs officer who military historians say lied about being a prisoner of war died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound last week, the Crowley County Sheriff's Department announced Wednesday.

According to the sheriff's department, Ronald Crumley shot himself Oct. 13 in his vehicle during a standoff with police. Crumley's age was not released.

Crowley County Undersheriff Steve Becker said the matter is under review by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and that he could not release much information regarding Crumley's death.

Becker said he and other deputies witnessed Crumley's death.

"Basically, it was a gunshot suicide and none of our officers discharged any lethal weapons," Becker said. Becker said that rumors that he smashed a window and possibly caused Crumley to discharge the weapon are not true.

"All I can tell you is that it was a very sad sequence of events leading up to a suicide. CBI has found that we did everything we could to try and prevent it," Becker said.

Becker said that because he and his deputies were closely involved with the incident, he wanted an outside agency to review the case.

"That's why we called CBI," he said.

Becker said more information surrounding Crumley's death will be released later this month.

Earlier this year, military historians said that Crumley had violated the federal Stolen Valor Act, which includes penalties for those who falsely assert they were POWs. The historians said Crumley never was a prisoner of war.

Crumley had been listed on POWnetwork.org under its "phonies and wannabes" section as claiming to be a Vietnam prisoner of war.

In July, Crumley denied the accusations and said he would prove that he was a POW at a meeting with military officers. The meeting never was held.

Crumley allegedly claimed to have been captured in I Corps and was held as a prisoner of war in South Vietnam for three years before escaping.

anthonym@chieftain.com

Claims to be "commissioned" as a Warrant Officer, flew 500 combat missions in less than a year and then he requested to 'go back' to enlisted rank......E-8....

Claims POW for 3-years
07/2009 -  fired VFW state position and suspended his VFW membership for 5 years.
CRUMLEY RONALD L,  SERVED IN THE MARINES AND UMCR 1960-1976.

DISCHARGED A STAFF SGT. NO HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF POW CAPTIVITY.

6062  Aircraft Safety Equipment Mechanic

Veteran’s POW, service claims challenged

A Crowley County official contends he can prove he was a POW.



By ANTHONY A. MESTAS
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

ORDWAY - The Crowley County veterans affairs officer is disputing claims by military historians that he lied about being a prisoner of war.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Ronald Crumley said he is a former POW and that he will prove it at a meeting next week.
"All of the allegations will be answered by two people. One is a four-star Marine general and the other is a former assistant U.S. attorney general," Crumley said.

"I see how this has happened to other people and I want to take care of it now," Crumley said.

Crumley did not specify when or where the meeting will be held. "There are some extenuating circumstances about what went on (during his time in Vietnam) and they can answer those questions for you next week," Crumley said.

He would not comment further.

The federal Stolen Valor Act includes penalties for those who falsely assert they were POWs.

Military historian Doug Sterner of Pueblo and Mary Schantag, a researcher for the POW Network, said that Crumley never was a prisoner of war.

Crumley is listed on POWnetwork.org under its "phonies and wannabes" section as claiming to be a Vietnam prisoner of war.

The POW Network is trying to honor real war heroes and expose fraudulent claims. Schantag is a founder of the Missouri-based organization.

In 2007, Congress approved and former President George W. Bush signed the Stolen Valor legislation. That law makes it a federal crime to fraudulently claim to have received the nation's top military decorations.

Schantag said Wednesday that several veterans have come forward claiming that Crumley not only has claimed to be a prisoner of war but also has been introduced as one at military events the past few years.

"He was never a POW and he has no right to make the claims, especially right there in Colorado when there are former POWs right there in the area," Schantag said.

Sterner said he received a report on Crumley around Memorial Day this year.

Schantag said that according to her reports, Crumley told people he was a prisoner of war during a weeklong County Veterans Service Officer conference in Denver in May.

"That's where our original reports came from. These guys turned him in from hearing him at meetings," Schantag said.

The veterans, Schantag said, said Crumley allegedly claimed to have been captured in I Corps and held as a prisoner of war in South Vietnam for three years before escaping.

According to Sterner's records, Crumley, a retired Marine, was introduced last year as a former prisoner of war to the Colorado Board of Veterans Affairs and a roomful of veterans.

The records state that during another event, officials invited all who were former prisoners of war to stand and Crumley did so.

Schantag said a veteran reported to her that during the conference in May, he sat with Crumley for lunch every day with several other Veterans Service officers. The veteran said that Crumley claimed that, before his capture, he was promoted to warrant officer and flew 500 combat missions in F-4 Phantom jets. The veteran also said that Crumley claimed to be a retired, 30-year veteran.

Schantag said the POW Network obtained Crumley's official military records through the Freedom of Information Act and found he served 10 years in the Marines as an aircraft safety equipment mechanic, never was promoted to warrant officer, never flew 500 combat missions and was never a Vietnam POW.

Crumley was recently removed from his position at the state VFW and is precluded from holding a state or local VFW elected position for five years.

Bill Esch, Colorado State VFW commander, said that Crumley's removal had nothing to do with the POW allegations.

Esch said that he was removed for using a VFW credit card to purchase a laptop computer in 2007.

"The bylaws of the Crowley County post say that a person cannot buy anything with a credit card over $500. With tax the computer was above $500. He technically violated the bylaws," Esch said.

Esch said that Crumley is still a member of the VFW and is doing a good job in Crowley County.

In an e-mail to The Pueblo Chieftain, Crowley County Commissioner Matt Heimerich said, "The Board of Commissioners does not plan on taking any further action on this issue unless formal charges against Mr. Crumley have been proven."

Sterner said he has contacted an FBI special agent and reported Crumley to him as a violator of the Stolen Valor Act. Sterner said the agent will investigate this matter for possible federal violations.

Schantag said that scores of Americans, from clergymen to lawyers to CEOs, are claiming service medals they never earned.

"We get more than 20 reports a week on this. It's an epidemic and a major problem that is changing the history of the Vietnam War because the majority of claims are in the Vietnam era," Schantag said.

"The more these phonies keep talking, the more they get the front pages and the more they infiltrate the VFW, the more disgusting it gets."

Schantag said that in the more than 40 years of its existence, the Department of Defense's POW list has never been proven wrong.

"We've never had someone that we have accused of being either a fraud or a phoney be able to come up with information given to the Department of Defense to be added to the list (of POWs)," she said.

anthonym@chieftain.com

07/24/2009

A review of the official Department of Defense database on U.S. POWs and MIAs shows that no one by the name of Ronald Crumley was ever held as a POW during the Vietnam War.  The database is available for public review at www.dtic.mil/dpmo, > Vietnam War, > POW/MIA List.

LARRY GREER

Director of Public Affairs

Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office

------------------------

 

Dear Mr. Mestas.....
 
Thank you for your well written article on Ronald Crumbley.  This letter is to confirm that no man named Ronald Crumbley was ever with any one of us,
the real 661 surviving POWs of the Vietnam War, nor is he known by the Department of Defense in this regard. 
 
The official Department of Defense listing of all 3,797 MIAs (to include all POWs), is available to the public at the following address:
   
You can also call the DPMO Public Affairs Officer, Mr. Larry Greer during normal Washington, DC working hours to confirm this information.  ....Mr. Greer is info-copied on this e-mail.
 
An internet search finds Mr. Crumbley listed at the following address: 
   
If Mr. Crumbley can substantiate his claims, then I would be glad to help him present his evidence, including documentation and personal eye witnesses,
to the Department of Defense.  However, I think this is probably an impossibility.  Not a single one of the more than 2,000 phony POW claimants has proven the Defense Department records to be in error. 
 
We already know Mr. Crumbley is lying about being a pilot, flying combat missions, his rank, etc.  In my experience, when a man is lying about these
sorts of things, you can be sure that there are a lot more lies yet to uncover. 
 
When a man is missing from his unit following an armed conflict incident, there are set in motion a whole host of events...all of which are part of
permanent records.  First, there would be an After Action Report, a Missing Man report, morning muster reports, service record and medical record
entries, pay record entries, military orders changing him from his past position to an administrative holding unit, notification of next-of-kin at his
home of record, Western Union notification to the family from the Service Secretary or his Chief of Staff, newpaper articles, an assignment of a
Casualty Assistant Calls Officer (CACO) to assist the family, awards and decorations, sometimes even a note on his DD-214 discharge papers.   He
would have been listed by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) over 25 years, followed by the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office
(DPMO) for the last 15 or so years.  He would have been awarded the POW Medal, he would be attending the Naval Operational Medical Institute with
the rest of us (the 661 surviviors) as well as the 21 Gulf War POWs, for medical follow-up exams and treatment (I have attended each year for the
last 35 years).  There are no secret missions, lost records, "Saint Louis Fire," etc. that he can fall back on for an excuse.  He is a wannabe who is
trapped by his lies.  He is scrambling to buy time.  Don't let him off your hook. 
 
In short, this guy is lying to you and to all whom will listen to his tall tale.  It is not up to you to disprove his claims (which you can easily do by examining
his service record).  Rather, it is up to him to "prove" his preposterous claims through factual documentation and eye-witness testimony, none of
which will be forthcoming.  You'll get a lot of smoke and delaying promises, but he will never produce.  He most likely hopes you lose interest and that
this will all blow over and be forgotten. 
 
It will soon be forgotten by me.  He is just a blow hard wannabe who is not worth remembering.  However, I do hope you do some follow-up
investigating and reporting on this matter.  If I can assist, do not hesitate to call.  I live in CO....   You are welcome to use any part of this e-mail for Letters to the Editor, or for quotes in follow-up articles yet to be written by you. 

Sincerely,
 
Captain John M McGrath, USN (Ret)
POW in North Vietnam for 5 years 8 months
NAM-POWs Historian
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crowley vet's POW claims raised red flag

Posted: 07/26/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT

A Vietnam veteran responsible for assisting other vets with their benefits in Crowley County has been stripped of his state VFW office and is under investigation for allegedly falsely claiming he had been a prisoner of war.

Ronald Crumley, who denies lying about his record, is employed as the county's veterans service officer. He has been receiving 100 percent disability payments based on the three years he says he was held as a prisoner of war.

Crumley was a Marine. And he did earn a Purple Heart. But the POW claims he made in May at a week-long Veterans Service Officer conference "raised red flags," said Joe Potter, a veteran and a member of Gov. Bill Ritter's Colorado Board of Veterans Affairs.

Potter said Crumley talked to a table of veterans every day at lunch, describing how he was taken prisoner after nearly everyone else in his company was killed.

Potter also said Crumley told the group he receives full disability payments because of the trauma of his POW experience and claimed he served for 30 years and flew 500 combat missions.

Crumley's service record shows he served 16 years and was a mechanic.

Site calls him phony

Potter said he began researching Crumley's claims with real POWs. He also turned to Doug Sterner, a Colorado Springs veteran and military historian who has made a full-time job of exposing phony war heroes, and to Mary Schantag, founder of the Missouri-based POW Network.

They all reached the same finding: Crumley was never a POW and other claims he had made about his service record are false.

Schantag has posted him under "phonies and wannabees" on the POW Network website, and a Department of Veterans Affairs investigator is now looking into his record.

"They are blowing this whole thing out of proportion," Crumley said when reached Wednesday.

Crumley said he was leaving for a funeral that day and couldn't talk further. He promised that a former Marine general and a former U.S. attorney general from Washington, D.C., will fly to Colorado this week to support his claims.

"This is all because I stepped on some toes and got crosswise with some high-ranking officials," he said.

Still a county employee

Mike McGrath, a former Vietnam POW from Monument, confirmed Friday that Crumley's name is not among the 661 surviving Vietnam War POWs.

The Crowley County commissioners said he will continue to work as their service officer.

"At this point, unless there is a charge proven, he is still employed as our county officer," said Commissioner Matthew Heimerich, noting that the controversy seemed to be based on third-party reports and hearsay.

Colorado State VFW Commander Bill Esch confirmed that Crumley was removed from his position as Colorado Junior Vice Commander and cannot hold office in the organization for the next five years because he used a VFW credit card to buy a laptop computer in 2007 in violation of VFW rules.

"We took care of our issue with him and thought it was best to remove him as a state officer," Esch said.

A felony violation

Sterner said he has notified the FBI about Crumley's claims because falsely asserting POW status is a felony violation under the Stolen Valor Act. Sterner said he believes Crumley has been receiving benefits to which he is not entitled.

Questions about Crumley's record first surfaced after Colorado Springs veterans activist Richard Strandlof was exposed as a fraud in June. Strandlof, a.k.a. Rick Duncan, raised money for veterans causes and spoke at veterans rallies, but never served in the military. He is facing charges under the Stolen Valor Act.

Schantag pointed out that Crumley's false claims should be taken seriously because he works in a position of trust.

"If he is lying about his record, what else is he lying about?" she said.

Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com