Loser who dressed as war hero at HS reunion faces charges

Sure plenty of people lie about their successes in life at high school reunions. Most of them probably get away with it.

But a Californian has insulted every man and woman who serves in our military by pretending to be a war hero.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Steven Douglas Burton was a member of the marching band at Alhambra High School in Martinez, where he struggled to fit in and wasn't known for being athletic. So when he showed up at his 20-year reunion with a buzz cut and dressed in a crisp Marine Corps uniform, fellow members of the class of 1988 were more than a bit surprised.

So were military officials, who said Burton had never served in the military - nor had he spent a day fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan, as he claimed. He actually works at a bank in Palm Springs.

On Thursday, Burton appeared in a federal courtroom in Riverside and pleaded not guilty to charges that he masqueraded as a decorated military veteran. He was dressed in street clothes, not the Marine uniform he liked to wear with a bevy of what prosecutors said were fake medals, including the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart.

Burton is to go to trial in January on a misdemeanor count of unauthorized wearing of military medals or decorations. If convicted, he could be sentenced to as much as a year in prison.

Here's the part of this story that I like. A fellow classmate, a Navy commander, was suspicious of Burton's claims, so she had someone take a photograph of the two of them. The commander handed the pic over to the FBI.

She's a winner. He's a loser.

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