Saturday, March 06, 1999

Fake hero story hits Vietnam vet just 'like a bullet'

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BY PERRY BROTHERS
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Donald Nicholson and medals he never earned. | Friday story |

        For more than a year, David Murrell considered Donald R. “Nick” Nicholson a friend: a man who understood — like any of the 103 members of the Clermont County chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America — what happened “in-country.”

        Then, at lunch on Friday, he read in The Cincinnati Enquirer Mr. Nicholson's admission that he lied about his military history and being a prisoner of war.

        “It went through me like a bullet,” Mr. Murrell said Friday. “He took honor away from those who gave their lives in Vietnam, and I think that's what's hurting us the worst.”

        Mr. Nicholson, a 62-year-old retired Amelia police chief, remained under observation at Mercy Hospital Anderson. He could face federal charges of unauthorized presentation of medals and falsifying documents. Several branches of the government are investigating to decide if charges should be filed.

        Mr. Nicholson was honored Feb. 7 at the National Guard Armory in Hartwell for receiving the second-highest military award, the Distinguished Service Cross, for extreme heroism in a foreign war. Several veterans saw the story on the Internet and questioned Mr. Nicholson's legitimacy.

        An investigation by the Enquirer revealed that Mr. Nicholson was never in the Army, and that during the time he was allegedly a prisoner of war, he was a self-employed security guard in Florida. He did serve in the Navy, from 1964 to 1968.

        Mr. Nicholson presented fake Army discharge papers to Mr. Murrell more than a year ago, when he joined the Vietnam Veterans of America. The official-looking papers were proof enough for the group, some of whom knew Mr. Nicholson as a lauded police chief.

        “The sad part is that Mr. Nicholson portrayed it so well, we didn't question him,” Mr. Murrell said. “This is nothing new, wannabes — they've infested a lot of our chapters. We have had people that have never served a day that have been in high-ranking positions in some of our (nationwide) chapters.”

        Creating a war hero's identity is relatively easy. Every medal and ribbon, save the highest, the Medal of Honor, can be legally bought and sold, said Shari Lawrence, a deputy public affairs officer for the U.S. Total Army Personnel Command.

        Mr. Murrell himself bought new ribbons to replace a couple of his worn, 30-year-old awards.

        Mike McGrath, president of a national prisoner of war organization, NAM-POWs Inc., maintains a list of 250 people suspected of fraudulently claiming war heroism.

        Mr. McGrath helped expose a Church Hill, Tenn., minister who this week received five years of probation for wearing an unauthorized military uniform and unauthorized display of decorations and awards. Roger Dale Dinsmore, 53, also received a $4,000 fine for masquerading as a Vietnam War hero.

        Larry Greer, who maintains a database of Vietnam POWs for the Department of Defense POW/MIA Personnel office, said the Nicholson case is another example of the accuracy of the database. The Amelia man was not on Mr. Greer's list of POWs.

        “To our memory, and some of our corporate memory goes back 20 years, in no instance has anyone ever come forward and said that he was a former POW without him being a fake,” Mr. Greer said. The database is on the Internet at www.dtic.mil/dpmo

        Greg Lockhart, an assistant U.S. attorney in Dayton, is the only federal prosecutor in the Southern Ohio district — which includes Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus — to have tried this type of case.

        Gary L. “Lucky” Locks used a fake military history when he applied for a federal position. He was sentenced to three years of probation and a $1,000 fine in April 1993.

        Mr. Murrell knows wannabes are out there, but this case has hit home.

        “I think, though, down the road, we will be more cautious,” he said. “When it hits hometown Batavia, it's a different story than when it's California or New York. Now it's come down to our county.”

       

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