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WILLIAMSPORT — Over a six-year period, Frederick J. Grunsby would show up at veterans’ events wearing a dress blue Marine officer’s uniform.
The uniform had rows of medals, including the Navy Cross and Silver Star. At times, he wore the bars of a second lieutenant and other times a captain’s insignia.
It was all a hoax. Grunsby, 63, of Muncy Valley, was a Marine veteran who served two shortened terms in Vietnam. He was never a commissioned officer nor was he awarded the Navy Cross or Silver Star.
The truth came out Thursday in U.S. Middle District Court when Grunsby pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Stolen Valor Act by wearing unauthorized medals and altering a discharge document to reflect he was awarded a Silver Star.
An FBI investigation started after Michael McMunn, of Williamsport, an amateur military historian who was interested in people awarded medals for bravery, saw a framed citation and Navy Cross medal on display in October 2007 at American Legion Post 268 in Muncy.
Between May 2003 and May 2009, Grunsby admitted he would attend ceremonies, including those on Memorial Day at the Muncy Cemetery and Lycoming County Veterans Park, and portray himself as a decorated Marine officer.
The FBI investigation revealed Grunsby’s highest rank was sergeant E-5, and he was discharged as a corporal E-4. He had never been awarded a Silver Star or the Navy Cross.
The Navy Cross citation on display at the Legion post was signed by a nonexistent Marine lieutenant general, not the secretary of the Navy, the probe showed.
Grunsby also admitted presenting to the Department of Veterans Affairs in Philadelphia on Sept. 5, 2005, a Marine Corps discharge certificate that falsely stated he had been awarded a Silver Star.
Magistrate Judge William I. Arbuckle III released Grunsby on personal recognizance pending sentencing. Grunsby uses a cane to walk and told the judge he suffers from continuous pain but offered no explanation for it or why he posed as a decorated officer.
