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Army deletes awards from record of MOH faker

Human Resources Command has deleted four items from the DD214 of a former soldier who recently pleaded guilty to felony bank fraud and falsely claiming he had received a Medal of Honor.

Richard David McClanahan, 29, pleaded guilty to the two charges Aug. 9 in U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Texas. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop a third charge against him, in which he was accused of falsely claiming he had three Silver Stars, three Purple Hearts and the Legion of Merit.

After an inquiry from Army Times, officials at HRC found a number of entries on McClanahan’s DD214 that could not be verified.

Based on the concerns raised from the initial documents, HRC reviewed McClanahan’s entire DD214, spokesman Master Sgt. Keith O’Donnell said at the time.

“There are enough questions to question the validity of every item on the document,” O’Donnell said.

A DD215 issued June 28 to correct the DD214 deletes the expert field medical badge, parachutist badge, Special Forces tab and the second award of the National Defense Service Medal from McClanahan’s record. Army Times obtained the DD215 through a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

In court Aug. 9, McClanahan admitted to knowingly making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution in an effort to get a loan, according to court documents.

McClanahan, who was an Army medic, also “continually lied about civilian life, military career, education and experiences” and he “displayed poor judgment by falsifying military documents,” according to the court documents.

“He lied about his participation in Operation Enduring Freedom; he lied to his senior [noncommissioned officers], officers and commanders about his military service, combat injuries, decorations and awards; and he was incompetent and disregarded soldiers’ medical issues by writing and signing unauthorized medical profiles,” the court documents said.

McClanahan also admitted to falsely claiming he had a Medal of Honor.

The prosecution said that during the course of his misrepresentation of his military service, McClanahan received $9,500 in scholarship money and $2,000 in donations. He also tried to convince a local car dealership to give him a car because he had been nominated for the Medal of Honor, according to the court documents. When the dealership declined to donate a car to him, that’s when McClanahan “grossly inflated” his income in his loan application to Amarillo National Bank, the documents stated.

Army records for McClanahan show he never received an award for valor, and his only overseas assignment, Army officials said, was a yearlong tour in South Korea from 2003 to 2004. McClanahan was kicked out of the Army for similar charges, spending time in prison and taking a reduction in rank and an other-than-honorable discharge on his way out, Army officials said. He was in the Army from 2001 to 2005 after a short stint in the Navy.

McClanahan will be sentenced six to eight weeks from now. He faces a maximum of 31 years in prison, a fine of no more than $1.1 million and up to five years of probation, according to the plea agreement.