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Former sgt. accused of fake Purple Heart claim

Topeka, Kan., police captain Ron Brown earned a Purple Heart after he lost a portion of his hearing in both ears when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded next to the Marine reservist’s head outside Fallujah in 2004. So he made sure he was there when former Sgt. Tim Debusk was arrested and charged with forging a Purple Heart citation on May 25.

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Debusk’s allegedly falsified Purple Heart citation

“I just told him that I thought what he did was despicable, and that I hoped he thought about the guys he disrespected who died for this country over Memorial Day,” Brown said.

Debusk’s trial is set to begin Sept. 7 with a preliminary hearing in Shawnee County District Court, where he is charged with “dealing in false identification documents” and “making a false writing.”

Marine Corps records show Debusk did not earn a Purple Heart, according to Marine Corps headquarters spokesman Maj. Jay Delarosa. Multiple calls were made to Debusk and his attorney, but neither could be reached by press time. The district attorney’s office handling the case also did not return calls regarding the case.

Records show Debusk entered the Corps in 1998 as a supply administration and operations clerk and separated from active duty in 2002. He was recalled at the end of 2004.

Debusk’s last duty station was Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va., where he served until transferring back to the Individual Ready Reserve in October 2005, according to records.

He did earn an Iraq Campaign Medal, although it was unclear from the records when he deployed. Debusk was discharged from the Corps on Jan. 7, 2007, under honorable conditions, according to records.

Retired 1st Sgt. Earl McIntosh, a member of the Topeka Marine Corps League, first reported the forged citation to the Marine Corps Reserve Center in Topeka and local police officials after he received a tip from a source he wants to keep anonymous.

McIntosh said the source handed over the allegedly forged citation to him after it was used to apply for a Purple Heart license plate.

McIntosh sent the Purple Heart citation to Maj. J.D. Lerom, who handles awards for Marine Corps Forces-Central Command’s adjutant. Lerom returned a memorandum to McIntosh stating they had no record of Debusk earning a Purple Heart, according to the document dated March 1 and obtained by Marine Corps Times.

Debusk was also arrested and charged in May 2006 for impersonating a police officer after he pulled over a vehicle and identified himself as a federal officer after flashing a Marine Corps Military Police Badge, Topeka police officials said. Marine Corps records do not show Debusk ever serving as a Marine Corps military police officer.

Debusk avoided jail time for impersonating a police officer and was issued a warning, according to Topeka city court documents.