Fake Marine dupes baseball tourney organizers - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Fake Marine dupes baseball tourney organizers

SHELBY, N.C. — There are red faces among the smiles after a record-breaking North Carolina baseball tournament discovered a speaker wasn't the decorated combat veteran he claimed to be

The Shelby Star reported Thursday that organizers of the American Legion World Series learned the man who led a sportsmanship pledge in Marine Corps dress uniform was a fake.

George Lauve said he served as a Marine sergeant major who earned five Purple Hearts and a Navy Cross. American Legion officials say he received none of those honors and served in the Navy from 1944-46.

A newspaper story about Lauve drew the attention of members at his American Legion post in Wenatchee, Wash. Lauve declined to discuss his claims.

The tournament drew more than 86,000 fans, breaking a 70-year-old record.