From Denny Walsh:
Kenneth Jerome Nelson, widely known as self-appointed guardian of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Capitol Park, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to wearing a Silver Star he did not earn.
Nelson, 60, of Sacramento, had garnered coverage by local television and The Bee as the unofficial caretaker of the memorial. He posed as the recipient of medals from his time as a Marine in Vietnam.
According to Assistant U. S. Attorney Camil Skipper, he wore the Silver Star, the military's third highest decoration, and claimed to have earned three Purple Hearts, the third one after he stepped on a spike while carrying a wounded soldier on his back for 26 miles.
But it was all a charade; he never served in a combat zone. Nelson was prosecuted under the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2006, which makes it a misdemeanor to wear medals not awarded or to falsely claim they were awarded.
"The Silver Star is a symbol of heroism, patriotism, and honor," said U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner. "Mr. Nelson would seek to diminish the sacrifice of others by wearing the unearned medal. He received years of praise and admiration from the public that he did not deserve, and now he is exposed as a fraud."
Nelson is scheduled to be sentenced March 1.
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