Malone is a Quarter Master at Post 4412 of the VFW in Hudson, FL and a member of Detachment 567 of the Marine Corps League, Holiday, Florida.
Ken Malone came to one of our readers attention all the way back in 2010. During the Stolen Valor trial of Angel Manuel Ocasio-Reyes. Malone would appear at the proceedings as a Purple Heart recipient to witness justice being served. Ocasio-Reyes was on trial for wearing fake awards and military rank. According to an article in the Tampa Bay Times, Malone dressed for the occasion.
He likes to dress up as a Marine Non-Commissioned Officer. We are told that in the past he proudly displayed his Purple Heart and a NMCM. The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is generally considered the equivalent of the U.S. Army′s Soldier’s Medal, the U.S. Air Force′s Airman’s Medal, and the Coast Guard Medal. For heroic performance to rise to this level it must be clearly established that the act involved very specific life-threatening risk to the awardee.
Since some of you might not be familiar with that award we thought it would be a good idea to give an example of exactly what kind of hero is awarded that medal and why.
An amazingly heroic act and selfless dedication in an attempt to save another Marines life. This award is reserved for those who demonstrate exceptional Valor when they are not engaged with the enemy.
At VFW Post 4412, they are more than familiar with Malone dressing up in his uniform and awards, including the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, during functions.
Let’s take a look and see what the Department of Personnel Records has to say about our hero.
It appears his Official Records state he was discharged as a Private First Class. That is an odd rank to hold after 3 years in the Marines. We thought that was so odd that we ordered his records twice, just to be sure. He did serve in Vietnam, but the Marine Corps doesn’t appear to know anything about a Navy and Marine Corps medal. They most certainly have no record of the Purple Heart mentioned in the article above.
Malone appears to have done his tour in Vietnam but ended his enlistment in the Marines on a bad note. In fact, his records show that he didn’t earn that Sharpshooter Badge either, he has what some Marines refer to as a Toilet Seat for marksmanship. The only marksmanship award lower than that is…none at all.
According to the records we have, Ken should probably stop posting things like that on the interwebnet thingy. Doing so could confuse people and give them the impression he is claiming to have a Purple Heart, which he does not.
We can’t identify everything on this vest of his, but if he is going to play dress up, there is nothing wrong with patches to honor your service. Kenny should probably leave the Corporal of Marines Uniform, Purple Heart, Navy Marine Corps Medal, and Sharpshooter awards out of it. See… he still looks spiffy without any of that.
We hope the VFW members at Post 4412 in Hudson, FL put an end to his parading around in a uniform he shouldn’t have on. We have been informed that the Post was made aware of all this. We were also told that they were given the paperwork from the National Archives and Records Administration.
It is our understanding that they chose to do nothing about it. Private Malone is still the Quarter Master. That fact, has some honorable veterans upset. We find it unbelievable that Post 4412 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars would allow someone to put on whatever rank they feel they should have, spice up their medals with ones they did not earn and attend official functions dressed like that.
Maybe VFW Post 4412 has an explanation for keeping an embellishing veteran as an officer of the post. We would most certainly like to hear what that is. Maybe the members at Detachment 567 of the Marine Corps League, Holiday, Florida will look into this as well.
We hope Ken takes this opportunity to man up about his service and move on with life. He served in the Marines and did a tour in Vietnam. There is honor enough in that for anyone.