LAKEPORT — Officers in the Lakeport Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2015 said they plan to introduce policies allowing for universal verification of members” service records because of events and allegations surrounding the recent resignation of a now-former post commander.
Robert L. Deppe had been a member of VFW Post 2015 since November 2004, “worked his way up” serving in several officer positions and was ultimately named post commander three years ago, according to post adjutant Kirk Macdonald.
Deppe”s association with the VFW post came to an abrupt end in mid-February after post officials asked Deppe about his recent arrest by the Lake County Sheriff”s Office (LCSO) and reports made to the post that Deppe”s service record was falsified.
The LCSO arrested Deppe, 57, early on Feb. 9 on a felony charge of making or passing fictitious currency and a misdemeanor charge of petty theft. Deppe allegedly stole money from family members and replaced it with fake $100 bills, according to Capt. James Bauman of the LCSO.
Macdonald said he received an e-mail soon after, alerting him about Deppe”s arrest and allegations on a website that questioned Deppe”s service history.
The POW Network, an organization that seeks to discredit individuals who falsely claim military service, has an entire page devoted to Deppe, alleging that he lied about serving in Vietnam and receiving military honors.
Veterans wanting to join a VFW post are required to submit a DD Form 214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (DD-214), originating from the Department of Defense. However, post officials cannot verify the validity of the service record indicated on the DD-214 without written permission from the individual serviceman via a Standard Form 180.
Macdonald said it has not been common practice for Post 2015 to ask prospective members to sign a Form-180 because the group generally took an applicant”s DD-214 at face value. “We assume they are (accurate) because why would anybody want to say they”re something they”re not?” he said.
Post officials declined to show Deppe”s filed DD-214 to the Record-Bee, wanting to protect the privacy of the personal document.
Macdonald did say that Deppe”s document indicated he had served in Vietnam as a U.S. Army Ranger for three years, from 1970 to 1973, and received many honors, including a Purple Heart, a Silver Star and two Bronze Stars. The DD-214 made Deppe appear like “a real hero,” Macdonald said.
Out of custody, Deppe attended the Feb. 14 Post 2015 meeting, at which members asked him to sign a Form-180, Macdonald said. Deppe indicated on Feb. 14 that he would sign the form, but changed his mind and declined to do so on Feb. 15, Macdonald said.
Deppe then submitted a resignation letter on Feb. 16, removing himself as post commander and from other roles within the post, Macdonald said.
“Before all this came up, he was a good commander and a good person, but we didn”t know the other side of the coin,” said Post 2015 financial officer Robert “Rocky” Hockenhull.
Among its numerous allegations, The POW Network claims to possess records proving Deppe falsified documentation about receiving a Silver Star by plagiarizing from a memorandum written by military officials about a New Mexico soldier who died in Vietnam in May 1972.
The website also allows people to access a seven-page document that includes a narrative attributed to Deppe in which he allegedly describes his service experience.
The Record-Bee communicated with Deppe several times throughout the week. On Friday, Deppe wrote in an e-mail that he would not be commenting on the allegations at the advice of his attorney.
William Page, who served in Vietnam in 1971 and 1972 and now lives in Louisiana, said he looked into the authenticity of Deppe”s service claims beginning in 2005 after noticing some portions of his own military experience in Deppe”s story.
Page said he could document instances of plagiarism in Deppe”s story from four different sources, using records primarily obtained from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) via the Freedom of Information Act.
Page said Deppe has misidentified locations and he has found no record of Deppe ever serving in the U.S. Army. Some of Page”s research can be found on The POW Network web page about Deppe.
Deppe claimed to serve as an Army Ranger in Company H, according to Post 2015 and documents on The POW Network website.
Retired Lt. Col. William T. Anton, unit director for Company H in the 75th Ranger Regiment Association, said he was company commander during the time Deppe claimed to serve and he has no recollection of Deppe.
Anton said after being “tipped off” three to four years ago about Deppe”s claim to be in Company H, he reviewed a roster listing all members assigned to the unit and did not find Deppe on that list.
“We have so many wannabes, as we call them; it”s at epidemic proportions,” Anton said.
Anton said he contacted the local VFW post three or four years ago and told post officials that he believed Deppe was not a serviceman.
Four Post 2015 members said Friday that they were not aware of contact from Anton or any other person before 2011 claiming that Deppe falsified records.
“It happens a lot in most veterans organizations,” Page said, adding that he”s seen cases of other group heads being removed because of inaccurate service records. “It”s rampant, people wanting to claim Vietnam service.”
The U.S. Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act in 2006, which in part makes it a federal crime to falsely claim to have been awarded military honors. The constitutionality of the law has come into question and judges in two states” appellate courts ruled the act unconstitutional last year, saying it violates First Amendment free speech protection.
VFW Post 2015, and its 118 members, is attempting to move on from the Deppe revelations, according to Hockenhull. “We want to divorce our organization and our VFW post from Mr. Deppe,” he said. Larry Mick has been appointed the new post commander.
Hockenhull said the post”s district commander sent to all area VFW posts a copy of an article published last weekend in The Press Democrat, which first reported Deppe”s resignation and some of the service record allegations.
Macdonald said Post 2015 plans to introduce a policy during its upcoming March 14 meeting, requesting that all current and future members sign a Form-180, “so nothing like this ever happens again.” The signatures would allow post officials to verify the members” service records.
Post 2015 has also asked the state VFW to follow up on any legal implications of Deppe”s allegedly falsified records, Macdonald said.
The VFW national organization website warns local posts of the importance of thoroughly investigating an individual”s eligibility. As written in the VFW Eligibility Information, subsection Checking Eligibility: “A careful check of eligibility at the time a person joins will save a great deal of trouble and embarrassment later.”
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
