Laws Against Wannabes
These are the laws pertaining to the illegal wearing/sale/manufacture of decorations and medals,
and the laws governing the illegal wearing of the uniform of the United States Military.
THEY CAN BE ENFORCED, AND SOON WILL BE.
Title 18 United States Code:
Sec. 702. Uniform of the armed services and Public Health Service:
Whoever, in any place within the jurisdiction of the United States or in the Canal Zone, without
authority, wears the uniform, or a distinctive part thereof or anything similar to a distinctive part
of the uniform of any of the armed services of the United States, Public Health Service or any
auxiliary of such, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
Sec. 704. Military Medals or Decorations:
(a) In General. - Whoever knowingly wears, manufactures, or sells any decoration or medal
authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals
or badges awarded to the members of such forces, or the ribbon, button, or rosette of any such
badge, decoration or medal, or any colorable imitation thereof, except when authorized under
regulations made pursuant to law, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not
more than
six months, or both.
(b) Congressional Medal of Honor:
(1) In general. - If a decoration or medal involved in an offense under subsection (a) is a
Congressional Medal of
Honor, in lieu of the punishment provided in that subsection,
the offender shall be fined under this title, imprisoned
not more than one year, or both.
(2) Definitions. - (A) As used in subsection (a) with respect to a Congressional Medal of
Honor, "sells" includes
trades, barters, or exchanges for anything of value.
(3) As used in this subsection, "Congressional Medal of Honor" means a medal awarded
under section 2741, 6241,
or 8741 of Title 10."
Author's commentary (See Notice Below):
Regarding 18 U.S.C. Sec. 702 and 704(a):
18 U.S.C. Sec. 3559(a)(7) provides that an offense having a maximum assessable term of
confinement of more than
30 days and less than 6 months is a Class B misdemeanor.
18 U.S.C. Sec. 3571(b)(6) provides that the maximum fine for a Class B misdemeanor not
resulting in death is
$5,000 per count on which the Defendant is convicted.
Regarding 18 U.S.C. Sec. 704(b):
18 U.S.C. Sec. 3559(a)(6) provides that an offense having a maximum assessable term of
confinement of more than
six months and less than one year is a Class A misdemeanor.
18 U.S.C. Sec. 3571(b)(5) provides that the maximum fine for a Class A misdemeanor not
resulting in death is
$100,000 per count on which the Defendant is convicted.
Notice in regards to website Credit: This material was granted
for use on this
website under the specific provisions granted in the following Copyright Notice:
Author's commentary is Copyright 1999, Charles F. Wilkins, III. Permission is hereby given to freely
redistribute this document as part of an effort to discover and expose phony "war heroes" or to reduce
the illegal trade in United States military medals and decorations provided that copies so reproduced or
redistributed carry this copyright notice in its entirety without alteration. Reproduction or redistribution
for any other purpose, whether in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Charles F. Wilkins,
III, is prohibited. No copyright is asserted in the quoted text of original U.S. government works.
An Example of Forged DD214 from the POW/MIA site
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