CORNWALL, Ontario – Members of the Cornwall Legion Branch 297 were left reeling and in shock when they learned earlier this month that the service record of one of their Vice Presidents was revealed to be largely fabricated.
Arthur Murray had claimed to be an artilleryman in the Canadian Forces, a qualified parachutist and, amongst other things, to have served in Cyprus in the early 1990s.
The above claims are not true. Additionally, Murray wore medals which he did not earn.
What is true is that he served in the Reserves from 1980 until 2001, which qualifies him to be a veteran under Canadian law.
Under Section 419 of the Criminal Code, it is illegal to wear military medals that were not earned.
Murray’s case came to light after he became the target of an investigation by Stolen Valor Canada, a group of veterans dedicated to exposing those who are impersonating veterans or wearing medals they did not earn.
A letter from Feb. 5 claiming to be from Murray states that he apologized to all veterans for what he did and that he is prepared to faces the consequences of his actions.
The letter does not state his reasons for fabricating his service record, only stating that he "can offer no real reasons why I did it."
Arthur Murray was also the First Vice President and Cadet Liason Officer at the Cornwall Legion Branch 297.
Linda Fisher, Legion Branch President learned of the situation on Friday, Feb. 10. On Monday, Feb. 13, Fisher called Murray’s wife to ask about his intentions for his legion membership and position.
"She told me that Arthur’s letter of resignation from his position with the executive was in a sealed envelope," said Fisher. "She delivered the envelope to me and inside were his letter of resignation, his keys and his membership."
Ken Heagle, immediate Past-President of the Legion and Veteran Services Officer said that at the Legion Zone Council meeting in March, branches in the region will be notified that Murray is no longer a member and that he is not welcome at any branches. Murray also will not be able to re-apply for membership.
Fisher said that had Murray not resigned the Legion Branch would have had to expel him.
All of the members of the Legion Branch 297 Executive Committee said that they were shocked by the revelations of about Murray.
"His own family didn’t even know," said Bernadette Heagle, the new First Vice President at the Legion. "He was always very knowledgeable so why would you question it?"
"We have the guy outside and he knew everything about it," said Ron Racine. "Its almost as if his life revolved around the military."
Linda Fisher says that the Legion acted swiftly when it learned about the revelations about Murray, but that they only found out about it because a legion member saw the post on Facebook. No one formally notified the Legion.
