Charles Chavous; most decorated phony & murderer

Last month, Charles Chavous pleaded guilty to the 1975 murder of Bronzi Leon Peppers. He was one of three men implicated in the murder and the last to be sentenced. One of the three died in a automobile accident before he could be brought to answer for the crime. Of course, Chavous told his lawyer, Scott Connell, and the court that it was his time in Vietnam that made him crazy. His lawyer told the court that Chavous was one of the most decorated Marines from that war.

The guilt of not telling what he knew about a homicide was worse than war, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and POW escapee told a judge Thursday.

For the man who had saved so many lives during his tours of duty, Charles Chavous was tortured because he did not try to save Bronzi Leon Peppers on Feb. 3, 1975, said Chavous’ attorney, Scott Connell.

[…]

Chavous served in the Marines as a “tunnel rat,” one of the men who went alone into extensive systems of tunnels dug by the Viet Cong. He was wounded five times, Connell said. He was captured and held captive, but escaped and carried another prisoner out, too, his attorney said.

Chavous is one of the highest-decorated veterans of the Vietnam War, Connell told the court. His medals include two Bronze Stars and the Navy Cross, Connell said.

The night Peppers was killed, Chavous froze, Connell said. He has been overwhelmed with guilt ever since.

Yeah, if you looked at the DD214 he was flashing, you might believe that;

It looks like he did do a year in Vietnam with the Marine Corps, but he earned no where near the number of awards he claimed in court. In fact his number of awards are “zero”.

He’s been rocking that lie for a while. here’s an article from March 6, 1994;

HERO’S OVERLOOK HONORS AUGUSTA-AREA VETS AFTER THREE DELAYS, DEDICATION CEREMONIES FOR MEMORIAL TO BE HELD FRIDAY

Edition: ALL
Source: By Kelly Daniel Staff Writer
Section: METRO Page: C01
Caption: BLAKE MADDEN/STAFF
William Leech (left) and Mike Carter install bronze plaques on Hero’s Overlook for the dedication.

Description: http://172.16.33.56:8080/Save/classic/sp/morris/web/images/lines.gif

When the long-awaited Hero’s Overlook on Riverwalk Augusta is dedicated this Friday, perhaps one of its honorees will feel he’s finally made it back from the jungles of Vietnam.
The memorial’s dedication has been delayed three times since the project began in 1991, but the wall of honor will be ready for the 1 p.m. ceremonies on Friday, said Jack Widener, chairman of the project.
Hero’s Overlook, at 10th and Riverwalk, honors the 25 Augusta-area veterans who have won the Congressional Medal of Honor, the military’s highest honor, or the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Service Cross, the military’s second-highest honors.
One of those heroes, Charles Chavous, has two bronze plaques on the wall honoring him for winning a Navy Cross and a Distinguished Service Cross. Mr. Chavous, a retired Marine and ex-prisoner of war, also won five Purple Hearts during five tours in Vietnam. He now suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
“When we first found him, we didn’t think he would live to see it (the memorial),” said Vicki Greene, director of the Richmond County Historical Society, which coordinates the project.
Ms. Greene found Mr. Chavous when he called her office to buy one of the commemorative bricks that surround the hero’s plaques. He didn’t mention he was one of the heroes they were looking for, she said.
Mr. Chavous’ parents died without ever knowing about their son’s heroics. He said he called about the brick because he wanted to give his seven-year-old daughter something to remember her father by.
“I never told anyone, so nobody really even knows anything about me,” Mr. Chavous said. “Maybe this way my little girl will have a place to go and read these things and make some sense out of it someday.”
When Hero’s Overlook is finally dedicated after design, construction and weather delays, Mr. Chavous said he will have mixed feelings. He said he’s happy to be honored, but not looking forward to recalling all he saw and did in Vietnam.
“It might help me in a sense that I’ve never felt like I’ve really come home,” he said.
Each time he was sent back to Vietnam, Mr. Chavous was wounded. He was captured and held prisoner for a short time but escaped, taking another American captive with him.
Somewhere along their journey the other man died, but Mr. Chavous, who says the escape is a blur to him, didn’t realize the other soldier had died and kept talking to him for several hours. He never knew who the man was.
After he came back to Augusta, Mr. Chavous said he once got so angry that he threw all his medals in the trash. His mother rescued them later.
“They (his medals) really didn’t mean too much to me for so long because of the way we were treated when we got back home,” he said.
That’s one of the reasons why the Hero’s Overlook project was started, Ms. Greene said.
“This has really been a touching project,” said Ms. Greene. “Some of them feel like they have never been recognized for what they did. Some of them have said they’ve never shared with their families what they did. This is really their first time to be honored.”
And the man few thought would be alive to see it will be there Friday when his name is unveiled in bronze, proclaiming him a hero.
“It’s so hard to explain the emotions you go through all the time,” said Mr. Chavous. “But I’m still here. I’m still making it.”

By the way, for the murder, Chavous was sentenced to five years’ probation and the court imposed a $1,000 fine. Seriously? He should have had that much just for the forgery of a government document.

His surviving accomplice, Mark Hill, got seven years in prison, followed by 18 years on probation.

Category: Phony soldiers