David Seelye – LCpl vs. Sgt and No Combat Action Ribbon from Beirut
David Seelye
The folks at MilitaryPhony give us their work on David Francis Seelye. Seelye comes to us from Jacksonville, North Carolina. He previously lived in Winsted, Connecticut. At the time of this writing, June 2024, Seelye is 62 y/o. Seelye served as a Marine in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1982 and 1983. Seelye founded and organized ceremonies honoring those who served in Beirut. 
Seelye often wears a black leather jacket with “bling” on it. On this jacket, Seelye wears a patch that claims he is a Combat Veteran with a Combat Action Ribbon (CAR). The jacket also claims the rank of Sgt of Marines (E-5). 
Articles have also referred to Seelye as a Sergeant (E-5).
Seelye moved from Connecticut down to Jacksonville, NC and continued his work honoring the Beirut fallen. He has instructed children in the significance of the Beirut Memorial (located in Jacksonville, NC) as well as the U.S. mission in Lebanon. The local newspaper, The Jacksonville Daily News, has covered Seelye. The article and the photo caption refer to Seelye as a “retired Marine.”
David Seelye was featured on the American Brother Foundation website under their ‘Spotlight’ section. His rank is displayed as Sergeant (E-5).
SOURCE: https://www.americanbrotherfoundation.org/spotlight
U.S. EMBASSY BOMBING – 18 APR 1983 – SURVIVAL AND INJURIES
Seelye was part of a lawsuit that successfully sued the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was “Michael Ewan v. Islamic Republic of Iran.” It is important to distinguish between the military’s definition of ‘injuries,’ ‘wounds,’ ‘survivor,’ and ‘victim’ since they differ from a civilian legal definition. Keeping this in mind, it may initially sound foreign to read Seelye’s claim of being a ‘survivor’ of the U.S. Embassy bombing despite him being ~1/2 mile away at the time of the explosion. The terms ‘injuries’ and ‘wounds’ are not in question due to the legal nuance surrounding their use.
However, Seelye states that “his friends and fellow Marines had been injured or killed in the blast.” There was one Marine killed in the blast – security guard Cpl Robert V. McMaugh. There is no record of a Marine being wounded in the blast. Did Seelye know McMaugh? Seems unlikely unless they went to boot camp. Because of different job assignments, the opportunity to cross paths would have been unlikely. Anything is possible, however. Here, the court establishes that Seelye is a victim of the US Embassy bombing.
Michael Ewan v. Islamic Republic of Iran (Document 40, pgs 9 & 10)
The court ruled that Seelye’s ear damage was unlikely related to the blast. This meant that Seelye sustained no physical injuries related to the blast. 
The court documents we have posted are only for educational purposes. We do not question the use of ‘injuries,’ ‘wounds,’ ‘survivor,’ and ‘victim’ because of accepted legal nuances in their definitions.
What we do wish to highlight regarding the lawsuit is:
1) How many Marines did Seelye know that were killed or wounded in the US Embassy Bombing in Beirut, Lebanon on 18 April 1983? Did he know Cpl McMaugh?
and…
2) What is the policy status with the BVA regarding board members having been a part of a lawsuit or are currently listed on a lawsuit?
. . . . .
David Seelye’s military records were ordered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. They filed with the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).. . . . .
FOIA RESULTS
NATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER (NPRC)FOIA Results – NPRC – Summary Sheet – David Seelye
FOIA Results – NPRC – Assignments – David Seelye
FOIA Results – NPRC – Combat History Page & Schools – David Seelye
. . . . .
OTHER RECORDS (DoD Manpower Data Center / SCRA)
DoD Manpower Data Center (SCRA) – David Seelye
. . . . .
DISCUSSION and SUMMARY
VOLUNTEER DUTY
We should point out that while we respect the time and labor David Seelye has put into remembering the military members who served in Beirut as well as the ones who never came home, good deeds do not provide one protected status. It certainly factors in, but we have been receiving complaints about Seelye for years, and we held out hope that Seelye would make necessary corrections and uphold the standards expected of any honorable Marine.
RANK
The NPRC summary sheet states a final rank of Lance Corporal (E-3). There have been many claims of Sergeant (E-5) both in the newspapers as well as rank displayed on a veteran vest. Apparently, Seelye held the rank of Sergeant at one time but was reduced to Lance Corporal. So, this becomes a matter of displaying the rank a Marine held when they were discharged or the highest rank they held. It is widely accepted that Marines should go by their rank when discharged. It is not our intent to create a huge controversy over rank because I’m sure there will be those who argue the reasoning that it is acceptable to go with the highest rank held. There are just as many, if not more, that feel it is more widely accepted to claim one’s rank at discharge.
RETIRED
There is nothing in Seelye’s records to suggest he retired from the Marine Corps. Sometimes one can get a medical retirement, but we see nothing to suggest that as well. It could have been an oversight by the journalist, but it happened more than once. Usually the Jacksonville Daily News, based in town from Camp Lejeune, would get something like this right.
ASSIGNMENTS
Seelye’s records suggest he was in Beirut, Lebanon. According to his assignments, he was an admin clerk (MOS 0151) with 32nd MAU and 22nd MAU while there. He was in Beirut during the U.S. Embassy Bombing on 18 April 1983.
COMBAT ACTION RIBBON
Seelye’s records do not support the claim that he was awarded a Combat Action Ribbon (CAR). Certainly, many servicemembers who were there at the time felt strongly that they rated such an award, but it must be in one’s record to claim such an award. The Combat Action Ribbon is perhaps the most egregious claim made by Seelye.
Seelye’s Vehicle – w/ Combat Action Ribbon Decal
The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR) is an award covered by the Stolen Valor Act of 2013.In this photo from the Jacksonville Daily News, Seelye appears to be educating a child about medals, including the Combat Action Ribbon. One can only imagine what was said.
SUMMARY
If David Seelye has used any of these claims to gain anything of value, he could violate the Stolen Valor Act.
Category: Beirut
My recollection of the CAR is a little bit hazy, but my understanding is you have to shoot back at the enemy.
I never served in the Marines but my father did. He went to Vietnam in 1971. He said he got mortared (also not wounded) but because he never was able to shoot back he never got a CAR for it.
JOANNA
Oh! That’s, uh, that’s uh, my pieces of flair.
PETER
What are pieces of flair?
JOANNA
That’s where you know, suspenders and buttons and all sorts of stuff.
We’re, uh, we’re actually required to wear fifteen pieces of flair. quite stupid actually.
PETER
Do you get to pick them out yourself?
JOANNA
Yeah. Yeah. Although I didn’t actually choose these. I, uh, I just grabbed fifteen buttons and, uh, I don’t even know what they say!
Y’know, I don’t really care. I don’t really like talking about my flair.
“This is my flair and this is me expressing myself, okay?!”
Dick
Said elsewhere ….Sneaky Fibbing Turd. 💩 (h/t GreenThumb)
Assclown, then…I’m sure this dork deserves it.
Thanks for he hat tip.
Seeyle is a turd.
I’d count my lucky stars that I was NOT directly involved with the bombing of the Marine barracks in 1983 instead of trying gain something. So many lost everything that morning…
That’s quite the festooned vest but it doesn’t go well with
a purple shirt.
Needs a pair of epaulettes
Should there be a distinction between a patch and an actual medal/ribbon? That vest is not an official part of any military uniform. I have an article of clothing I wear that honors the highest medal my Grandfather, my Father, and I were awarded during our careers (Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Airmen’s Medal respectively). I also understand the perception Mr. Seeyle is presenting as well by having the patch.
BennSue,
As long as you correctly identify your bling, you’re good.
When Seelye ends up in print as “Sgt”, “combat”, and/or “retired”,
that’s the press getting it from Seelye himself.
And of course,
when anyone asks Seelye about rank, combat, or retirement status,
he is NOT correcting anyone with false assumptions based on knowledge of the vest bling.
He is claiming it (all) as his own.
This is why “vests” who portray themselves
as the high ranking war veteran heroes they are NOT,
get called out and exposed.
Most everyone here remembers Nevada’s
Elko POW*MIA Awareness Ass. founder Les Brown,
not only for parade BDU uniform and vest bling of high rank and combat patch, but also putting COL and LTCOL on their POW*MIA chapter leaders’ caps.
“They’re coming for our vests.” — Les Brown —
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That’s Les “In the Ground” Brown.
Green Thumb,
To the contrary.
Les Brown is no longer a brown stain
on the brown dirt of the earth.
After years of claims of war, combat, rank, medals, and patch bling he didn’t “urn”,
Les Brown has now “urned” his place
in posterior (posterity).
Phony to ashes. Busted to dust.
Les Brown – The Lie Continues Even in Death
Steve Balm | June 14, 2021
A dead ass loser.
BTW –
My “Marine Dad” ballcap has shiny rank pins,
brass Marine E-5 SGT and chrome O-3 Captain.
Clearly not my rank.
And, for anyone who asks or comments about my cap,
they get 1 or 2 nice stories about my children.
Every time I get a surprise “Semper Fi” in public,
or a “Thank you for your service”,
I quickly reply that I am not a Marine,
and that the cap is is all about my 2 children.
A proud “Marine Dad”.
I can then add, that I am a Gulf War Veteran,
as shown on other caps I wear.
.
I’m interested in what kind of dick stepping he did to go from Sgt to LCpl.
Might have been Dick slurpin.
They booted you out for sodomy back then. Not a loss of rank. He did something unbecoming a NCO. Did not even let him keep Cpl.
Jay,
And now, a very large community of Marines in NC
(Camp LeJeune, MCAS New River, MCAS Cherry Point)
can ask Seelye that very question,
while describing or carrying an MP or VG article print.
I’m one of them. Retired 7 years ago and still live 5 miles from the front gate. Never seen the dude around town (lived here for 13 years now)….but I’ll keep an eye out.
Jay,
See my new comment down below (with this photo).
If you have a razor paint scraper or a box cutter handy,
and a buddy with the cellphone video cam rolling,
you could be the one for a close encounter of the phony kind.
Good luck. 🙂
Added to the blog. Thanks!
Worse. He’s a current board member for the Beirut Veterans of America. Beirut Veterans of America
I, too was once a board member of this organization. I’m still a Life Member. I resigned last year due to leadership’s failure to offer transparency and accountability and to provide financial information to its members, as well as some family health issues. There were no less than five other fraudulent board members. This is partly why I became a board member, to clean house. We successfully removed the President, Vice-President, and three other board members who resigned due to the information released by myself and others. The Beirut Veterans of America is currently in distress due to division.
I served with I/8 from 1981-85. Alpha Company. It was my BLT. I was there. I was at the University Science building on October 23, 1983.
David Seeyle is a liar and a narcissistic fraud to the highest degree. He is a stain on the USMC. He remains a shitbird. And now, after all these years he has finally been outed as a poser and possible Stolen Valor if he has collected any money for his “work”.
Justice has been slightly served. The next stop for him is that the VA will probably come after him, as I hope that they do.
SFMF
[The pic is of me back in the day at the makeshift Embassy after ours was blown up on April 18th, 1983. I (the 24th MAU) was not there yet, but after, we shared space with the British Consulate]
mosh,
Wow. Thanks for the update.
Persevere in your pursuit.
IF others in that org are blatant liars, embellishers, and/or phonies,
let MP/VG know.
There was ANOTHER veterans org
recently cleaned out of exposed phonies,
ALSO connected to Jacksonville, NC.
Montford Point Marines Association.
July 2023 VG article….
Stolen Valor: Top Officials at Montford Point Marines Charity Caught Faking Records Steve Balm | July 8, 2023
https://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=144022
What three board members are you speaking of?
Mosh, I was with Lima 3/8, who were you with? I was there before and after the MAU was blown up. On the second tour we were holed up in some building just off the Corneish along where all of the tall sandbag “bunkers” or post was built.
Mosh,
I missed on my initial reply that you said you were with 1/8. I was with 3/8 and on my first tour was also up there at that school, which we referred to then as the American University. They moved us up there from the area around the airport runways and the Shit River. Our unit (Lima 3/8) were the first to occupy that building after cleaning it up. What a mess! Remember the RPG hole in the wall of the stairwell (ok ladderwell)? Also, we rescued a black and white female puppy one day while we were digging the machine gun pits and we raised her until we were relieved. Was she still hanging around the building when you guys got there?
file:///C:/Users/E41729/OneDrive%20-%20Exelon/Pictures/IMG_1273.jpg
Here is a pic of me on the second floor of the American University after a patrol.
It was good what he was trying to accomplish. Just no need to dump all over a good service record claiming something you’re not entitled too. Now he’s a douche bag.
And very much employable at All-Points Logistics.
Honorable service
Very honorable service
Why would one deface it
Because honorable service just isn’t enough for some. Those people are called “douchebags”.
A six year LCpl doesn’t sound right. A reduction for Sgt (E-5) to LCpl (E-3) doesn’t seem plausible given he has 2 awards of the GCM. The fact he has an Achievement Medal doesn’t say 6 year LCpl either. Or at least to this Marine brat who retired from the Air Force.
It looks like he served just over seven years, so it’s entirely possible he was a squared away Marine, earning Sgt stripes, the NAM, and two CGMs before doing something to lose his rank and cut his career short.
Being near the action is never good enough for some. That Combat Action Ribbon validates him (in his mind) as he obviously feels inferior to other Beirut Marines. Earning a demotion is just the icing on the cake. If he was an E-5 Sgt and then reduced to E-3 LCpl, he did something to lose those stripes.
Just because you “feel” like you earned something doesn’t mean you’re authorized to wear it. It’s a slap in the face to the Marines he claims to honor. My squad “earned” V devices in Baghdad. Our Squad Leader got a BSM and the Team Leaders each got ARCOMs, but they were told they could only submit two ARCOMs for the junior enlisted. So, those went to Bravo Team, while me and a couple of other guys got to watch the ceremony a few months later. We were never recognized outside of the standard “you all earned these, but only SPC S and PFC D get to wear them” speech. I never once thought “hey, I should just toss a “V” on my ARCOM, no one will notice…”.
Claiming the highest rank held versus the rank at discharge should be a no-go regardless of how you view it. I’d give it a pass if you were frocked or got out at an equivalent paygrade, for example an E-7(P) serving as a 1SG before deciding to retire in lieu of waiting for promotion to E-8, a CPL who decides to ETS and is reverted to SPC, or an MSG or SGM who did their 1SG/CSM time and is wrapping their career up in S3. Should we permit this guy to refer to himself as an MG instead of a 2LT? James Grazioplene – Wikipedia
does he make Seelye mattresses now????
I’m confused about the Humanitarian Service Medal that shows up on his DD 214. I was in Beirut twice, but with 3/8 both times and we were initially told when we returned from the first deployment that we rated the award, but several weeks later we were told to cease wearing it as we did not rate it. It’s NOT on my DD 214. Also, I only have one Navy Unit Commendation, but I see that he has a second award. Not saying he doesn’t rate them, but how does he rate them and my unit does not?
He’s a Seelye-eyed killer!!!!
Oh boy.
Deploying the Fu of Google
leads me to this public group on the Book of the Fake.
It appears Seelye was once a group member, but no more.
He is named in multiple post comments,
and identified in the 3rd (lower right) photo here.
1 calls him a “Great person”.
1 calls him a “poser”.
There may be others. Happy hunting.
Beirut Memorial On Line
Public group – 3.1K members
https://www.facebook.com/groups/10150144146965364/search/?q=Seelye
More….
The Fu of Google also leads me to the Pages of the White,
where the February 2024 Google Street view of his home address
reveals his 2 cars,
1 with a large decal of the CAR / Combat Action Ribbon.
Does anyone here have a razor paint scraper or a box cutter?
Added to the blog. Thanks!
sbalm,
You’re welcome.
Glad to see you got a different street view pic from the Fu of Google, verified from the Pages of the White.
BTW,
This public group on the Book of the Fake
posted the MP article last night.
Plenty o’ comments.
And now they have a new comment with a link to VG.
Beirut Memorial On Line
Public group – 3.1K members
https://www.facebook.com/groups/10150144146965364
Who on this site DOESN’T have a picture of themselves next to a beer pyramid?
Me! Because I was taking the photo 🤣
👍
😀🤪😂
Whatever good that this embellishing POS has ever done is now a moot point. He should go mute with his lies.
Cocksucker!
He’s not legit because he’s not wearing a dew rag and riding a Harley.
This was back in the pre-computer days, so he could have been hit with a flying typewriter or stabbed with a pen OR stabbed with a mini-KA-BAR letter opener during a pillow fight. They can be sharp.