Alleged Marine Colonel imposter appears In court

A man accused of playing dress-up faced the judge Monday on several charges that he falsely wore a military uniform and medals.

67 year-old Michael Hamilton made his initial appearance in federal court in Wilmington; this after he was photographed in Jacksonville back in April wearing a Marine colonel’s uniform along with several esteemed medals.

Hamilton was a marine years ago. He served less than a year and left as a private first class but his recent actions has him facing 1 count of wearing a military uniform without authorization and 3 counts of wearing military medals or decorations without authorization. The maximum penalty for the offenses, a year in prison.

Hamilton was not alone in the courtroom, more than a dozen veterans disgusted with his actions also showed up.

“He’s humiliated himself and it needs to be exposed, ” said Vietnam veteran Kevin Howell. “He’s lied, he’s cheapen valor or attempted to cheapen valor and he’s done it in a Marine community and we don’t tolerate that.”

Hamilton is out on a $5,000 unsecured bond. If found guilty of the charges he could serve a maximum of 1 year in prison. Hamilton has been in similar trouble before. Last year he pleaded guilty to altering a military identification card. He changed the card to indicate he was a 3-star general. No further court date has been set for his current charges.