Ex-Marine's tall tales overshadow good deeds
http://dervishcom.blogspot.com/2011/12/ex-marines-tall-tales-overshadow-good.html
When Derek Walls was arrested early this year, some of his acquaintances were confused, perhaps angry.
Walls, 42, was a hero to many. As a Marine, he said he fought in Operation Desert Storm.
He was a father figure. Parents praised him for giving their children direction through the nonprofit he founded, the Florida Volunteer Search and Rescue Corps. He called himself "the colonel."
He was an entrepreneur. He owned Combat Zone, a paintball business on Florida's Merritt Island, and ran a nearby recreation park.
He was a community leader. He coordinated the local Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots drive. His name tag: "Col. Walls."
Supporters admired him and didn't believe the 16-year-old girl, a Toys for Tots volunteer, who accused Walls of raping her at his Port St. John home just after Christmas. The teen was labeled a liar. She tried to kill herself.
Prosecutors said there wasn't enough evidence to pursue the charges. They called it a typical case of "he said, she said."
In business, in charity and in the criminal investigation, Walls leaned on his military reputation: four years as an active-duty Marine and another two as a reservist.
But as part of the investigation, inconsistencies arose. Paperwork, which sheriff's investigators acquired from Marine Corps headquarters, show that he served only six months in 1988. He was discharged as a private first class. His tales were tall. He never lost friends in battle, as he claimed; he was never diagnosed with Gulf War syndrome; he never was a sergeant.
"Yes, I lied," he told FLORIDA TODAY, when confronted with the contradiction between his stories about his military record and what Defense Department records show. "There's really no reason for it. It's been a hard year."
FLORIDA TODAY's examination of Walls' past came about after he asked the newspaper to retract its story about his arrest and instead report on the good he has done in the community.
But the recent revelations call into question his business and charitable ventures, many of which employ military-style concepts and involve working with children. They have prompted the Toys for Tots Foundation to look into whether Walls violated its policies; the Marine Corps also warned Walls to no longer wear officer insignia.
"I would like to focus on the good I've done recently," Walls said. "That type of stuff is way more important."
Helping people
Walls never hid the fact that he was a Marine.
An English bulldog, the branch's mascot, is tattooed on his left bicep. He often wears Marine Corps T-shirts and camoflauge.
According to his military discharge records, Walls enlisted in February 1988. He was stationed in South Carolina, Texas and California, where he was discharged honorably in August 1988 on the broad basis of a "personality disorder."
During much of the period he claimed to have served, from 1988 to 1992, Walls actually lived in Ohio, married and had two sons, according to court records. His family moved to Brevard in 1991, the year of the first Gulf War. He divorced his wife, Connie, in 1996.
Walls started volunteering in the U.S. Search and Rescue Response Force. He left the group in 1997, when it filed a lawsuit against him seeking the return of bank records.
That same year, Walls started Search and Rescue Corps, or SAR Corps, in which children undergo weekly military-style training at the Veterans Memorial Center on Merritt Island. These "cadets" donate time to helping law enforcement officers and rescuers in missing-persons operations and evidence searches.
As leader of the group, Walls calls himself a "colonel," and the collar of his fatigues bears insignia consistent with that rank.
Kalina Smith has known Walls since she was a 13-year-old participant in SAR Corps. The Merritt Island resident, now 28, said Walls helped steer her toward a decade-long career in the Navy.
"I wouldn't be the woman I am today if it wasn't for him," she said. "We stand by his side. He's helped a lot of people."
Walls has been honored by the Brevard County Commission for SAR Corps' contribution to Teen Fest, a countywide event drawing 2,000 young people. Accepting an award for helping at Kennedy Space Center's annual picnic, Walls smiled for a picture with KSC Director Bob Cabana and held a certificate recognizing him as, "Colonel Derek M. Walls."
As a requirement of SAR Corps, participants volunteer for the seasonal Toys for Tots drive. In 1998, Walls started coordinating the holiday gift collection in Brevard after passing a background check; he was not required to have a connection to the Marine Corps, according to the national Toys for Tots Foundation. This year, Walls and other volunteers aim to deliver gifts to more than 4,000 children in northern Brevard, he said.
Parents of participants in SAR Corps and Toys for Tots credit Walls with making a difference in their children's lives. Jeni Kingsley said her son, an eighth-grader, stopped being "rude and disrespectful" because of Walls' discipline.
"Derek goes above and beyond what most citizens do," Kingsley said. "He says he was in the Marine Corps and served his country, and as far as I'm concerned, that puts him on the top of my list of heroes."
In both Toys for Tots and SAR Corps, Walls touts his connection to the Marines. In correspondence and news releases, he has been identified as "Derek M. Walls, USMC" or with the abbreviated title "col."
Retired Marine Corps Maj. Brian Murray, deputy director of the Toys for Tots Foundation, said he would discuss the claims with Walls and "take action."
'He said, she said'
Walls was arrested Jan. 28 on charges of false imprisonment and sexual battery about a month after a trainee at the tanning salon he owns said she was raped.
The 16-year-old, who also volunteered for three years in Toys for Tots, rode with Walls to his home, where she said she thought other children would be present on that Dec. 30 day. The girl told investigators she felt unable to escape the 210-pound man.
"He's involved with a wide circle of people, including young people," said Assistant State Attorney Julia Lynch, who handled the case. "She had been to his house on other occasions, but it turned into a case of 'he said, she said.'"
Before Walls was arrested, sheriff's agents recorded telephone calls and obtained Facebook messages between him and his accuser. He made no admissions but apologized and said, "I have made some mistakes" and "I love you very much!"
In the recorded conversations, Walls mentioned a recent diagnosis with a "mutant strain of the Gulf War syndrome" that would likely kill him in six months, according to sheriff's office reports about the phone calls. He talked about completing a will and marrying his longtime girlfriend. He followed through with the wedding vow more than a week after his arrest.
James Williams was one many parents who took their children to Walls' paintball facility and heard him talking about his military past.
"He kind of inflated himself," Williams said. "He … always said he was in the Marines and that he was a colonel. That's what he has everyone calling him."
During the criminal investigation, sheriff's Agent Nick Walker said he informed the Marine Corps about Walls' claims of service. Walker said an inspector general told Walls to "no longer wear … military attire with insignia showing the rank of colonel."
Lt. Col. Michael Powell, deputy director of the Marine Corps' Assistance & Investigations Division, told FLORIDA TODAY in an email that he "cannot confirm or deny any other action on this case."
In his interview with FLORIDA TODAY, Walls would not discuss whether lying during the past two decades was necessary to contribute to his community and would not delve further into his military record.
"There are certain things Marines don't want to discuss," he said when FLORIDA TODAY pressed for further explanation. "Some things are better left not talked about."
Walls, 42, was a hero to many. As a Marine, he said he fought in Operation Desert Storm.
He was a father figure. Parents praised him for giving their children direction through the nonprofit he founded, the Florida Volunteer Search and Rescue Corps. He called himself "the colonel."
He was an entrepreneur. He owned Combat Zone, a paintball business on Florida's Merritt Island, and ran a nearby recreation park.
He was a community leader. He coordinated the local Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots drive. His name tag: "Col. Walls."
Supporters admired him and didn't believe the 16-year-old girl, a Toys for Tots volunteer, who accused Walls of raping her at his Port St. John home just after Christmas. The teen was labeled a liar. She tried to kill herself.
Prosecutors said there wasn't enough evidence to pursue the charges. They called it a typical case of "he said, she said."
In business, in charity and in the criminal investigation, Walls leaned on his military reputation: four years as an active-duty Marine and another two as a reservist.
But as part of the investigation, inconsistencies arose. Paperwork, which sheriff's investigators acquired from Marine Corps headquarters, show that he served only six months in 1988. He was discharged as a private first class. His tales were tall. He never lost friends in battle, as he claimed; he was never diagnosed with Gulf War syndrome; he never was a sergeant.
"Yes, I lied," he told FLORIDA TODAY, when confronted with the contradiction between his stories about his military record and what Defense Department records show. "There's really no reason for it. It's been a hard year."
FLORIDA TODAY's examination of Walls' past came about after he asked the newspaper to retract its story about his arrest and instead report on the good he has done in the community.
But the recent revelations call into question his business and charitable ventures, many of which employ military-style concepts and involve working with children. They have prompted the Toys for Tots Foundation to look into whether Walls violated its policies; the Marine Corps also warned Walls to no longer wear officer insignia.
"I would like to focus on the good I've done recently," Walls said. "That type of stuff is way more important."
Helping people
Walls never hid the fact that he was a Marine.
An English bulldog, the branch's mascot, is tattooed on his left bicep. He often wears Marine Corps T-shirts and camoflauge.
According to his military discharge records, Walls enlisted in February 1988. He was stationed in South Carolina, Texas and California, where he was discharged honorably in August 1988 on the broad basis of a "personality disorder."
During much of the period he claimed to have served, from 1988 to 1992, Walls actually lived in Ohio, married and had two sons, according to court records. His family moved to Brevard in 1991, the year of the first Gulf War. He divorced his wife, Connie, in 1996.
Walls started volunteering in the U.S. Search and Rescue Response Force. He left the group in 1997, when it filed a lawsuit against him seeking the return of bank records.
That same year, Walls started Search and Rescue Corps, or SAR Corps, in which children undergo weekly military-style training at the Veterans Memorial Center on Merritt Island. These "cadets" donate time to helping law enforcement officers and rescuers in missing-persons operations and evidence searches.
As leader of the group, Walls calls himself a "colonel," and the collar of his fatigues bears insignia consistent with that rank.
Kalina Smith has known Walls since she was a 13-year-old participant in SAR Corps. The Merritt Island resident, now 28, said Walls helped steer her toward a decade-long career in the Navy.
"I wouldn't be the woman I am today if it wasn't for him," she said. "We stand by his side. He's helped a lot of people."
Walls has been honored by the Brevard County Commission for SAR Corps' contribution to Teen Fest, a countywide event drawing 2,000 young people. Accepting an award for helping at Kennedy Space Center's annual picnic, Walls smiled for a picture with KSC Director Bob Cabana and held a certificate recognizing him as, "Colonel Derek M. Walls."
As a requirement of SAR Corps, participants volunteer for the seasonal Toys for Tots drive. In 1998, Walls started coordinating the holiday gift collection in Brevard after passing a background check; he was not required to have a connection to the Marine Corps, according to the national Toys for Tots Foundation. This year, Walls and other volunteers aim to deliver gifts to more than 4,000 children in northern Brevard, he said.
Parents of participants in SAR Corps and Toys for Tots credit Walls with making a difference in their children's lives. Jeni Kingsley said her son, an eighth-grader, stopped being "rude and disrespectful" because of Walls' discipline.
"Derek goes above and beyond what most citizens do," Kingsley said. "He says he was in the Marine Corps and served his country, and as far as I'm concerned, that puts him on the top of my list of heroes."
In both Toys for Tots and SAR Corps, Walls touts his connection to the Marines. In correspondence and news releases, he has been identified as "Derek M. Walls, USMC" or with the abbreviated title "col."
Retired Marine Corps Maj. Brian Murray, deputy director of the Toys for Tots Foundation, said he would discuss the claims with Walls and "take action."
'He said, she said'
Walls was arrested Jan. 28 on charges of false imprisonment and sexual battery about a month after a trainee at the tanning salon he owns said she was raped.
The 16-year-old, who also volunteered for three years in Toys for Tots, rode with Walls to his home, where she said she thought other children would be present on that Dec. 30 day. The girl told investigators she felt unable to escape the 210-pound man.
"He's involved with a wide circle of people, including young people," said Assistant State Attorney Julia Lynch, who handled the case. "She had been to his house on other occasions, but it turned into a case of 'he said, she said.'"
Before Walls was arrested, sheriff's agents recorded telephone calls and obtained Facebook messages between him and his accuser. He made no admissions but apologized and said, "I have made some mistakes" and "I love you very much!"
In the recorded conversations, Walls mentioned a recent diagnosis with a "mutant strain of the Gulf War syndrome" that would likely kill him in six months, according to sheriff's office reports about the phone calls. He talked about completing a will and marrying his longtime girlfriend. He followed through with the wedding vow more than a week after his arrest.
James Williams was one many parents who took their children to Walls' paintball facility and heard him talking about his military past.
"He kind of inflated himself," Williams said. "He … always said he was in the Marines and that he was a colonel. That's what he has everyone calling him."
During the criminal investigation, sheriff's Agent Nick Walker said he informed the Marine Corps about Walls' claims of service. Walker said an inspector general told Walls to "no longer wear … military attire with insignia showing the rank of colonel."
Lt. Col. Michael Powell, deputy director of the Marine Corps' Assistance & Investigations Division, told FLORIDA TODAY in an email that he "cannot confirm or deny any other action on this case."
In his interview with FLORIDA TODAY, Walls would not discuss whether lying during the past two decades was necessary to contribute to his community and would not delve further into his military record.
"There are certain things Marines don't want to discuss," he said when FLORIDA TODAY pressed for further explanation. "Some things are better left not talked about."
