Spanaway man's claim of Iraq injury disputed

By Ray Rivera
Seattle Times staff reporter

	Dana Beaudine
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Meanwhile, after inquiries from The Times, the Army has rescinded an order recommending Cpl. Dana Beaudine for the Purple Heart.

Beaudine, who lives in Spanaway, stands by his account of being injured in Iraq.

In a March 24 article, The Times wrote about Beaudine's struggle to get his job back with Securitas Security Services USA, a private firm that provides armed guards for federal buildings in the Northwest.

In verifying the story, Beaudine showed The Times documents that noted several awards from the Oregon National Guard and a recommendation for a Purple Heart put in by the Army.

The Purple Heart award was being processed as the story was published, the Army confirmed.

In submitting him for the award, the recommending officer wrote: "On 23 April 2003 CPL Beaudine sustained lower back injuries and nerve damage in his left leg when his team started receiving hostile fire north of Basrah (Basra). "

Beaudine said that as his team came under fire, an explosion knocked him unconscious as he ducked for cover. When he awoke, he said, he was being treated at Camp Wolf in Kuwait. He said he was evacuated to Germany and then sent to Fort Lewis to complete his recovery.

His medical records show nerve damage in his left leg and a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

But his company commander, the unit's top enlisted soldier and a senior sergeant who flew to the Middle East with Beaudine all say Beaudine reported to sick call shortly after arriving in Kuwait, complaining of leg and back pain.

They said they were stunned when military doctors sent Beaudine home.
 
In fact, no one from his unit contacted by The Times could corroborate Beaudine's story.

"You have been fooled," Command Sgt. Maj. Gerald Schleining Jr. wrote in an e-mail to The Times from Kuwait after the story was published. "Beaudine was never injured in armed conflict. He has never been to Basrah or Iraq for that matter."

Capt. John Robinson, who said he was Beaudine's commander in C Company of the 1st Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment, also disputed Beaudine's account.

"This is a disgrace to all those who have legitimately received injuries or died in the combat actions since the first day of the war," Robinson said.

Beaudine, who was honorably discharged in February, insists his story is true.

Beaudine said unit leaders in the 1-162nd were so mixed up upon arriving at Camp Wolf, they didn't know where their soldiers were.

"I was in Iraq," Beaudine said, "and they're not going to come out and say this because I was so far out in front. Nobody knew where anyone was."

Other soldiers in the unit also have complained that they arrived in Kuwait amid confusion and without a clear set of orders or mission. Oregon National Guard officials acknowledge some chaos early on.

"The unit was broken into separate companies. They were all over the map," said Maj. Arnold Strong, spokesman for the Oregon National Guard.

But Strong and other officials added that the unit did not begin missions into Iraq until late May at the earliest, more than a month after Beaudine had been sent home.

The 1-162nd was deployed to Kuwait in late April 2003. Beaudine was part of an advance party that arrived a few days early.

Beaudine initially was unable to provide names of soldiers who could verify his account or who had accompanied him on his mission into Iraq. He didn't know them, he said, because the mission had been hastily arranged, and he was added to a team of soldiers he had never met.

Later, however, he said a Master Sgt. Stanger, who was the sergeant in charge of the advance team, accompanied him into Iraq and was with him when the team came under fire.

Kevin B. Stanger, who has since been promoted to sergeant major, disputes Beaudine's account. So does Capt. Mark Chatterji, who was the officer in charge of the advance team. Both said Beaudine reported to sick call within days of arriving at Camp Wolf.

"He's making stories up on you," Stanger said.

Beaudine's medical records included a document noting his "injuries resulted from duty and operations in Iraq." The document is signed by Army Reserve Capt. Shelby T. Edwards, commander of the Fort Lewis medical hold company where Beaudine was sent to convalesce.

Edwards subsequently submitted Beaudine for the Purple Heart.

Edwards, through a Fort Lewis spokeswoman, declined interview requests. The spokeswoman added that Edwards could not disclose what information she relied upon in making the recommendation because of privacy concerns.

Beaudine said that he never asked to be put in for the award and that the Army did so after reviewing his records.

After The Times inquiry, which included a Freedom of Information Act request for all records verifying Beaudine's account, the Army reviewed and withdrew the Purple Heart recommendation.

"His injuries were noncombat related," said Fort Lewis spokesman Maj. Tom Davis. "He should not have been put in for one."

Davis, however, said he could not answer whether Beaudine had crossed into Iraq.

Beaudine also had given The Times a letter written on Oregon National Guard letterhead to Securitas Security Services USA, his former employer. The letter stated that Beaudine was injured while he was "deployed to Iraq."

The letter was signed by Carla Ploederer, the Oregon Guard's human-resources director. Ploederer was writing the letter in her dual role as Oregon's representative of the Employer Support for Guard and Reserves, a Department of Defense agency that mediates disputes between reservists and employers. But Oregon Guard leaders now say Ploederer was relying on Beaudine's word and never personally reviewed his records.

Beaudine, meanwhile, is continuing his fight to get his job back with Securitas. He claims that, after several months recovering at Fort Lewis, Securitas initially took him back but then removed him after learning he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The company told the Department of Labor it could not take him back unless he submitted to a "fitness-for-duty" exam with a psychiatrist.

The company has maintained its position despite warnings from the Labor Department that it is breaking the law and assurances from Army psychiatrists that Beaudine is not a danger to himself or others. "In the case of Dana Beaudine, Securitas USA believes it has adhered to all relevant laws, and acted properly," the company said in a March 24 statement.

Citing employee privacy, it declined further comment.

Beaudine's lawyer, Charles Meyer, said he is waiting for a response from the company on a settlement offer before deciding whether to file a federal lawsuit.

Meyer said he believed his client's account but said the issue of whether he was wounded in Iraq or submitted for a Purple Heart was irrelevant to his job claim.

"He never said he got a Purple Heart, and that has nothing to do with this case," Meyer said. "All he's trying to do is get his job back."

Ray Rivera: 206-464-2926 or rayrivera@seattletimes.com

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