Marine Corps Moms: The down side of running a milblog

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December 30, 2007

The down side of running a milblog

Since April 2004, I've shared hundreds of wonderful stories about the Marines who preserve our way of life and our liberties. And, I've received thousands of emails from parents, family members, and supporters of our military - most very appreciative of men and women in uniform. Many of their stories have been shared here at Marine Corps Moms. A good friend of mine, Mary Helen Bartch, shared with me pictures of her husband, Col. Richard Bartch, who was deployed at the same time my son was during the 2004 holiday season. We coped by immersing ourselves in supporting ourselves and our troops through Operation Santa,sending thousands of filled Christmas stockings to Iraq, and many late night phone calls. And, we celebrated when my son and her husband came home safe and sound that next year.

Last October, I became aware that this site had been used for another purpose. A low-life scammer had taken the pictures of Col. Bartch and a few details of his life to create a fictitious identity, posting details on a number of dating websites. I don't know how many women responded to the identities, thinking that they were corresponding with a divorced Marine Officer who was interested in meeting them.

Instead, they were corresponding with someone who had nothing in common with the Marine he impersonated. Honor, integrity, courage, and commitment - none of these were part of the scammer behind the persona of a Marine Colonel. I've corresponded with a number of the women who were victimized, but I'm sure there are many more out there.

Here are a few details from today's Marine Corps Times:

Wendy McKay thought she had met someone special when the Marine colonel deployed to Iraq started chatting with her on the online dating Web site.
Someone claiming to be Col. Richard Bartch told her he was in Iraq for the first time after volunteering for duty. And like her, he was divorced. Chats quickly led to e-mails and within a day he sent her photos of himself in uniform.

In one, he stood in his woodland digital-patterned utilities, proudly holding up his Bronze Star citation and medal. In another, he's lounging in desert cammies in a chair, with his service pistol holster pulled taut across his broad shoulders just next to his name tape.

His e-mails were romantic, echoing the sentiment of a schmaltzy Hallmark greeting card: "I went to sleep last night with a smile because I knew I'd be dreaming of you . . . but I woke up this morning with a smile because you weren't a dream," he wrote to the 52-year-old British woman Oct. 21, just one day after they made introductions online. "Though miles may lie between us, we're never far apart, for friendship doesn't count the miles, it's measured by the heart."

The e-mails quickly picked up intensity. "[T]he feeling is getting stronger and stronger," he wrote the next day, Oct 22. " . . . think it will not be hard to LOVE you huh!"

By Oct. 23, his e-mails reflected he was sure it was love. "You awakened a part of me that had lay [sic] dormant all of life. [A'lthough [I] had loved and been loved before, never had it been so intense and so deep as what we feel for each other. [T]his much [I] am sure of, we share a love so true that [I] have never before experienced the true joy of complete empowering, soul-felt love as we share," he said.

McKay almost bought it. That is, until she realized doing so was really going to cost her.

Bartch - or more accurately, the con artist who had stolen the identity of the real Marine officer, from a family-oriented military Web site - wanted her to send him $5,000.

Wendy McKay was knowledgeable enough to realize that no Marine would pull such a stunt. Other women who had little information about the military weren't so fortunate. This morning, I received yet another e-mail from a woman in Germany who had sent money to someone in Ghana, thinking that she was loaning money to a Marine who had lost his luggage and needed a short term loan. It's heartbreaking to read through the e-mails, knowing that the real Marine who came home to a loving wife and strong family had his identity taken from this website. I hope they catch whoever is responsible for this travesty. My apologies to the Bartch family and thanks to Marine Corps Times reporter Kimberly Johnson who was willing to shed light on a very dark corner of the internet.

Posted by Deb at December 30, 2007 04:32 PM

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OK - I saw THIS over at MilBlogs and my blood pressure skyrocketed. You'll want to read the whole story. But...in a nutshell, some ass hole pulled information about a Marine off a website, then assumed his identity and started... [Read More]

Tracked on January 7, 2008 06:24 AM