Former Marine Sgt. Maj. Charlie Clawson was reduced in rank by a judge as part of an agreement with service prosecutors to plead guilty to wearing nine medals that he never earned, including a Purple Heart and Combat Action Ribbon, and making false statements, said Maj. Hector Infante, a service spokesman. (George Nudo/U.S. Marine Corps)

A Marine sergeant major was demoted to sergeant after he was convicted of wearing nine medals that he never earned, including a Purple Heart and Combat Action Ribbon, and making false statements, service officials said Friday.

Former Sgt. Maj. Charlie Clawson was reduced in rank Sept. 13 by a judge as part of an agreement with service prosecutors to plead guilty to all three counts brought against him for unauthorized wearing of insignia and decorations, for violating “good order and discipline” by wearing unearned decorations, and for making false statements, said Maj. Hector Infante, a Marine spokesman.

Clawson, who is administratively assigned to Marine Training and Education Command at Quantico, Va., is scheduled to leave the Corps in December, service documents show.

Charging documents accused Clawson of wearing the unearned decorations since at least January 2019 and lying to the Marine Corps about obtaining a doctoral degree and transcript from Liberty University that same year.

The nine decorations that Clawson admitted to wearing without earning them were the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the NATO Service Medal, the Kosovo Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Award Ribbon denoting seven awards, the Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon and the Navy and Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia, according to court documents.

Clawson enlisted in the Marines in 1996 as a motor vehicle operator and steadily climbed the enlisted ranks. His service records show he served at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Alexandria, Va., Camp Pendleton, Calif., in Okinawa, Japan, and as a recruiter in Maryland. He was once the senior enlisted leader for the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion at Camp Pendleton and later for the Corps’ Manpower Management Division at Quantico.

While Clawson did earn two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, his records and earned awards do not indicate he saw combat or served in combat zones, such as Afghanistan or Iraq.