AIR FORCE MAJOR CLARENCE ANDERSON III. ….

ONE ACCUSATION – TRUE OR FALSE – CAN DESTROY A MAN'S LIFE. 

 From : Beatrice Anderson ,info@armedforcesconnect.org     Armed Forces Connect Readers

Dear Friend, 

If you've seen the news at all in the last few months, then you know that one accusation – true or false – can destroy a man's life. 

No man is safe in the era of #MeToo. Not your husband, not your father, not your son and not your brother. 

Innocent until proven guilty does not apply – and if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, your family could lose everything. 

Mine already has. 

You see, the handsome young man in this photo is my son, Air Force Major Clarence Anderson III. And those precious little girls are my granddaughters – Adore and Brooklyn. 

Clarence loves those girls with his entire heart – and so do I – which is why it breaks my heart that we haven't been allowed to see Brooklyn in almost 4 years. 

Please let me explain... 

Clarence is a decorated, 18-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He's deployed five times – including two tours in Afghanistan. 

And he's been awarded two Defense Meritorious Service Medals, a Meritorious Service Medal and two Air Force Commendation Medals for his service. 

Always kind, intelligent, and motivated, it was no surprise to me or anyone who knew him that Clarence quickly rose in the ranks. After his second time in command of a squadron at Holloman Air Force Base, he was on track to become a Lieutenant Colonel after only 14 years of service. 

It was around that time that Clarence discovered his wife of 5 years was having an affair. 

Heartbroken, Clarence filed for divorce and sought custody of their daughter, Brooklyn. 

When it was clear divorce was imminent and Clarence would likely win custody, my ex-daughter-in-law went to Air Force officials and accused my son of sexually assaulting her. 

Immediately, the Air Force removed Clarence from command and filed charges against him – even though investigations from civilian law enforcement officials proved him innocent. 

In fact, my ex-daughter-in-law tried to bribe Clarence into giving her custody, promising she would not testify at his criminal trial if he gave her sole custody of Brooklyn. (We still have the text messages!) 

As difficult as it was, Clarence refused to accept this bribe because his love for Brooklyn couldn't be bought. But for doing the right thing – the ethical thing – he was convicted based on this woman's allegations alone. 

It took everything I had not to cry as I watched five-year-old Brooklyn clinging to Clarence as he was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom. But I didn't want my son to see me in tears. 

I knew I had to be strong because this was far from over. 

You see, Clarence's ex-wife stood on that stand and lied through her teeth when she claimed she was sexually assaulted and did not start a relationship with her new boyfriend until after the divorce was complete with my son. 

She was already pregnant with the man's child at Clarence's Article 32 Hearing! (She had the baby right before Clarence's court martial). 

To make matters worse, we later discovered her mother paid her boyfriend $100,000 in benefits to testify untruthfully at Clarence's court martial. He admitted to being paid by her mother on a phone call with me; I recorded it, and presented it to military officials and U.S. Congresswoman Martha Roby. 

My friend, bribing witnesses is illegal. So is lying on that stand. You may know them as "obstruction of justice" and "perjury" – both are felonies. 

But even though we submitted the evidence of this illegal bribery and perjury, the Air Force refused to consider it, claiming it wouldn't have changed the outcome of Clarence's trial. Air Force officials even lied to Congresswoman Roby about the military judge's authority to evaluate the witness tampering and order a new trial. 

So Clarence spent over three years in prison at a military brig in San Diego, California. Thankfully, he was released in May of this year for good behavior. 

And now, thanks to an organization called Save Our Heroes, we're fighting to clear Clarence's name – and more importantly, to get Brooklyn back in our lives. 

When I received a call from Doug James of Save Our Heroes, I knew it was the answer to all of our prayers. 

Save Our Heroes helps service members fight back against false charges and make sure justice is delivered in a deeply flawed military justice system. Doug and his team understand that innocent until proven guilty simply doesn't exist in the military justice system and that service members don't always get a fair trial. 

That's why Save Our Heroes is helping us mount an appeal in federal civilian court where Clarence will have the opportunity to present all of the evidence and prove his innocence. But it's a costly process and money Clarence just doesn't have. 

Clarence was stripped of all pay when he was wrongly convicted and he lost 18 years of his Air Force pension. And now that he's out of prison, he has to register as a sex offender every three months – which means he can't get a job, even though he has a Master's degree and a top-secret clearance. 

All we can do now is rely on Save Our Heroes and the big hearts of American patriots like you who support their mission. 

Save Our Heroes is a non-profit organization. They don't receive a dime of federal funding. They just want to help service members. 

If you can help with a tax-deductible donation of $25, $35, $50, $100 or more, will you please send it to help fight for my son and my granddaughter? 

I'm not used to asking perfect strangers for help. But if you have children of your own, I hope you'll understand why I'm turning to you today. 

My son deserves the opportunity to clear his name from the baseless charges. And more importantly, he deserves to have his daughter in his life. 

This holiday season, I pray you'll find it in your heart to help Save Our Heroes fight for my son and my granddaughter. 

Thank you in advance for your support. 

Gratefully, 

Beatrice Anderson 

P.S. Believe it or not, Justice Brett Kavanaugh is lucky. If he'd been a member of our Armed Forces, he'd probably be sitting in a military prison right now. You see, thanks to pressure from leaders in Congress, military officials waste no time charging, prosecuting and convicting service members who are accused of sexual misconduct. Even when the facts don't line up with the accuser's story. 

That's why I thank God every day that Save Our Heroes is helping my son, Major Clarence Anderson III, fight for justice. Whether you can give $25, $35, $50, $100 or more, I hope you'll find it in your heart this holiday season to help Save Our Heroes mount Clarence's appeal in federal court so he can clear his name and get his daughter – my granddaughter – back. Thank you for your support!

Stand with Clarence