A Marine Corps recruiter in Oklahoma was removed from his post after he was arrested for allegedly attacking and attempting to steal from an 89-year-old Korean War veteran.
Local police say Sgt. Joshua Thorpe was arrested Aug. 8 and charged with assault and battery, grand larceny, and malicious injury to property.
The Marine Corps has pulled Sgt. Thorpe off of recruiting duty and has placed him in an administrative billet at the recruiting station headquarters, according to Capt. Jean Durham.
Thorpe was accused of attacking 89-year-old Myron German in his home. German, a Korean War veteran who served in the Marine Corps himself, wasn’t going down without a fight.
“He slapped me and I slapped him just as hard as I could,” German told KOCO News. “Then he tried to choke me, but I wouldn’t put up with that.”
“A 36-year-old fellow can probably kick hell out of an 89-year-old fellow,” German said. “But he couldn’t.”
A witness at the scene flagged down an off-duty police officer who physically restrained Thorpe until officers arrived.
The witness told police that German and Thorpe had gotten to know each other while German visited the local Marine Corps recruiting office and that German invited Thorpe to his home on multiple occasions, per the news release.
On the day of the incident, Thorpe was visiting German when he became intoxicated and was asked to leave, the witness told police. Thorpe also damaged a jail cell door after his arrest.
Mackenzie Wolf is an editorial intern for Military Times.
