Marine guards California school

HUGHSON, Calif. - A former Marine applauded for voluntarily showing up to guard a central California elementary school apparently misrepresented his service history.

Craig Pusley showed up for a second day of guard duty Thursday at Hughson Elementary School but departed mid-morning as questions arose about his military background.

On Wednesday, Pusley told the Modesto Bee he was a sergeant in the Marine Reserves and had deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Marines spokesman Captain Gregory A. Wolf said Pusley never served overseas and was discharged in 2008 as a private after serving less than a year. He also is not in the reserves.

Pusley did not respond to calls for comment from The Associated Press.