CLARENCE TULLY - A Man With a Secret (2/2)

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When Tully went to military meetings or gatherings with real veterans as a reporter, he would dress in a serviceman's uniform. As he became more comfortable with the uniform and the imaginary stories about his years in the Air Force, he began to wear medals of honor and make the stories more danger-filled and exciting. Also, as he got more important jobs in real life, he gave himself a higher rank in his fictitious military life. He became a second lieutenant, then a first lieutenant, then a major. It got to the point where he himself could not tell the difference between fact and fiction anymore. In reality, he never attended college or served in the Air Force.
Tully was doing very well in his career, and people easily trusted and respected him. He was always careful and consistent when he talked about his military adventures. He did not make mistakes with his "facts." He was a clever impostor; he told believable phony stories. No one questioned the exciting, brave, dangerous events of his nonexistent military experience. he deceived everyone for many years.
Recently, something happened that changed Tully's whole life. In his newspaper, he published some negative articles about a well-known lawyer of his city. This lawyer became very angry with Tully. He decided to investigate Tully's personal life. In a short time, he discovered that Tully was a impostor. He publicized the fact that Tully told untrue stories about himself. Tully immediately acknowledged all his dishonest information and resigned from his job. He did not give any explanation for his behavior. He put himself in the care of a psychiatrist in order to find out why he did this. As he entered a hospital in Arizona, he said, "I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me." With these words, the fantasy life-style of "Duke" Tully ended.
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CLARENCE TULLY - A Man With a Secret (1/2)

Clarence Darrow Tully was tall, good-looking, and intelligent. He worked as a reporter at first and eventually became publisher of two newspapers in Arizona. He was a competent newspaper executive and got along well with other important people in the community. He was very successful in his career. These was, however, something unusual about Tully that was a secret for a long, long time.
When Clarence Darrow Tully was a young man, he told everyone to call him "Duke." He copied that name from a famous movie actor, whom Americans liked because he was strong, tough and brave. Tully want to be admired for the same reasons as this actor was. He also believed that men in military uniform looked strong, tough, and brave. Tully wanted very much to make this impression on others. His desire for this image got stronger and stronger as time went on.
He tried to join the Air Force, but poor vision prevented him from being accepted. His older brother became a Marine pilot and was killed in service in 1942. When this happened, Tully began to put his imagination to work: he started to tell untrue stories about his personal life. At first, he simply claimed he was in the Air Force and that he had a college degree. Every time he got a promotion in his career, he added more stories about brave active duty in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
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(to be continued...)