Accused Coach Claimed Status as Vietnam Vet : Investigation: Records show Mark Schuster was in the National Guard, though he often told war stories to students. In a statement, he maintains he is innocent of molesting his stepdaughter.

Corona del Mar High School’s head football coach, Mark Schuster, captivated students with tales of his active tour of duty in the Vietnam War, detailing how he slogged through rice paddies with his medical battalion.

But the popular 48-year-old coach, who now stands accused of molesting his adopted daughter for years, never set foot in Vietnam, according to his military record obtained Thursday.

Schuster’s arrest late Tuesday on molestation charges sent shock waves through the community, shattering the image of the silver-haired Schuster as a friendly but strict coach who taught respect and discipline, drawing often on his military experience.

“He always talked about Vietnam stories, fighting in the rice paddies,” said one Corona del Mar ninth-grader who had Schuster for an eighth-grade health class at the school. “He was a real tough guy.”

Schuster coached the Corona del Mar Sea Kings since last fall and spent the previous 22 years as a science teacher and coach at Azusa High School.

His biography on file at Corona del Mar High School is full of references to U.S. military tradition and leaders, calling on his players to show the commitment and attitude of soldiers on active duty.

The biography, which he wrote, also states that he “spent two years on tour with Uncle Sam’s traveling show” in the 7th Cavalry, which has been part of the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division since 1921. The unit fought in Vietnam.

But Schuster’s military file showed that he only served in a California National Guard unit and was never sent to Vietnam. According to the records, he was on active duty for five months “for training purposes only,” between Sept. 6, 1966 and Feb. 6, 1967.

The records say Schuster completed basic training at Ft. Ord, Calif., and then trained as a medic at Ft. Sam Houston, Tex. before being released back to the National Guard.

Between 1965 and 1973, many young men joined the National Guard to avoid going to Vietnam. Guardsmen trained with other Army enlistees and draftees and were usually derided by drill instructors and other soldiers as “NGs.”

Schuster faces arraignment Nov. 2 on charges of molesting his 18-year-old stepdaughter, whom he legally adopted when she was 8. According to police and prosecutors, the molestation began in 1989 with inappropriate touching and escalated to intercourse in 1992. Recently, the sex acts had occurred once or twice weekly, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Claudia Silbar.

Investigators said Schuster demanded the sex acts as so-called “payments” for bad grades or in exchange for gifts. The victim confided in a friend last Sunday, two days after her 18th birthday, and an uncle later encouraged her to go to authorities.

The woman had two taped conversations with Schuster earlier in the week, telling him she didn’t want to return to the Balboa Island home they shared unless the “payments” stopped, Silbar said. On the tapes, he also uses the term, and agrees that the payments will stop, but at times he says he doesn’t understand what she is saying, Silbar said.

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In a search warrant served on the home, investigators seized sexually explicit photographs of the victim, among other things. Silbar said Thursday that Schuster appears to have had a close and manipulative relationship with his adopted daughter.

The victim “said they were good friends,” Silbar said. “He was the only father she ever knew.”

On Thursday, Schuster released a statement through an attorney proclaiming his innocence and his love for his adopted daughter, and referring once again to his purported tour of duty with the U.S. Army Medical Corps.

“Mark is a decent, hard-working man,” said the statement prepared by Santa Ana attorney James J. Di Cesare. “He has positively affected the lives of thousands of students and has always been dedicated to his profession.

“Mark served in the United States Army Medical Corp. Upon this discharge from the Army, he went on to college, becoming a Jr. College All-American in 1968 and made All-League in 1969 at Cal Poly Pomona.”

The statement said that Schuster “wants to thank the hundreds of students, parents and members of the community who have offered him their support and well wishes.”

Di Cesare said Schuster “has taken the charges very hard” but has the full support of his family, including his two children from his first marriage.

“He is not guilty of these charges and he does not want to be tried in the press,” the statement said.

Di Cesare said later Thursday that he could not address questions about Schuster’s military history.

Schuster claimed membership in one of the Army’s most storied units.

The 1st Battalion 7th Cavalry, which was once commanded by Gen. George Armstrong Custer, has fought in dozens of campaigns from the Indian Wars to the Persian Gulf War. The unit’s bravery has been recognized by the governments of the Philippines, South Korea, Greece and Vietnam.

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The Newport Mesa Unified School District suspended Schuster from his job with pay on Wednesday. The pay will be revoked when the district receives official notice of the felony charges filed against him, District Supt. Mac Bernd said.

Bernd said he could not comment on Schuster’s military record, citing it as a personnel matter. But he said the district “expects employment applications to be truthful.”

“The district will investigate any misrepresentations on any employment application by anyone,” Bernd said.

Schuster was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but spent nearly his entire childhood on an Arcadia street full of children. He was the only boy in a family of four, and one former neighbor recalled him as “an outstanding kid on the block.”

According to the neighbor, who asked not to be identified, Schuster was a great athlete and a happy boy from a supportive family. His father, who died years ago, ran a Foster’s Freeze store in Temple City and later sold staple guns and similar products for Bostich.

His sisters went on to “raise happy families,” said the neighbor, who recalled Schuster “serving his dues in the military through the National Guard.”

Schuster graduated from Arroyo High School in El Monte in 1965. His military record showed that he had completed one year of college when he entered basic training in September, 1966.

Schuster played football at Citrus College in 1968, school officials said, and he was on the football roster at Cal Poly Pomona in 1969, officials there said. He received a bachelor of science degree in physical education from Cal Poly Pomona in September, 1971, and was hired by the Azusa Unified School District in 1972.