Supporters of a war hero who went bankrupt after being robbed by his accountant and was evicted from his home are holding a rally Sunday, April 18, in hopes of raising funds to help the decorated colonel.

As a Marine, Col. Ken Reusser, 84, earned 49 medals, four Purple Hearts and two Navy Crosses. He served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and is considered the most decorated veteran in the state of Oregon. It's that service that supporters want to honor by helping Reusser save his Cooper Mountain property, which was originally settled by his grandfather.

Reusser's story goes back three years when he says he lost $262,500 in bad investments. In addition, he hired an accountant, Robert E. Thomas, to handle his money. Thomas, who was convicted of theft and forgery, bilked the colonel out of $83,000. The accountant was ordered to pay Reusser $200 a month in restitution, meaning, as Oregonian columnist Jerry Boone points out, Reusser "will have to live to be nearly 120 to get all his money back." Thomas also was sentenced to one year in jail.

Reusser and his wife, Trudy, filed for bankruptcy in August and are suing their bank, Washington Mutual, for $1 million, claiming it should not have cashed bad checks.

The colonel and his wife were evicted from their mountain property March 19 for failure to make payments, but later returned and changed the locks. The couple, who owe $800,000 on the property, are essentially living in the home as squatters.

"We thought we could retire there and have the kids come visit," Trudy Reusser told the Oregonian after being evicted. "Now we're strapped like a young couple starting out in life."

The Reussers said they tried to sell the home, but Washington Mutual told them if they did not drop the lawsuit against the bank, it would block the sale, the Portland paper reported.

A website, oregonhero.org, has been set up to tell Reusser's story and drum up support for his wife and him. Organizers have planned a rally and fund-raiser for Sunday afternoon, April 18, at the Linn County Fairgrounds in Albany, Ore.

Supports are encouraging people to express their displeasure with Washington Mutual.

Said a statement on the website: " Here we see that after neglectfully failing to look after his $83,000 in a checking account, Washington Mutual turned around and stomped on him and kicked him while he was down by using the courts to take his $300,000 in home-ownership equity too!"

Several state and local elected officials have come out in support of Reusser and are helping to raise money for him.

Wrote Boone in a column last month: "For those who don't know who he is and what he has done, it would be all too easy to point to his mistakes and consider the colonel just another crusty, troublesome senior citizen who can't take care of himself.

"But he deserves better than to be left impoverished, homeless and humbled."