PTSD on Trial:Rep. Daniel P. Gordon explains his recent arrests

UPDATE to this story sent by a reader, Corporal Roy

Records show R.I. Rep. Gordon didn’t serve in Gulf, as claimed
01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, September 24, 2011
By Karen Lee Ziner

Journal Staff Writer
State Rep. Daniel P. Gordon holds a news conference Wednesday in Portsmouth announcing he will not resign.
The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

State Rep. Daniel P. Gordon, who blamed alcohol and legal problems on combat stress sustained in the 1991 Gulf War, never served in the Gulf, according to his military records. Gordon also claims that he suffered a shrapnel injury to his leg; however, his records do not list a Purple Heart, ordinarily awarded for injury sustained in combat.

“There appears to be no listing of combat tour of duty in the Middle East,” said Maj. Stewart T. Upton, head of media operations in the public affairs office for the Marine Corps at the Pentagon. “I don’t see a Kuwait Service Medal or any combat action or Purple Heart,” Upton said. Excepting any inaccuracies, “obviously we’re saying the information in front of us doesn’t have these tours of duty that he’s talking about.”

Gordon, R-Portsmouth, did not return calls or e-mails on Friday.
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This is why there should be Veterans' Courts all over the country. Having PTSD as a veteran is not an excuse for committing crimes but it is a reason to provide true justice for the victims as well as the veteran. He should not get off the hook for "free" but if he does have PTSD, he should get the help he needs.

Rep. Daniel P. Gordon explains his recent arrests, incarceration and why he refuses to step down from office.
By Sandy McGee

Republican Rep. Daniel P. Gordon says "self-medicating with alcohol" to treat post-traumatic stress from wartime service led to his arrests in Massachusetts.

Gordon sat down with Portsmouth Patch on Tuesday to talk about his recent arrest, incarceration and why he refuses to step down from office.

Gordon attributes his past criminal record in Massachusetts to "self-medicating" with alcohol.

"When I returned home from overseas in the Marine Corps, I suffered a lot of issues that returning combat veterans do, namely post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as a physical ailment, and self-medicated it with alcohol.

"Each and everyone of those instances on my Massachusetts' record was directly or indirectly involved with alcohol. I've since received treatment for that...and continue to receive counseling for that."

Gordon, 42, of 35 Alan Ave., Portsmouth, was arrested on Friday, Sept. 16, as a fugitive from justice on a Massachusetts warrant for failure to appear on an eluding charge and other motor vehicle violations, according to the State Police report.

Gordon, a Marine Corps veteran, served in many countries, including Iraq in 1991. He also served in Kuwait, the Philippines, Korea, Thailand, Australia, Japan and Guam.
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