Rep. Gordon was in US during Gulf War; rank changed late

Marines: Gordon was in US during Gulf War; rank changed late
September 26th, 2011 at 1:10 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
The U.S. Marine Corps reaffirmed its record of state Rep. Daniel Gordon’s military service on Monday, saying the embattled lawmaker never left the United States during the first Gulf War and became a private first class weeks before he was discharged.

The Marines first released details about Gordon on Friday that called into question his statements about his service. Gordon told the AP it was “unfortunate” the military did not release his full record and told WPRO’s Matt Allen he was injured by shrapnel outside of Baghdad during the first Gulf War.

“In our view, that’s a false claim,” Maj. Shawn Haney, a public affairs officer for the Marine Corps’ manpower and reserve affairs department, told WPRI.com on Monday. If Gordon thinks his record is inaccurate, Haney said he should contact the Quantico office to get it corrected.

Gordon, who did not return a phone call Monday, uploaded a photograph last week of a certificate he received in 1989 for training in the Philippines and noted that the Marines had not mentioned his time there in its release. The certificate lists him as a lance corporal.

Gordon’s record does show he went to the Philippines as part of his rotation at the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan, for five months and 28 days from October 1988 to April 1989, according to Haney. She said she did not mention it on Friday because it was part of his service in the Pacific.

“That’s so normal,” she said. “Units do that all the time. When they’re in Japan, they’re always doing different exercises in the Philippines or whatever, all assorted different training. That’s not a deployment. He was part of a unit that was in Iwakuni.”
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