US | Daniel Gordon Rhode Island Rep. Lied About Military Service Records indicate Daniel Gordon never served in Gulf War By Kevin Spak Posted Sep 23, 2011 2:30 PM CDT Copied Rhode Island state Rep. Daniel Gordon speaks to reporters Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011 in Portsmouth, RI. (AP Photo/David Klepper) Let's add this one to the Big Book Of Scandal Management: If you have a run-in with the law, do not explain it away by pretending to have fought in a war you didn't fight in. Rhode Island State Rep. Daniel Gordon is learning that one the hard way; Gordon was arrested recently on charges that he was involved in a 2008 police chase in Massachusetts. The arrest brought to light a four-month jail stint he'd served in 1999 for assault. Amid calls for his resignation, Gordon said his problems were the result of alcoholism, which in turn was caused by PTSD suffered in the Gulf War. But the AP obtained his military records, and discovered that though he'd been a military aircraft technician, he'd never been near a battlefield—his only overseas assignment was in Japan. WPRI 12 then discovered that he hadn't been awarded the Purple Heart either, further puncturing his story that he'd been wounded by shrapnel in Baghdad. Read These Next New Fox star, 23, misses first day after car troubles. Iran's supreme leader makes first public comments since ceasefire. Man accused of killing his daughters might be dead. White House rolls with Trump's 'daddy' nickname. Report an error