APNewsBreak: No Gulf War record found for RI rep.
By DAVID KLEPPER, Associated Press
Sep 23, 2011 10:56 AM CDT

Military service records for a Rhode Island lawmaker who has blamed his legal troubles on combat stress he suffered in the 1991 Gulf War indicate he never served in the Middle East.

State Rep. Daniel Gordon's Marine Corps records, obtained by The Associated Press, list him as an aircraft technician who served from 1987 to 1991 in the U.S. and Japan. Gordon has said his leg was injured by shrapnel outside Baghdad.

The Republican is fighting calls for his resignation following his arrest on charges stemming from a 2008 police chase in Massachusetts. The arrest exposed past legal problems, including a four-month sentence in 1999 for assault.

Gordon says his problems sprang from alcohol abuse relating to post-traumatic stress from his service.

He did not return calls seeking comment Friday.