Wisconsin American Legion official lied about serving in Vietnam

Meg Jones | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Howard "Gordy" Clewell frequently talked about his experiences serving in Vietnam with the U.S. Special Forces.

He wore a Special Forces pin, a Ranger tab, Combat Infantryman Badge and a Special Forces unit patch along with Master Parachutist Wings.

Turns out it was all a big lie.

Clewell resigned last week from his position as historian of the Wisconsin American Legion after his ruse was discovered. He was married to the state commander of the Legion, who said Sunday she is devastated.

"He has dishonored so many veterans. To me, that's just despicable," state commander Laurel Clewell said in a phone interview.

Laurel Clewell has filed a formal complaint to the FBI, which is investigating her estranged husband for falsely claiming military honors. A 2015 law passed in Wisconsin, called the Stolen Valor Act, makes it a misdemeanor to claim military service or honors for personal gain.

The American Legion lobbied for passage of the Stolen Valor Act.

The federal Stolen Valor Act, which passed in 2013, makes it a federal crime to fraudulently claim receiving a valor award. That includes the Combat Infantry Badge, a light blue, horizontal-shaped medal featuring a musket worn on the left breast of uniforms. The prestigious badge indicates someone who fought in active ground combat in an infantry, special forces or Ranger unit.

Laurel Clewell met Gordy Clewell seven years ago through American Legion Post 38 in Appleton, where they were both life members. They married 4 1/2 years ago.

Gordy Clewell, 68, served in the Army but not in Vietnam. He was a caseworker in Germany, said his wife. When Laurel Clewell was elected state commander last year, she asked her husband to be the veterans service organization's historian.

The Wisconsin American Legion website for department officers on Sunday said "VACANT" next to the historian. In 2015-'16, Gordy Clewell was the finance officer for American Legion Post 38.

Since they met through the American Legion, which requires documentation of military service, Laurel Clewell said she had no reason to doubt her husband's stories of serving in Vietnam. He told her joined the American Legion decades earlier in Indiana.

Now she wonders if that was a lie.

"I heard his stories with all these guys for years so why would I even question them?" Laurel Clewell said. "His daughter who is pregnant and due in October called and texted. She's crushed. I don't even know what to say to her. My life is in upheaval but I can't even imagine a father lying to his daughter."

Laurel Clewell said she learned of her husband's deception June 11 after a flyer with the words "Stolen Valor" and Gordy Clewell's photo wearing a hat with Special Forces, Combat Infantry Badge and other pins was anonymously sent to American Legion officials. Laurel Clewell said she didn't get a flyer but a friend told her about it. When she confronted her husband, he admitted he never served in Vietnam and wasn't in the Special Forces.

When she asked him why he lied, "he said, 'I guess I was never big enough. I wanted to be bigger and better,' " said Laurel Clewell. "I don't know what makes a pathological liar."

Laurel Clewell said her husband moved out of their home; she plans to initiate divorce proceedings.

State Adjutant Amber Nikolai said in a release that Gordy Clewell admitted "his misrepresentations and apologized" when he submitted his resignation as department historian and canceled his Legion membership June 11. Nikolai also said his military service met the eligibility requirements for American Legion membership.

Gordy Clewell did not return a phone message Sunday. Laurel Clewell's one-year post as state commander ends next month, when a new commander will be selected at the group's annual meeting.

In a statement Laurel Clewell issued to Wisconsin American Legion members, she said Gordy Clewell had built a stellar veteran career on a foundation of lies that included claims he earned medals for heroism in Vietnam.

"I know people say I should have known. But when you go out with someone do you say 'Show me your credentials?' He was in the American Legion when I met him," Laurel Clewell said.