Friday, February 4, 2022
Here's what I wrote about Karl when I learned of this accident. I didn't know where to send my respects, so sorry I'm late. RIP, Karl Gordon. Maj Karl Gordon was the H&S Company commander in our battalion when I was in Iraq. I talked to him a few times since coming home, but he's a very quiet guy and we drifted out of contact. We were quartered in the same room in Haditha. I liked him a lot. He was a pilot in his civilian life, not with a big airline, just a small business that I think he owned himself. He didn't talk about it a lot. We had a lot in common: We both went to Notre Dame, though he was about nine years after me. We both majored in mechanical engineering. We both joined the Marine Corps as officers. We both originally started as aircraft maintenance officers. We both changed our MOS after joining the reserves, he to infantry, I changed to communications. I used to joke that we were really brothers, and he would object that I wasn't black and thus couldn't be his brother and I challenged him to prove it. He was laconic but mixed well with his Marines. He was throughly professional in everything he did. He designed the defenses of the dam, he set up patrols around the village nearby, he knew his role as H&S company commander and, unusual in the Marines, he did it right. On May 8, 2005, elements of our battalion were ambushed at a hospital and several Marines were killed and many more wounded. A seven ton truck came barreling up to the top of the dam, with the dead piled on top of the wounded, radiator shot to pieces, the tires all blowing air out their sides from bullet holes, the on board compressor keeping the tires inflated as it drove. When it arrived, there was much confusion for a few seconds until Karl hurled himself into the bed of the truck, took charge and got everyone working together calmly. I've always admired him for that day. Karl always kept a cool head, and kept quiet when his voice wasn't needed. He was as laconic as any ancient Spartan could hope to be, but a lion when needed. He was exactly the kind of officer that is most useful and needed, even though such men are often unappreciated until needed. Karl was killed yesterday in a car accident, apparently driving from Kansas, where I believe he was drilling with the Marines, back to his home in Castle Rock, Colorado. Reports say he tried to pass in a no passing zone at 11am. The driver of the other car sustained serious injuries. We've all made errors before, sometimes they are deadly. I'm very sorry the world has lost a good man. He was 49. Mike Rentner
