GQ corrects story to say Lt. Col. Vindman was hit by IED, not an IUD

Awk-ward.

By Paul Szoldra

Posted on Nov 22, 2019 6:09 PM EST

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GQ Magazine has issued a correction to an Oct. 29 story about Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, assuring its readers that the soldier earned a Purple Heart for wounds he received from an IED, not an IUD, which is something quite different.

“This story has been updated,” a note at the end of the article reads. “Alexander Vindman received a Purple Heart after being wounded by an IED, or improvised explosive device, not an IUD, or intrauterine device. We regret the error.”

Oops.

The story, Alexander Vindman and a Brief History of the GOP Smearing Veterans by Luke Darby, reports on Republican efforts to smear Vindman, who testified this week under subpoena in the House impeachment inquiry. The original story included the unfortunate typo in its second paragraph (emphasis ours):

Vindman is the first White House official to cooperate with Congress’s impeachment inquiry, which makes his testimony all the more damaging. So Trump surrogates rushed to discredit him before he even appeared before the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight and Reform committees. Their main tactic so far has been to accuse the Army veteran—who has a Purple Heart for an IUD injury in Iraq and served multiple overseas tours—of secretly working for Ukraine.

The wording has been updated now to reflect an IED injury. Vindman was wounded by an improvised explosive device shortly after he deployed to Iraq in Sept. 2004. He finished the deployment and returned to the U.S. in Sept. 2005.

After a screenshot of the correction was shared Friday morning on Twitter, the jokes came at a rapid pace:

https://twitter.com/JimLaPorta/status/1197934515676684289

https://twitter.com/AlexHortonTX/status/1197930890732736512

Darby declined to comment.

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Paul Szoldra

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Paul Szoldra was the Editor in Chief of Task & Purpose from October 2018 until August 2022. Since joining T&P, he has led a talented team of writers, editors, and creators who produce military journalism reaching millions of readers each month. He also founded and edits Duffel Blog, a popular satirical newsletter for the military. Before becoming a journalist in 2013, he served as a Marine infantryman in Afghanistan, Korea, and other areas of the Pacific. His eyes still go up every time a helicopter from Camp Pendleton flies over his office in Southern California.