Swampscott native awarded Bronze Star

SWAMPSCOTT – A town native and Marine Corps officer was awarded the Bronze Star medal in Afghanistan Tuesday.
Maj. Thomas Edward Clinton Jr., 38, son of Thomas and Ann Clinton of Swampscott, was decorated during a ceremony that recognized his initiatives while serving his second of three tours of duty in Afghanistan in 2008.
Clinton is serving his third deployment to the Middle East. He is a 1989 graduate of Swampscott High School graduate and holds a bachelor’s degree from Norwich University.
“He just found out today,” said Anastacia Clinton, the Marine officer’s wife, who lives with their two children, Cameron, 8, and Molly, 6, in Swansboro, N.C., near Camp Lejeune. “The medal was for what he did the last time he was in Afghanistan. I don’t know exactly what that was yet but we’re very proud of him.”
The Marine officer served as an adviser on his first tour and an executive officer of a unit in the second.
Clinton has been stationed at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
According to the Marine Corps, Clinton was the senior watch officer in the Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan’s combat operations center when he was recommended for the Bronze Star for his achievements in Helmand Province from April to September 2008.
As the executive officer of Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, he planned and coordinated operations and supervised more than 1,100 Marines, sailors and civilian personnel as they conductedcounterinsurgency operations inGarmsir District, Helmand province.