As the unlikely winner of a close, heated election in November, Cy Sun knows an even tougher battle looms in the weeks and months ahead.

Pacific’s new mayor knows there’s no honeymoon, and that he has a lot to learn.

Amid a dustup surrounding his military record as a decorated Korean War veteran, 81-year-old Sun took the gavel and struggled through the steps of his first City Council meeting Monday night.

“It went OK,” he said afterward, “it’s a process.”

Business as usual, for the most part, he said.

“There’s always a learning curve, and I think we found out where our starting point is tonight,” said Councilmember James McMahan. “Certainly for me, he’s our mayor, and it’s our job to work with him.”

Added Councilmember Leanne Guier: “We want to help him succeed.”

Sun, a political outsider and long shot write-in candidate, upset two-term incumbent Richard Hildreth by 70 votes in the Nov. 8 general election. He officially assumed his duties Jan. 3.

“My first task is to get the overwhelming support of the people,” Sun said. “Once I can get that, I think I can work with the council.”

One councilmember, however, questioned Sun’s past, in particular what he claimed in his campaign literature that he had earned on the battlefield, especially a rare Croix de Guerre, a French medal awarded only to a few Americans.

Councilmember Gary Hulsey is suspicious of Sun’s heroic military record and wants the newly elected mayor to clarify it. He called the mayor out at a City workshop last week.

“I’m not out for blood, I’m out for the truth,” said Hulsey, a Marine Corps veteran who served three tours of duty during the Vietnam War. “I have asked him to present his record, Army orders or citations. I would love to see him have these awards, and we can clear this up.”

Sun earned a Silver Star – the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a U.S. soldier – while serving in the Korean War, according to research by Doug Sterner, a curator for the Military Times Hall of Valor in Alexandria, Va.

The U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division – Sun’s outfit – doesn’t list anyone with his name as a Silver Star recipient, Sterner pointed out, although he is listed by the Korean War Veterans Association.

Sterner’s database also shows Sun was awarded two Purple Hearts in Korea. Sun was wounded in action – Feb. 1, 1951, and Sept. 18, 1951, while he was with the Army’s 23rd Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division.

But Hulsey, a state commander for two major veterans organizations, says the new mayor might have violated the Stolen Valor Act. Hulsey is calling for a federal investigation.

“When someone claims to have those awards and does not have them, it cheapens the awards for those who do have them,” Hulsey said.

Sun says he’s stored his medals in cardboard boxes.

“It hurts to look at the medals and think of my best friends, including 31 guys who took basic training with me (and) gave their lives,” Sun said.

“I don’t brag about the medals to the public. All the medals and citations I had received rightfully belong to my buddies,” he said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here today. Above all, without them, I would not have received those medals.”

Time to move ahead

Despite the face-off, the City Council has decided to move on. The mayor’s military record is a civil matter, not the business of the council, council members concluded.

“Unless there’s a charge … where he ought to be removed from office, I don’t know why it’s been brought up to council in the first place,” McMahan said. “The question I kept thinking is, ‘What business is this of the council?’ “

Councilmember Joshua Putnam is eager to start work.

“I’m looking forward to working with the mayor as we get up to speed on 2012,” he added. “There’s a fairly steep learning curve with the number and complexity of issues the City deals with, and I’d be happy to do whatever I can to ease that transition and help the mayor hit the ground running.”

Lloyd Rector, a longtime resident weary of the negative election process and its nasty aftermath, urged the council to get to work.

“You’ve got to pull together,” he said. “You’ve got to move ahead and work together.”

Sun, meanwhile, wants to simplify issues so residents can follow along. Monday’s agenda included resolutions difficult to understand with little preparation, he said.

“If I can’t digest everything that’s in here, you sitting out there, ‘Do you know what’s going on?’ ” Sun asked the audience.

“The people don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. They don’t know all about the resolutions and going forward,” Sun continued. “They have no idea. … I was confused myself.”

Sun, nevertheless, wants to tackle everyday issues. He wants to hear from residents. His door will be open.

He understands he has much to learn as he prepares to serve a community of 6,000 strong.

“I feel we have a lot of work ahead of us,” he said.