Staff Sergeant Gorter was born to Peter and Hilda (Kamper) Gorter on May 14, 1971 in Ivanhoe, Minnesota. He grew up in the Lake Benton area. Greg was baptized in June, 1971, at the Christian Reformed Church in Tyler, Minnesota. He was a past member of the Henry Sollie American Legion Post 10 in Lake Benton and currently a member of the Michael Boock American Legion Post 6 in Pipestone where he was serving as Post Commander. He loved to ride his Harley. He enjoyed playing football with the Wildcats in Lake Benton, singing karaoke, dancing, hunting, golfing and playing darts. He especially enjoyed attending family functions and supporting sports activities of his family. He was always the life of the party and loved to make people laugh. He attended and graduated from Lake Benton High School in 1989. On July 17, 1989, he entered the United States Navy and served during Operation Desert Storm. After his discharge from the service on July 16, 1993, he moved to Pipestone, Minnesota and worked at Bayliner Marine and then worked construction for two years. On February 26, 1997, he joined the Minnesota National Guard in Pipestone and served as a recruiter for them from January of 2000 through February of 2004. He then worked for Shawn's Custom Homes in Brookings, South Dakota. On December 5, 2004, he was deployed with the Marshall Unit of the National Guard, Battery A-151 and served in Iraq. After returning to the United States in November, 2005, he continued his service with the Pipestone Unit, A Battery 1-125. He achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant and served for a total of 16 years, one month and 23 days. After coming home from Iraq, he returned to work for Shawn's Custom Homes until May, 2006, when he became employed by DeRuyter Construction in Holland, Minnesota. Greg also was a member of the Patriot Guard Rider's. On Saturday, August 30, 2008, Greg died at the Murray County Medical Center in Slayton, Minnesota at the age of 37 years, three months and 16 days from injuries he obtained in a fall.

Following is a 2004 quote from SSG Gorter in regards to his decision to go from recruiter to soldier in Iraq: "I wanted to do something different. This is my chance. It's something I feel compelled to do and I don't know how to explain it any more than that. I have vowed to uphold the constitution of the United States against its enemies, foreign and domestic. I felt this was the time for me to do it, because it's probably my last chance. I want to make the world a better place so my kid doesn't have to go through a 9/11."