Maureen Dowd, then writing for The New York Times, said the story “did not seem to fit in with the First Lady’s own persona.” Clinton offered the story “to illustrate how far women had come,” and praised women serving in the military.

A fact check from The Washington Post cited two unnamed Marine lawyers active during the mid-70s, when Clinton claimed she tried to join the Marines, who claimed the Marines were desperate to hire lawyers.

However, the Post analysis also found friends of Clinton’s who “confirmed the story, though they were hazy on the details.”

What it could have been was an experiment to find out whether women had access to the military.

Ann Henry, a University of Arkansas professor in 1994, recalled “the incident happened in the context of the lack of opportunity for women. Sometimes female faculty members went out to conduct ‘tests’ of access to various careers seemingly closed to women.”

The Marines had been open to women since 1918, and only a few fields within the Corps were restricted to them.

Clinton repeating the claim might backfire. Supporters have dismissed the criticism, usually by questioning the motivation of skeptics. Dredging up the past, however, will require her to provide a better explanation of the incident.

“There are enough holes here that Clinton has an obligation to address the circumstances under which she approached the Marines, now that she had once again raised it in a campaign context,” the Post declared in its fact check.

The Marine Corps Times noted that Clinton’s story has been consistent since she’s told it in 1994. Whether it can stay persuasive and have the desired effect remains to be seen.