Thank you for your service
Iremember when my Uncle Otha Emert came back from the Korean War. I was a little girl, and his home town of Sevierville, Tennessee, gave him a Homecoming Victory Parade. He had been a prisoner of war. Even as young as
I was, I remember how gaunt he looked, no muscles on his bones.
He had been starved and tortured.
I remember him waving to the crowds of people that lined the streets. His face was bright with smiles. Many people were there dressed in uniforms. My daddy was in the Air Force. He, Uncle
Otha, and my Uncle Vic all served during WWII. My dad stood at attention and saluted his brother. Uncle Otha stood up in the car and saluted my dad. It was a precious moment.
Trump would not like my uncle. He would think he was a loser. In an interview when Trump was running for president, he was critical of U.S. Sen. John McCain, a Vietnam veteran who had been a prisoner of war in Vietnam. I remember when John McCain came home. It was a glorious day. He could have been released early, but he chose to stay until all prisoners of war were released.
In the interview Trump said, and I heard him say it, as did many others, that Sen. McCain was a loser. He also added, “I like people who aren’t captured.”
This man is the leader of our country. He is the commander-in-chief of the American military forces. When I first heard him say this some five years ago, I thought of my Uncle Otha and all he suffered for his country. What kind of leader is a man who speaks so disrespectfully of a war hero like John McCain or someone like my uncle?
I didn’t get angry. I was hurt by his words. My uncle passed away some years ago. I am thankful he never heard this. I do believe it would have devastated him. Trump’s callous words hurt my heart and made me cry.
Capt. Hunayun Khan, a United States soldier of the Muslim faith, died in Iraq. His father, Khizr Khan, spoke at the Democratic Convention in 2016 and was critical of Trump’s attitude toward people of the Muslim faith. Because Trump was criticized and angry, he took issue with it.
This family was and still is a Gold Star Family. They should be treated with respect and honor. Trump chose to be disrespectful to these grieving parents. Since the mother didn’t say anything, Trump surmised she wasn’t allowed to speak because of her faith. This was not the case. She had lost her son. She was distraught and could not speak. He didn’t care. How he treated this family was disgraceful.
I grew up in a military home. My daddy was an Army combat soldier in WWII. He was injured while fighting in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest. He never received his Purple Heart. Trump was given one by a retired military person who supported him. Trump was a draft dodger. He made light of receiving such an auspicious award.
Trump asked, “Is this real? I always wanted a Purple Heart. This was easier.”
What a terrible disservice to those who served and were injured. The Purple Heart is a medal that is earned. Trump did not earn this. My mother served in the Marines during WWII. She left college to serve because her brother, my Uncle Bill, joined the Marines. She worked in intelligence in Washington D.C. This is where she met my dad. She and some other girls were on their way to a USO dance when this handsome lieutenant offered to accompany them because they were unescorted. Daddy told me later, “I really wanted to get to know this pretty little red-head with the green eyes. They were married three weeks later and it lasted 65 years.
In one of our last conversations before he died, my dad talked of her and said, “You know, she’s still a pretty little thing.”
My parents were my heroes. They were not losers.
My husband is a Vietnam veteran. I didn’t know him back in 1968 when he was serving. A friend told me he had changed when he got back home. Nonetheless, we hit it off from our first meeting and married three months later. He suffers from PTSD because of everything that happened in that dreadful war.
But he served and was not a loser. He will always be my hero.
Thank all of you who have served and are serving for your service. You are not losers. And those who lost their lives were not suckers.