Who are the real losers and suckers?

I grew up in Vallejo, attended Steffan Manor, Springstowne, Hogan, and Solano Community College, before moving to Sonoma County. In about 1965, my mother received a letter from President Lyndon Johnson, thanking her for her husband’s — my father’s — service in Korea, where he was killed in battle when I was an infant. My mother did not remarry and I have not had a father figure of any sort in my life. I have his Silver Star, his Purple Heart, a stack of photographs, and a few letters he wrote home. He wrote about the importance of the mission and of his passion for helping preserve our democracy.

Growing up without a father creates all sorts of hurdles, challenges that what I call Gold Star orphans face every day of our lives. The nation’s gratitude provides a bit of comfort, as does visiting his grave at Fort Rosecrans in Pt. Loma, in San Diego County.

My father, John Joseph Edward Duffy Baker, a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps, was not a loser. He was not a sucker. He rose to a challenge he thought was so important that he was willing to leave his infant daughter, a daughter he had wanted and for whom he cared for during our brief time together.

Sadly, I think the losers and suckers are those who continue to support a president who demonstrates such cruelty toward those who have given their lives for this country and toward those of us who must live with the loss every single day of our lives.