Sgt. Johnson’s death was turned into a circus

On Oct. 4, four American soldiers, part of a U.S. Special Forces detachment assigned to Niger by President Obama, were ambushed and killed. It is always a sad and mournful time as we address the families of the deceased.

The notification process for one of those four casualties, Sgt. La David Johnson, has become an ugly, obscene political drama. President Trump’s personal call to Sgt. Johnson’s widow, Myeshia, was arranged in advance and she accepted the call in the presence of Rep. Frederica Wilson D-Fla. The congresswoman immediately created a major news event over the contents of the president’s private words to the widow. Trump has exacerbated the issue by joining in a Twitter fight with Wilson. This is a shame!

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly spoke to this issue in a news conference afterward and shed some much needed insight on the matter. Retired Marine Corps general Kelly is uniquely qualified to address this issue since he lost a son himself in combat. Kelly confirmed that, as is always the case, an advance call was made to the widow for her agreement to accept the president’s call and set an agreed time and place.

The news media have not reported on the key part of this story! So, it is not surprising that Rep. Wilson knew in advance and was able to eavesdrop on the call! It is also not by coincidence that major news media outlets were tipped off to the setup and began immediately reporting the congresswoman’s attack on Trump’s remarks.

Kelly correctly said it’s incomprehensible that anyone would eavesdrop on the private personal call to Sgt. Johnson’s widow. Until now, such calls have always been sacred.

Have we no shame? The very least we should do to honor the memory of Sgt. Johnson is to not participate in cheap political theatrics regarding his passing. James W. Anderson Talladega, Ala.