VoteVets not ‘playing soldier’

Having served two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Kosovo, I was ready to die for this country if that was what my fate was. It hurts, beyond words, to see a columnist in the paper imply that I, and the 133,000 veterans (3,000 in Wisconsin) who support VoteVets are “play soldiers” because we do not agree with a particular political point of view (“Unions, environmentalists play soldier to help Baldwin,” March 28).

Our organization has veteran supporters who lost limbs in war. We have members who have lost pieces of their brains overseas. We have members who have mental wounds so deep that loud noises still make them feel panic and sweat. None of them are “playing soldier.”

We also have over 1,400 Gold Star families.Their fallen family members were not “playing soldier.” The over 400,000 other people who support VoteVets certainly don’t believe that we are “playing soldier.” All of them support VoteVets because we support those who help veterans, including the 40 veterans running for House and Senate who we’ve endorsed and will work hard to elect.

It is a very sad state of discourse in this country when people who have put their life on the line for America can be demeaned this way simply because they believe a senator, like Tammy Baldwin, is doing a good job for veterans. That said, we’re confident that the people of Wisconsin will reject that kind of talk, because they know that veterans like us have earned the right to speak and be heard.

Jon Soltz Chairman VoteVets

Sarasota, Fla.