I will keep this short because, when I first heard of Trump's remarks, I have to admit that I was consumed with anger and did not think I could restrain myself sufficiently to offer anything constructive. Well, I am still angry but somewhat more in control of that so here goes...
I am an Honorably Discharged veteran with ten years of service and, today, am 100% Disabled due to my combat service. My family recently buried our 95 year old Dad in the National Cemetery on Cape Cod. He was one of only two survivors in our State of the attack on Pearl Harbor when his ship, the USS West Virginia, was torpedoed, bombed and sunk. He then served throughout the Pacific War as a Navy Corpsman attached to the Marines during which time he saw and experienced horrors that to the day he died he could barely tell us about. His younger brother, my Uncle Bob, earned a Bronze Star when he fought with the Marines at the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. He is now close to facing his own death at 89 and our family is making preparations for that. My brother also served in Vietnam with the 1st Marine Division at the same time I was there but, fortunately, he came through that unscathed. Many others in our family, while not serving in combat, nonetheless did serve during peacetime. Unlike Trump and his family, my family has served this country long and honorably, sometimes at great personal cost.
My Dad, my brother, and I were honored to be among the father-son teams interviewed for a 2004 book by author Michael Takiff that compared and contrasted the experiences of each in World War 2 and Vietnam. I encourage anyone who agrees that Trump has no understanding whatsoever of the sacrifices many veterans have made to read this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Men-Gentle-Heroes-American/dp/0060935774
When I heard what this cretin had to say, when I saw him standing on the sacred ground of Arlington Cemetery and at the Tomb of the Unknown, I admit that I totally lost it. Donald Trump is not worthy to lick the mud off the boots of all who have served this country in our Armed Forces. He knows nothing of sacrifice, only his own self-aggrandizement. "Duty, Honor and Country" are not concepts or values he has ever evinced. He is a disgrace to the uniforms I, and many of my family members, have worn and I will not yield so much as one millimeter in my abhorrence of all for which he stands which, ultimately, is only for himself.
General George S. Patton, Jr. —certainly no paragon of "politically correct" speech himself — nonetheless understood the meaning of sacrifice when he said "It is wrong to only mourn the men who have died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived." It is disgraceful that Donald J. Trump now serves as Commander-in-Chief of those today who are prepared to sacrifice all at his command, a sacrifice he could not possibly understand or share.
"Begone, foul beast, to the Netherworld from whence you came. You are not worthy to stand on such hallowed ground with the living or the dead who serve or have served in honor and in sacrifice."