Here in the United States of America the last Monday in May is designated as Memorial Day. The entire three day period, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday is referred to as Memorial Day weekend. For most in this country Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer. Officially it is the weekend and the specific day we are to honor our war dead. It is an ever increasingly number of people to honor. In fact, according to Wikipedia it is over 1.3 million fellow Americans, although that is just an estimate because the record keeping back in the 18th and 19th centuries especially weren't very good, plus the Wiki stats cut off six years ago.
Of course, that 1.3 million plus doesn't mean all those souls were lost in combat. In fact, up until World War II the leading cause of U.S. military deaths during wars was disease and accidents. How many service members who died after hostilities due to wounds, or disease after the cessation of hostilities is anyone's guess. In addition, the figure does not include the number of wounded or missing. If you add them in, the total jumps to well over 2.8 million American casualties directly caused by wars both large and small. It's just a shade more than the number of people currently living in the state of Kansas.
This Memorial Day weekend, just as they have over the last tree quarters of a century I've been around the vast majority of Americans will spend their time not thinking about our war dead at all. It is doubtful the President of the United States will be one of those who don't, however that might not mean he wants to.
After all, he is the guy who early in his first run in for the presidency told an interviewer the only reason John McCain was called a war hero was because he was captured. "I like people who weren't captured," he sniffed. That statement is on tape for everyone to see. There is no denying it.
There are other things though, Donald Trump has denied saying. In 2020, during his second campaign for President, The Atlantic reported that two years before, during a visit to France, Mr. Trump refused to visit a Cemetery which held the graves of 1,800 Americans killed during World War I. According to the magazine it was raining that day and he didn't want to get his hair wet. And reportedly told a senior advisor, "Why should I visit that cemetery? It's filled with losers." During a separate conversation later, Trump reportedly referred to the 1,800 dead marines as, "suckers for letting themselves get killed."
The reports say the quotes were confirmed by a senior Defense Department official and a Marine Corps officer who were both unidentified. Trump and his people have repeatedly denied he ever made the remarks. They also pointed out it was highly suspicious that the alleged statements didn't come out until the President was running for re-election two years after he was supposed to have said them. At this point the only thing we know for sure is it was raining that day and a scheduled trip to the cemetery was cancelled.
Another report stated the President once asked an officer why soldiers volunteered for military service. He explained his puzzlement by asking the man, "What's in it for them?" The exchange allegedly took place during a visit to the grave of General John Kelly's son who was killed during combat in Afghanistan. The report added that Kelly was present at the time but probably didn't hear the question.
Then there is a report that Trump didn't want wounded, or disabled military men present at a public celebration of patriotism because, "No one (meaning him) wants to see that." A variation on the story has Trump not wanting them there because they would make him look bad. Trump and his people deny it all. And while there is no way to confirm either version with complete certainty, when the, "celebration," took place there wasn't a wheelchair in sight.
Many have sneered at Donald Trump because he got out of serving in the military during the escalation of the war in Vietnam. It would seem many of those people either weren't around, or if they were they have faulty memories. There were a whole lot of people back in the 1960's and early 70's trying to get out of serving in the armed forces. Exotic and mysterious health issues such as bone spurs are just the tip of that particular iceberg. Many who did serve, returned home in uniform and were treated shamefully by those who hadn't. There was no excuse for it then and there isn't now, especially if one of those spewing insults is the fucking Commander in Chief.
That being said, there are some, including a couple of members of my own family, who accuse me of thinking the worst of Donald Trump, no matter if news reports of his despicable behavior are verified, or not. My standard response to those accusations is that those of us who do think the worst of this guy are rarely disappointed.
Or, to paraphrase Hunter S. Thompson who dealt with the proto-Trump, Richard M. Nixon, "Dick Nixon never let me down."
5-25-25
No comments:
Post a Comment