ALL WHO HAVE SERVED
“Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country”
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
“I don’t get it. What was in it for them?”
~Donald Trump
I joined the United States Navy not to protect my country, but to save myself.
I enlisted in 1973, the tail end of the Vietnam War. The military was not popular, and neither was I. Terrible grades and lack of financial support made college out of the question. My parents were done. The gigantic, ugly, green suitcase they gave me for high school graduation was more than a hint.
I was nearly eighteen and completely lost until I met the Navy recruiter.
In 2018 a report published by The Atlantic Magazine says the then United States President, Donald Trump, referred to the American war dead at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France as “losers and suckers”.
Of course, he denied saying it.
When Arizona Senator John McCain passed away in August of 2018, Trump told staff, “We’re not going to support that loser’s funeral.” He threw a tantrum when he saw flags at half-staff and said, “What the fuck are we doing that for? That guy was a fucking loser.”
Trump tried to make a joke about Mr. McCain and his time as a prisoner of war, “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured? I like people who weren’t captured.”
It’s on YouTube. Yet, he denies saying it.
Trump didn’t serve. The only service that guy knows anything about is room service.
He did make out with an American flag on stage. That's on YouTube too. Embarrassing.
Everyone who has every donned a uniform should be on high alert when the commander in chief openly distains the losers and suckers serving in the military. Its sort of a red flag. We are all cannon fodder. Nothing more.
In answer to Mr. Trump’s question:
The military was a ticket out of a life that seemed hopeless. I felt I didn’t have options.
J. D. Vance wrote a book called Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.
Substitute the word hillbilly with redneck. Regional reality.
Mr. Vance joined the Marines, served in The Iraq War, and ended up going to Yale Law School. He is now a well known author. His book was made into a movie. He is a politician and venture capitalist.
I ended up with a Masters of Education from a mediocre university. That would not have been in my cards without the GI Bill.
A regular paycheck at age eighteen was a gift that taught me how to manage money and be financially responsible. I bought my first car. It was a Chevy Nova. The worst car to ever roll off an assembly line. A good lesson.
Advanced specialized training was part of the package. I learned that I could actually learn. I had always hated school and felt it was a waste of time. I learned nothing … but how to skip class, smoke weed, and be a loser. IQ 45 was half right.
Healthcare, a place to live, food to eat, and time to mature, shaped the person I chose to be. In other words, I didn’t get knocked up, married to an abusive husband, who was a small town drug dealer. My mother’s prediction for my future.
Thirty days paid vacation a year made it possible to see the country on my own. As I reflect back, that was the beginning of my independent spirit and love of travel. This sounds like a recruitment ad.
I was a child. And, completely clueless as to what I had signed up for. When I watched the movie Private Benjamin I laughed and then I wept. Very close to my truth.
All the yelling and name calling in boot camp felt like home. Some of the other recruits were upset. I told them to suck it up. They weren't going to be hit.
Spoiler alert, Goldie Hawn was transformed by military life too.
I was lucky. I didn’t go into combat. Women (girls) didn’t do that during my tenure. They were sexually harassed and worse. I was not. Many men and women have died in service to their country. I’m still kicking.
I served my four years grateful to be on my own and away from the dysfunction of childhood and small town bullshit. I was honorably discharged, went to college on the GI Bill, and led what I consider to be a fairly productive life.
Two years ago, I bought a house using my VA loan eligibility. Forty-two years after my discharge. The gift that keeps on giving. Thank you Uncle Sam.
Mr. Trump, many losers and suckers got a lot out of military service. If they lived through it.
By the way, I hope you enjoy room service. In Hotel Leavenworth.
