Tom Jurkowsky: Why Donald Trump made me angry on Memorial Day | COMMENTARY – Capital Gazette
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Memorial Day — three days before Donald Trump’s guilty verdict — started out as it has for me for the last several years. It involved a lot of contemplation over the military colleagues I’ve lost and the 1.1 million service members who’ve died in battle serving our nation.
I also enjoy listening to veterans tell the story of heroic actions by their fellow soldiers on the battlefield. Their stories are eye watering.
Unfortunately, most Americans associate Memorial Day as the beginning of summer — picnics, trips to the beach and family outings. Other Americans unknowingly associate it with honoring those currently serving or who have served their country in uniform. As respectful as those thoughts are, they’re incorrect.
Not surprising, Trump has shown he too has no understanding of Memorial Day and what it means to serve and die for your country.
Trump’s former chief of staff, retired four-star general John Kelly, confirmed to CNN last year several reports that Trump insulted wounded veterans in private conversations with his staff. Trump called veterans buried in military cemeteries “losers” and referred to the 1,800 Americans who died at the Battle of the Belleau Wood as “suckers” for getting killed, for example.
Belleau Wood occupies a hallowed place in Marine Corps history. Of the Fourth Marine Brigade’s 9,500-member complement, 1,000 were killed and 4,500 wounded, gassed or missing.
In 2018, then-President Trump was scheduled to visit the Aisne-Marne Cemetery near Paris to honor those lost at Belleau Wood. But he canceled the visit at the last minute, blaming the rain. He said his helicopter could not fly and the Secret Service would not drive him. Neither reason was true.
According to a piece in The Atlantic, Trump actually rejected the idea of a visit because he was afraid his hair would become disheveled, and he didn’t think it was important to honor the war dead. “Why would I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.”
Kelly accompanied Trump to Arlington National Cemetery during Trump’s presidency. Kelly pointed out the headstone of his son, a Marine like his father, who died in Afghanistan. Trump turned to Kelly and asked, “I don’t get it. What’s in it for them?”
Kelly also said Trump did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because “it doesn’t look good for me.”
When John McCain died, Trump belittled him in death as in life. McCain was a POW for five years during the Vietnam War. He underwent unbelievable torture. When flags were flown at half-staff after his passing, Trump reportedly asked aides why. “What the f— are we doing that for? The guy was a loser.”
On this past Memorial Day, I recalled a few moments that will live with me until I pass. In 2005, I had surgery at Walter Reed National Medical Center and was assigned to a recovery ward with wounded service members.
I remember my “first walk” with my wife after the surgery. It’s when I saw a Marine with half his face blown off. He had 42 surgeries already with more to follow, according to my surgeon. I also saw several other service members with one, two or three limbs that had been amputated.
These images have stuck with me, but the most compelling was when I went into the family lounge on the ward and found a mother crying inconsolably after meeting with her son’s doctor. The news he provided her was not what she wanted to hear.
I don’t think it was in Trump’s DNA to ever consider visiting sick or wounded troops at Walter Reed or any other military medical facility.
In fact, Trump’s comments and actions show he had no concept of Memorial Day and what it means. That was evident when he sent out a Memorial Day message on his social media platform three days before the verdict in his trial.
The first two words said it all: “Happy Memorial Day.” He then went on to lambast the legal system, the judge and the prosecutors who were involved in his trial.
There is nothing happy about Memorial Day — a day that obviously has no meaning or significance to Trump.
As I read Trump’s words about veterans and those who have died for their country, I became angrier and angrier as I listened to veterans recount their stories and remembered my walk down the corridor at Bethesda and that inconsolable mom.
If Trump ever wants to lead this country again as the commander-in-chief, he needs to obtain a sense of compassion, sympathy and humanitarian values — qualities any leader must possess.
Trump also needs to be educated on the meaning of service to our country and a willingness by some to protect its freedom and our democracy. Perhaps reading history and the words of his predecessors would be a good start.
Tom Jurkowsky is a retired Navy rear admiral who served on active duty for 31 years. He is the author of the book, “The Secret Sauce for Organizational Success: Communications and Leadership on the Same Page.” He is a member of the National Security Leaders for America, an organization that advocates for democracy.
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