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Senator Duckworth: No, We Weren't 'Suckers' or 'Losers'
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/09/trumps-disrespect-endangers-troops/616409/
If Donald Trump had been on the battlefield with me in Iraq back in November 2004, I doubt I ever would’ve made it home.
In the Army, part of our soldier’s creed involves never leaving a fallen comrade behind. The only reason I am alive today is that, after a rocket-propelled grenade exploded in the Black Hawk helicopter I was co-piloting, my buddies embodied that creed. They thought I was dead but still risked their own safety to bring my body back home to my family. Only when they got me to a rescue aircraft did they realize that I was still breathing. Then they ignored their own injuries, refusing care until the medic tended to me first.
My crewmates were heroes that afternoon. Yet apparently, in Trump’s eyes, each of us in that aircraft must have been a “loser” because our helicopter got shot down by the enemy. Had we been killed, he very well might call us “suckers,” too. After all, those are the terms that, according to The Atlantic’s reporting, the commander in chief has used to describe members of the armed forces who have been killed, captured, or shot down in battle. He also told his staff that “nobody wants to see” wounded warriors like me who lost limbs fighting to keep other Americans safe.
Trump might not like seeing visible proof of my injuries, but I couldn’t care less. To me, the wounds and wheelchairs of those who have worn our nation’s uniform should be considered badges of honor. I’m able to serve in the Senate today because the ethos of the United States military is the exact opposite of the craven, me-first mentality that he has shown every hour of every day of his gold-plated, privileged life.
In the Army, part of our soldier’s creed involves never leaving a fallen comrade behind. The only reason I am alive today is that, after a rocket-propelled grenade exploded in the Black Hawk helicopter I was co-piloting, my buddies embodied that creed. They thought I was dead but still risked their own safety to bring my body back home to my family. Only when they got me to a rescue aircraft did they realize that I was still breathing. Then they ignored their own injuries, refusing care until the medic tended to me first.
My crewmates were heroes that afternoon. Yet apparently, in Trump’s eyes, each of us in that aircraft must have been a “loser” because our helicopter got shot down by the enemy. Had we been killed, he very well might call us “suckers,” too. After all, those are the terms that, according to The Atlantic’s reporting, the commander in chief has used to describe members of the armed forces who have been killed, captured, or shot down in battle. He also told his staff that “nobody wants to see” wounded warriors like me who lost limbs fighting to keep other Americans safe.
Trump might not like seeing visible proof of my injuries, but I couldn’t care less. To me, the wounds and wheelchairs of those who have worn our nation’s uniform should be considered badges of honor. I’m able to serve in the Senate today because the ethos of the United States military is the exact opposite of the craven, me-first mentality that he has shown every hour of every day of his gold-plated, privileged life.
4 replies
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Don't let tRump's disrespectful contempt for our men and women in uniform fall off the radar!
