From Robert Erb

Monroe

To the Editor:

One of Donald Trump’s recent comments has me sad and mad at the same time. And, close to a loss for words if he actually believes what he said.

On Friday, in hopes of cozying up to billionaire mega donor Miriam Adelson, he said the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which he awarded her in 2018, “is actually much better” than the Congressional Medal of Honor because soldiers are “either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead.”

It’s a tall order these days on our political scene, but this is a new low.

I encourage you to read about the selfless heroism of Medal of Honor recipients like Ernest Evans, Desmond Doss, Tibor Rubin or Steven Bennett and then ask yourself if the actions of Edwin Meese, Estee Lauder, or Tom Brokaw measure up to that standard. No disrespect to Meese, Lauder or Brokaw, but to somehow equate achievements in one’s relatively safe and hospitable career journey to actions carried out on the battlefield by all soldiers, not simply those awarded the Medal of Honor, is incredibly callous and just plain wrong.

Anyone who speaks this way has little respect for the military or the sacrifices those who serve our country make. Someone might wonder why some private lying in the mud on Okinawa would get up and run through enemy fire to save a member of his unit, but the reality is anyone who thinks these comments are acceptable is incapable of ever putting the interests of others before their own.

My perspective is if you believe the Presidential Medal of Freedom is anything like the Congressional Medal of Honor, you just don’t get it, and you have no real respect for our veterans. And you probably never will.

I have a hope that people can be fulfilled in life by a purpose other than obsessing over power, wealth, accolades, and fame. The act of sacrifice means you actually have to give up something for a greater purpose, and for some, that purpose is worth it.

I’m sad that someone who wants to, or frankly, demands to be our commander-in-chief would feel this way about the recipients of our nation’s highest military honor.

And I feel bad for every veteran whose service to our country is diminished by these comments, or by this perspective.

Our veterans and heroes deserve better.