Honor the real heroes on the Fourth of July
As the Fourth of July nears, we should honor those who serve our nation with honor, duty and courage like the sailors who serve aboard the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56), a guided missile destroyer. As you recall, when President Donald Trump visited Japan in May, his White House staff directed the U.S. Navy to keep the USS John S. McCain out of sight because of Trump's deep hatred for the late Sen. John S. McCain III. The USS John S. McCain honors an entire family of military service from John S. McCain Sr., admiral during WWII with command over the destroyer fleet, John S. McCain Jr., Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific fleet during the Vietnam war and Senator John S. McCain III who served as a pilot during the Vietnam war and was captured and held a prisoner-of-war for five years by North Vietnam. Trump said he doesn't like prisoners of war.
This whole episode reminds me of the story of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and King Henry II of England. Becket and King Henry had a conflict that resulted in Becket excommunicating King Henry II from the Catholic Church. It is said that King Henry II stated, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” Upon hearing this, King Henry's close associates interpreted this to mean they were to kill Thomas Becket which they did in 1170. It seems Trump's zealots assumed Trump didn't want to see Sen. McCain's name anywhere within sight of Trump and directed the Navy to hide the entire ship, including its name and crew from Trump's sight. What's even more troubling is that senior Navy officials followed the order. Where have all the patriots gone? Gone to politicians everywhere.
Sailors who serve on Navy ships and in Navy commands take great pride in their service. Walk around Carroll County and see the many veterans wearing the hats of their previous navy ships and commands. By taking an out-of-sight/out-of-mind approach to DDG-56, Trump discounted and dishonored the service of the crew who serve on the DDG-56 and other Navy commands, in general. These men and women put their lives on the line everyday to defend and protect the American public. They live the code of honor, duty and courage, a code that Trump has never lived. His code seems to be dishonor, self-interest and cowardice. Some of the reasons he gave for not servicing his country in Vietnam were that he was not a fan of the Vietnam war and it was far away. How any veteran can support this fraud is beyond my comprehension.
On July 4, Trump will make the holiday all about himself and his fake patriotism. Honor the real heroes who serve our nation everyday to keep the promise of freedom and liberty in America alive.
David J Iacono
Carroll County Daily Headlines
Westminster
Columnist has deep-seated Trump hatred
Once again I read with amusement the latest of Tom Zirpoli's diatribes about “our” president. It seems he can't get through a month without exposing his deep-seated hatred for a man that was duly elected by Mr Zirpoli's fellow Americans.
Although I was not a fan of President Obama, he was still president and deserved the respect of the office. Mr. Zirpoli's hatred keeps him from writing one word favorable to President Trump. It is unfortunate that the Times allows a large portion of its paper to be wasted every Wednesday with one individual's personal dislike of our president.
Mr. Zirpoli's [June 26] column listed all the polls that point to large leads by all the left-wing Democrats who are currently ahead of President Trump. Needless to say Mr. Zirpoli leaves out any reference to the 2016 polls that had Crooked Hillary winning by a landslide. If he is going to use polls as his measure of the 2020 election, he should at least be honest and tell the readers that polls at this stage of the election cycle are practically meaningless.
Anyway, if President Trump does lose, Mr. Zirpoli will have to find a new job because he will have nothing to write about.
Cres Mills
Eldersburg