An open letter to President Trump…

There are many parts and pieces to running a country; more than any one person could possibly imagine before assuming the role of President.  And the complexity and the sheer volume of each part and piece simply must be overwhelming.  This may well be one of the few points one could make relative to the office of the President that you could get 60 to 70% of the people to agree.  Or, at least consider agreeing; I am sure there would be plenty that would even argue this point vehemently.  Argument and disagreement seem to be a major part of governing as we are people of varying races, cultures, creeds, religions, genders, and we all think differently.

The failure of many that assume this office is thinking that this office is a business position.  Many compare this role of President to running a major corporation with revenues and profits and rewarding stock options being the driving factor.  Money plays a part, sure, but the PEOPLE element surrounds every decision and shoves money to the background, something that you—and many other Presidents before you—fail to understand.  Not all people are consumed with thoughts of money; not all people regard money as the driving priority in their lives.  I am not sure business leaders and many leaders in our government ever truly realize or accept this reality.  Your many comments over the past three- and one-half years would certainly indicate that money weighs heavy on your mind and may well be the single factor considered with every decision made.

With this in mind, I can understand your thinking as to our military.  The pay is below market, the living conditions are anything but luxurious and the daily assignments and individual responsibilities can be quite problematic especially in times of war.  What other position in the business world would require their employees to walk through mine fields or risk enemy fire and destruction every minute of their working day and sleeping night.  Yes, it is hard to imagine why anyone would sign up for this position.  I can understand how someone of your “money results way of thinking” could define these poor souls as suckers and losers.  I mean, even if they make it through those mine fields and somehow escape injury and death throughout every day of a deployment in one of our many wars, what is in it for them?  It is not like they get a $500K bonus for getting out alive.  We have a hard-enough time taking care of those that make up our military with their medical and living needs after they exit our employ—let alone pay a bonus of any sort. 

In the business world, these are unacceptable working conditions in any given business situation.

I joined the US Army National Guard after graduating from High School.   I did not join for the money or the glamor or the perks.  I felt an obligation to serve my country in some manner and the US Army National Guard seemed to fit within the plans for my life.  The year was 1963, pre-Viet Nam, peace time for the most part.  There was a draft in place at the time, but a rather lackadaisical draft, but there was always a chance that your name would be called, and you would be asked to serve in some other longer-term capacity.  I suppose in some way, people would call me a draft dodger by choosing the National Guard.   I never looked at it that way, but I never argued the point.  No question that I preferred the six months active duty to a three-year term in the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines.  But I never considered myself a draft dodger, sucker, or a loser.  Quite the opposite actually, I was proud to serve our country, proud to put on the uniform, proud to undergo the training, proud to proclaim to my family and friends and anyone that would listen that I was a member of the US Army.

Dave Blattel was a high school friend of mine.  We graduated together within a small class of 65 students from Notre Dame High School in Cape Girardeau.  Dave was not a loser or a sucker.  He loved to fly, and he loved adventure and his duties in Viet Nam included piloting helicopters into enemy fire, bringing soldiers to the line and removing solders from the line.  Some severely maimed and wounded, some dead, some who would live to fight another day.  Dave did this time and time again, not for monetary gain, not for fortune of any kind, certainly not for himself.  He did this for his country and for his fellow man.

Dave did not make it home.  He was days away from jumping on a plane and heading home to Cape Girardeau when he made his last run.  His luck ran out and I suppose some would say he lost that final day.  He won many and lost one.  It is incomprehensible to me that anyone with any sense of decency or morality could define Dave as a sucker and a loser.  Personally, I consider Dave a huge winner and a constant inspiration in my life.  I admire Dave and his life, and his actions and his commitment more than I have ever admired any government leader in our land.  It brings tears to my eyes to think of Dave and that last helicopter run; it brings sickness to my gut to listen to anyone refer to soldiers like Dave as a sucker and a loser.

Dave’s story is one of many.  My father was in the army and he was a winner.  I had eight uncles on my mother’s side that served in the armed forces during World War II, they all served with honor, some in the Army, some Marines, some Coast Guard, some Navy.  They were all winners.  That they all made it home to live out their lives in the freedom they fought for, was a true blessing.

My wife graduated from high school three years later than my pre-Viet Nam year of 1963, and she watched many of her classmates leave for Viet Nam, some made it home, some did not.  All were winners.  Some volunteered, some were drafted, but none were suckers and not a one shied away from an obligation they felt so deeply about.  They were not suckered into fighting for our country, they knew what they were doing.  They went in with their eyes open and some came home with their eyes forever shut.  None were losers, none were suckers, all were winners.

Personally, I do not understand wars.  I do not understand that there is ever a problem that cannot be solved short of lining up on a battlefield, bayonets drawn and rushing into battle killing our fellow man.  But I hold each foot soldier and all supporting military personnel in great admiration and respect.  I still shiver when I see kids in uniform.  I feel nothing but pride for them and for our country.  War may be stupid and a losing proposition for many but for those that are asked and chosen to fight for what our country decides is a just cause, they are winners in every way a winner can be defined.

Mr. President, you have said many things since taking office that did not agree with my way of thinking but this recent commentary on our military personnel is so far beyond a simple disagreement; this commentary is repulsive and unforgiving of a leader.  Rest assured that you lost my vote long before you ever announced your presidency.  I have followed your business life for years, before you decided to take a more public role, and quite frankly, I have never been impressed.  But my hope is that my friends and neighbors that still feel, for whatever reason, you should remain in office as our President, will be as moved as I am by your words of description for those that chose to serve our country in uniform.

My vote in November will be for Dave Blattel.  It will be for my uncles.  It will be for my father.  It will be for Donna’s classmates.  It will be for many friends and neighbors who have felt the horrors and the pains of war.  It will be for those still walking the fields of war. It will be for those that made it home and those that did not.  It will be for the wounded, the maimed, the healthy.  It will be for a Commander-in-Chief that respects the work of every individual in uniform and their duty and their love for our country.  It will be for a Commander-in-Chief that honors the many lives given without ever receiving a monetary bonus for success achieved.

My vote will be for a winner.

Ron Unterreiner

PEOPLE of Construction