Shortly after I began working as a speechwriter for one of four Secretaries of Veterans Affairs I served over a 12-year period, I sat down with my boss to discuss a speech he was slated to give on July 20th. The speech venue was a reception on the deck of a Naval warship anchored in a major East Coast harbor; the time was mid-evening. The Secretary and I were batting some themes around, but we had not found that sweet spot of a speech that would both motivate and illuminate. We sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, and then, as I looked at the date of speech, I realized it was going to occur on the anniversary of America’s first Moon landing.
I wanted to tie that world-changing event into the Secretary’s remarks, so I asked him, “Do you remember what you were doing the day Neil Armstrong set his foot on the surface of the Moon?” The Secretary nearly blew the question off…but then something hit him, and he looked away, looked very far away from me. Out his office window. To another place and time.
After what seemed like several minutes, he turned away from the window—the view from the office of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs is one of the most spectacular in all of Washington, overlooking as it does the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, the Potomac, and the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery beyond. He began speaking in a voice that I’d not heard before—he was a friend of mine from an earlier time, but I’d not heard such a somber, heart-heavy voice from him—and he said,
“I was standing in a rice paddy in Vietnam, placing the bodies of young men into an evac helicopter. Their blood ran like ribbons of honor across my arms.”
My boss…my friend…the Secretary, was in tears.
In that moment, the man sitting across his desk from me was something far greater than just a Cabinet Secretary; he was the avatar-witness for the unsung deeds of every man and woman who served with dignity—despite their fear—and sacrificed their blood and the nation’s treasure on a far-flung battlefield. He was speaking for the 58,220 dead, and the tens of thousands of wounded from that war…and he was speaking for John McCain. And damn any man or woman today who dares speak ill of the dead or wounded or imprisoned during that terrible conflict.
So it is that I point a damning finger at two people so despicable as to merit the condemnation of every American honored to carry that label of citizenship. Let me cite just one source, USA Today, for reporting comments unbecoming any American whose birthright was paid for by the nation’s veterans:
To Kelly Sadler and General McInerney I say, “To hell with you both…I hope with all my heart that you find some suffering so great in your life that you will look back on your callous, mean-spirited, and senseless comments and beg to be forgiven for your stupidity. To the people who hired you, or who support your vile views, to hell with you too.
In that moment, the man sitting across his desk from me was something far greater than just a Cabinet Secretary; he was the avatar-witness for the unsung deeds of every man and woman who served with dignity—despite their fear—and sacrificed their blood and the nation’s treasure on a far-flung battlefield. He was speaking for the 58,220 dead, and the tens of thousands of wounded from that war…and he was speaking for John McCain. And damn any man or woman today who dares speak ill of the dead or wounded or imprisoned during that terrible conflict.
So it is that I point a damning finger at two people so despicable as to merit the condemnation of every American honored to carry that label of citizenship. Let me cite just one source, USA Today, for reporting comments unbecoming any American whose birthright was paid for by the nation’s veterans:
“A White House official mocked Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his battle with the deadly disease during a meeting Thursday, The Hill reported. And earlier a guest on Fox News Business implied that McCain betrayed U.S. secrets when he was tortured as a prisoner of war.
"It doesn't matter, he's dying anyway," press aide Kelly Sadler said about McCain's opposition to CIA nominee Gina Haspel at a meeting of White House communications staffers, according to an unnamed source cited by The Hill's Jordan Fabian.
On Wednesday, McCain urged his fellow senators to reject Haspel's nomination because he does not believe she adequately answered for her role in the CIA's torture program after the 9/11 attacks during a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
During a discussion about McCain's opposition to Haspel and his opinion that torture is not effective, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney told Fox Business host Charles Payne that torture "worked on John."
"That’s why they call him ‘Songbird John,'" McInerney told Payne.
To Kelly Sadler and General McInerney I say, “To hell with you both…I hope with all my heart that you find some suffering so great in your life that you will look back on your callous, mean-spirited, and senseless comments and beg to be forgiven for your stupidity. To the people who hired you, or who support your vile views, to hell with you too.
And I hope you will find there is no forgiveness for your transgression against a defenseless man who never broke, who never gave up, who never once lifted a finger against you, who served his country with honor and dignity, and whose name will be remembered long after your tombstones are corroded and blown away like the desert dust you are.
There is a hall of honor waiting John McCain; for Sadler and McInerney, there will no place at all.
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