Letters: The president failed to honor our WWI dead
President Trump flew across the Atlantic Ocean to France to participate in ceremonies honoring the military personnel who fought and died in WWI, but he couldn’t attend the ceremonies at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery due to light rain.
The cemetery has 2,288 graves, including many Americans who fought in the Aisne-Marne Offensive and the Battle of Belleau Wood. My wife’s father, Alton Christmas Jones, who was gassed in France, and her uncle, William Howard Jones, were Marines who fought at Belleau Wood. Our president sent Chief of Staff John Kelly and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford to attend the ceremonies. Kelly and Dunford are true Americans.
Dignitaries who visited various WWI sites included Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, but Trump stayed dry.
Our military fights and dies in all types of weather, including rain, snow, the heat and the cold. The President says he cares about our military, but in the two years since his election he has not visited our military in an active war zone. He has disrespected our military and is a disgrace to our country.
Donald Moskowitz, U.S. Navy veteran
Londonderry
Medical bills
First, on this Veteran’s Day, thank you to McClatchy Newspapers for initiating the donation site mcclatchy.com/warwithin to raise funds for military families — even those with VA benefits, who can’t pay their medical bills. But, I am absolutely appalled that this is necessary. Active duty military are supposed to have all of their family’s medical needs met. Those no longer on active duty do not get VA benefits, unless they are retired or have suffered wounds while on active duty.
Robert D. Brown, LtCol. (Ret.) USMCR
Cary
Small businesses
The highly anticipated midterm election is finally over and it’s likely gridlock will consume Washington over the next two years. However, the partisan divide is not the end-all-be-all of public policy.
Policies that support small businesses — such as targeted tax cuts and deregulation — should garner bipartisan support. Lawmakers of all political affiliations should be able to get behind Main Street.
The first issue that needs to be tackled is the extension of measures in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that specifically apply to small businesses — which are scheduled to expire come 2025. Passing legislation that will ensure small businesses enjoy continued financial savings for years to come will ensure a stronger economy for all.
Washington may now be divided politically, but that doesn’t mean policy making needs to come to a standstill. Lawmakers should pursue issues that everyone agrees on —n otably giving small businesses a helping hand.
Scott Crosbie
Cornelius
Which veterans
Kevin Stone, North Carolina Division Commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans took credit for a plane towing a Confederate flag and a banner reading “Restore Silent Sam Now” over Chapel Hill on Sunday (“‘ALL Veterans Matter,’ says organizer of plane flying Confederate flag over UNC,” Nov. 12).
“ALL Veterans Matter,” Stone wrote on Facebook, “Those brave men who were called to serve their Country deserve to be honored!”
Stone seems to forget that the soldiers memorialized by Silent Sam were fighting AGAINST the United States. Or does he really think that the German and Japanese soldiers who fought against our troops in World War II should also be honored on Veterans Day?
Clyde Frazier
Chapel Hill
Campaign signs linger
Thank goodness we are no longer assaulted with campaign advertisements as we watch television. Now if the candidates (winners and losers) would only remove their roadside signs with as much enthusiasm as they had when they placed them, maybe we can begin to forget what a sorry state our political climate has become.
Harvey S Sapir
Raleigh
Shifting priorities?
On Saturday UNC football was beaten by Duke. This could be very good for The Tar Heels. UNC football is having their second consecutive losing season. Isn’t weak football a characteristic of the Ivy League? Could it be that academic credibility at UNC is rising even further now, while Duke is transforming into yet another sports factory, sacrificing academics at the altar of athletics? Just when did Duke become a football school? Maybe it all began when one-and-done became a successful basketball strategy there. Let’s face it: just how academically credible does any college need to be when their athletes are one-and-done wonders?
Larry K. Williams
Graham