VOICES OF CONCERN FOR OUR IMPERILED DEMOCRACY
An Introduction by Gerald A. DiGrezio, Colonel, USA, retired
Below is a letter I signed along with 16 other members of my 1968 Infantry Officer Candidate School at Ft Benning, GA. While we certainly do not claim that we represent the views of the entire class during this period of extreme political diversity, we are a group of mostly Vietnam Veterans with a very singular concern. The signers come from all political persuasions and areas of this country but are united in our concern for what has transpired during the past four years of this presidency.
We are in an era of time when each week a discovered situation would bring the demise of an administration, but we have become so shell shocked that it barely causes a ripple in the news cycle. We are led by a president who is only concerned with his own image and is bereft of any concern for the Constitution and the rule of law. Just two instances in a very long list are his multiple firings of Inspectors General and the U. S. Attorney in Manhattan.
The duplicity by the Republicans in Congress and the United States Senate has been palpable. To watch the demise of a political party that prided itself on patriotism and support of the Constitution has been mystifying at best and duplicitous at worst.
While we know that this letter will only be a raindrop in a deluge of national concern, the signers felt compelled to issue it. After all, we took and oath to defend this country against all enemies “foreign and domestic.” And while I never expected to say it, the greatest threat to the United States of America is resoundingly domestic.
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VOICES OF CONCERN FOR OUR IMPERILED DEMOCRACY
We the undersigned are former or retired army officers now in our seventies. We share a common bond, having graduated from the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia in 1968. From there, we served in the military in a variety of capacities, wherever we were needed. As young men, we were committed to defending America’s values, our freedoms, our democracy, and our Constitution. Some of us made a career in the military, but most of us went on to have productive careers back home in the civilian world. As a group, we have diverse political views: Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, and Conservatives. But we are all concerned Americans.
In the past few months, our system of government has been increasingly under siege. Our nation has reached this critical point under the current administration of Donald J. Trump. Important voices have begun to speak out, led by respected members of the highest military rank. We would like to join this chorus of alarm.
Our government structure, with its co-equal branches, is in jeopardy. Our judicial system is reeling. The FBI, the CIA and the NSA are being mocked and belittled. Our Attorney General’s office is overtly politicized. Our State Department is being decimated. Where are the voices of outrage in Congress? The Senate is virtually mute.
We are concerned that our country is rapidly spinning toward a Presidency staffed by family members and cronies in which the only prerequisite is blind loyalty. The United States is withdrawing from the world, enjoying little respect internationally. This cannot continue.
Quoting James Mattis, a Marine Four Star General and former Secretary of Defense:
“We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority…We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.”
We honor the General’s courage, and emphatically call on both chambers of Congress to follow his lead in defending our democracy and our Constitution. We urge all Americans to consider these ideals as you vote this Fall.
Signed:
John F. Baxter III (1LT, USA)
Mark T. Creaven (1LT, USA)
Larry W. Clark (1LT, USA)
Colonel Gerald A. DiGrezio, USA, Retired
Joseph F. Frisz (1LT, USA)
John A. Guy (1LT, USA)
Gary J. Goodman (1LT, USA)
Captain Robert R. Hammeras, USA, Retired
Daniel R. Mabesoone (1LT, USA)
A.C. (Budd) Mazurek (1LT, USA)
John F. McMackin Jr. (1LT, USA)
Carl A. Ohlson (1LT, USA)
Charles A. Powell (1LT, USA)
John B. Slidell (1LT, USA)
Lt. Colonel Charles R. Stone, USA, Retired
Lt. Colonel Ralph S. Swingler, USA, Retired
Wayne P. Yetter (1LT, USA)
Copyright: Gerald A. DiGrezio, all rights reserved.
