Local veterans divided by report Trump disparaged military - TribLIVE

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Local veterans are divided in their reactions to a report President Trump disparaged fallen service members, with some defending the president’s record and others condemning his attitude toward the military.

“If he said that, and I don’t know if it’s true or not, but if he said it he doesn’t deserve the support of any veteran,” said Navy veteran John Massari of Greensburg.

The Atlantic reported Thursday that Trump called Americans who died or were captured during World War I “losers” and “suckers” after canceling a planned trip to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France in 2018.

The report cited anonymous sources. Trump has flatly denied its assertions.

Tom Abraham, 77, a Vietnam veteran from Unity who served as a captain with the Army Airborne Rangers, doesn’t believe the allegations.

“I think that’s a despicable frame-up they’re trying to use against Trump,” he said. “I don’t think he would say that.”

Abraham noted he initially was unhappy with Trump because he considers him a “draft dodger.” The New York Times has reported Trump received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War — four because of his status as a college student and another because of bone spurs in his heels.

“My personal feeling is that Trump did avoid the draft,” Abraham said. “I think he’s going out of his way to make up for it now. I think he is genuinely doing everything he can to help veterans.”

Massari served in the 1950s and is the longtime bugler for Greensburg’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 33 Honor Guard. He said he’s disliked Trump since the 2016 campaign, when Trump made disparaging comments about the late Sen. John McCain’s time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

Sam Wagner, a retired colonel in the Army Reserves who served one year in Iraq, is waiting for confirmation of the report but finds it plausible.

“Until somebody confirms it publicly, I have to hope that the president doesn’t feel that way,” Wagner said. “But with him, it’s not out of the realm of possibility in my mind. It’s believable that he thinks that way.”

The Hempfield resident cited Trump’s past comments on McCain and others.

“It’s a sad day in American history when you can’t trust the commander in chief to honor the sacrifices of people who die for this country,” Wagner added. “I know nine brave young Americans who were killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Not one of them was a loser or sucker.”

Veterans at American Legion Post 600 in Oakmont believe Trump supports the troops and would not cut them down intentionally.

“He was misquoted,” said George Martin of Verona. “The news tends to add to what was said.”

Martin served as an airman second class in the Air Force from 1962-66.

Frank Teichman of Oakmont served as an Army private from 1986-94. He said Trump feels “very strong” about the military and would not say disparaging things about the soldiers.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Teichman said.

VFW Post 33 Quartermaster David Cackowski described himself as an undecided voter with mixed feelings about Trump, but said he thinks the report of the president’s comments is either false or exaggerated.

“I don’t want to believe, and I don’t think I believe, that he said it,” he said. “There’s so many twists and turns and angles to all of these episodes, that I just don’t delve deep into these things and give them a lot of weight.”

Cackowski is an Army veteran who served in Iraq in 2004.

“I wish him well,” Cackowski said of the president. “If he can get reelected, more power to him. I don’t have any hard feelings toward the president whatsoever.”

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