LETTER: Memories of Iwo Jima trigger disgust over Afghanistan exit

To Ozaukee Press   :    

There is definitely a crisis going on in Afghanistan. Thousands of Americans and our Afghan allies are trying to exit a country that has been taken over by the Taliban, a terrorist group whose first priority is definitely not human rights or freedom for all. Due to a hasty, ill planned departure by our president and the U.S. government, we left behind 11 former U.S. bases and billions of dollars worth of helicopters, armaments, ammunition vehicles and technology, etc. These are now in the hands of the Taliban.

To add insult to injury, the Taliban propaganda arm over the weekend published a picture that affects our family personally. The Taliban photo, complete with the Taliban flag and their soldiers dressed in confiscated U.S. uniforms and gear, mocked the iconic photo of our 5th Marine division raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945.

We knew that my father-in-law Sam Meador had served at Iwo Jima as a Navy corpsman attached to the Marines, but typical of his generation he never talked about it. In 1986 we took a family trip to the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. Sam was in the photo gallery and all of a sudden we noticed him sobbing. He was looking at a picture of a Marine at Iwo Jima who was using a grappling hook to retrieve the dead bodies of fallen Marines, true to the military promise, “no one left behind.”  

Sam told us he had that same body recovery duty after the battle. The first three days at Iwo Jima, Sam’s unit suffered 40% fatal casualties. Of the survivors, 90% were wounded.

As a corpsman, Sam attended to their needs. He witnessed the storied flag raising and actually met knew Ira Hayes, one of the participants in this historic event. That photo has become a symbol of American sacrifice, fortitude and bravery.

The publication of the Taliban photo was the last straw politically for our family. We are in the process of writing letters to our congressional representatives urging them to examine the procedure for implementation of the 25th Amendment, which deals with the rules of succession if the president becomes disabled, dies, resigns or is removed from office.

It is obvious that this president does not have the capacity to discharge the powers and duties of his office and should be removed.

 Karen Meador                                                                                                           
 Port Washington