MICHAEL YON on ” Verbal assaults directed at uniformed [military] personnel” in the Washington, D.C. area. Stay classy out there. . . .
UPDATE: Reader Joe Hughes writes:
Earlier this month I took my son to the Greensboro, NC airport and while we waited in the ticket counter area, a burst of spontaneous applause broke out nearby where passengers were arriving. My son couldn’t see over there and asked me what was happening, and I told him, “We’re welcoming home one of our guys.†One of our military in desert fatigues appeared through the applauding people, heading to baggage claim, with a big smile on his face.
That’s how we do it here – what’s wrong with those people in DC? As we say here, they weren’t raised right by their Mom and Dad.
But don’t question their patriotism!
ANOTHER UPDATE: A longtime reader emails:
Glenn — Please don’t use my name if you pass this along.
I’ve been riding Metro quite a bit for most of the War in Iraq, and have shared plenty of rides with service personnel. Not once have I seen anyone harass servicemen in uniform.
Let’s hope this is a rare phenomenon.
MORE: Nick Foresta emails:
Maybe these were your garden variety racists or maybe they were just a bunch of drunk kids or maybe a crazy homeless guy. The point is, we don’t know and can’t tell from this little tidbit. I don’t see much mistreatment of troops and I live and work in NYC, the heart of east coast liberalism. It’s fleet week here. Servicemen and women can’t pay for a drink in this town. I went to pick up a check for a few sailors having a lunch today and the bartender said it was already taken care of and I was the fourth of fifth person to ask him. That’s a hell of a lot more common than any abuse stories but I doubt the Dept. of Transportation sent out a bulletin.
I certainly hope so.
LATER: There doesn’t seem to be much more than bureaucratic CYA behind this story.