WWII vets and Trump?

[TDantuono]

I'm wondering - if any of you reading are lucky enough to have a veteran of World War II alive and well UK your family tree, what do they think of Trump? Have any notable living WWII vets come out against Trump? Could make for a powerful attack ad: 'We've seen this kind of man rise to power before. We had to fight him. Our friends fell fighting him, and the world was plunged into six years of darkness because of the mad delusions and aspirations of a small man. We've seen this road before, and we know where it leads, and what proceeds from it. Don't let it happen here.'

[Indy Texas]

There are very few WWII vets still alive. Those that are are, for the most part, too old to still be active in public life and "speak out" against Trump.

US Sen. John Warner (R-VA) is a WWII vet who endorsed Clinton this year but I don't think he explicitly compared Trump to 1940s fascism.

[Maxwell]

There are very few WWII vets still alive. Those that are are, for the most part, too old to still be active in public life and "speak out" against Trump.

US Sen. John Warner (R-VA) is a WWII vet who endorsed Clinton this year but I don't think he explicitly compared Trump to 1940s fascism.

i think that last part is probably because Warner is a polite guy. He always seemed like, and i hate saying it, a reasonable guy in the U.S. Senate. He endorsed a third party candidate over Ollie North when North was running for Senate.

[Classic Conservative]

I have a few great uncles who were WW2 Veterans and are still alive. Out of the three, 2 support Trump and I don't think my other great-uncle will vote this election as he is 97 and he doesn't like politics. If he voted though, he'd probably vote Trump as he lives in Tampa.

[Indy Texas]

It's worth noting that WWII vets were probably the last "generation" of military veterans to be fully integrated into/respected in society after their service. There was very little "grievance" from the WWII veteran community to the extent that there is from Vietnam vets and from recent Afghanistan/Iraq vets.

WWII vets came from a broad, representative sample of society (owing to the draft and different civic attitudes). They participated in a war that the public overwhelmingly supported and that resulted in a resounding, unambiguous victory. They were given tremendous resources to transition to civilian life, such as the GI Bill and low-interest loans to start businesses and buy houses. Their experiences were part of a shared national narrative that was arguably the last of its kind.

Compare that to the Vietnam veterans, who were disproportionately working class due to the way deferments worked and who were participating in a war that many Americans opposed and in some cases blamed on the soldiers themselves. They often suffered from long-term health problems due to things like Agent Orange exposure that the government did not fully acknowledge for quite some time. They were participants in one of the biggest military failures in American history.

You have a similar situation with recent veterans. Most Americans had no involvement whatsoever in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. They can't relate to or empathize with the experiences veterans have. In many cases, rural or working class communities are disproportionately affected, especially regarding enlisted soldiers. They participated in a conflict that is generally viewed negatively by Americans and regarded as a Pyrrhic victory at best and a strategic failure at worst. They get benefits from a GI Bill that are far less generous and that leave them vulnerable to exploitation by for-profit diploma mills. The nature of the job market means military service often isn't as highly regarded as it once was. There's a greater possiblity for feelings of exclusion and "not belonging."

[Rand]

https://youtu.be/RaxNEzA3jRs