Opinion: A birthday bash for Trump

Susan Powers reads at her husband Gary’s marker at the NH Veterans Cemetery. Marine Gary Powers served in the Vietnam War starting in 1969 and died in 2023 of Parkinson’s disease.

Susan Powers reads at her husband Gary’s marker at the NH Veterans Cemetery. Marine Gary Powers served in the Vietnam War starting in 1969 and died in 2023 of Parkinson’s disease. GEOFF FORESTER

By PAUL NICHOLS

Published: 06-14-2025 8:00 AM

A recent article in the Washington Post titled “Vietnam vets’ annual ceremony relocated from D.C. due to Army parade” has angered and aggrieved thousands of Vietnam vets, their families and friends.

I forwarded the article to a couple local Nam vet brothers, and the piece now sits crumpled on my table. A lengthy article on this relocated ceremony also appeared in the Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military’s news publication.

President Donald Trump, who will be 79 years old today, June 14, has touted the event as the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army. The celebration plans include a massive parade from the Pentagon to the National Mall, live music, a flyover, an Army parachute drop and a speech by Trump. The estimated cost of the event is 45 million in taxpayer dollars.

I have many beloved Vietnam veteran brothers and sisters who served in the Army, and I greatly respect their service. I’m suspicious of Trump’s advancement of the celebration based on his egotistical personality, his bone spur excuse for not entering the military during the war years and for his many derogatory remarks about veterans.

I served in the Marines in Vietnam and was wounded in 1967. Many classmates from Pittsfield and surrounding towns also served in Vietnam from differing military branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Some died as war casualties, and several have died since due to causes directly connected to that war. Many still live with war’s painful effects, myself included.

The “In Memory” observance, held in mid-June for more than three decades at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (the Wall), honors veterans of that contemptible war who survived but subsequently suffered from a multitude of Agent Orange-related diseases, serious wounds or homelessness. As a direct result of their service, many have since passed on or have died by suicide. This year’s remembrance instead will be held at a private cemetery eight miles from the National Mall in Alexandria, Va. A replica of the Wall will be erected at the off-site cemetery.

According to Stars and Stripes, a plaque at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial reads: “In memory of the men and women who served in the Vietnam War and later died as a result of their service. We honor and remember their sacrifice.”

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Trump is a curse against democracy, a threat to our treasured way of life.

His plans for June 14 are another devalued way of damaging our country.

Paul Nichols lives in Loudon.