WASHINGTON — More than 1,000 veterans and military family members have signed an open letter saying they are "appalled at Donald Trump and JD Vance’s politically motivated attacks" on the military service of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.
The letter, circulated with help from the left-leaning veterans advocacy group VoteVets, comes as Walz's 24-year record in the Army National Guard has become a target of the Trump campaign. Vance, Trump's running-mate, a U.S. senator from Ohio and also a fellow veteran, has attacked Walz's 2005 retirement from the military prior to his battalion's deployment to Iraq.
"JD Vance’s recent comments attacking Governor Walz’s service record are disrespectful and deeply disappointing, especially given Vance’s own service − which we are also profoundly grateful for," the letter, obtained by USA TODAY, reads. "But given Donald Trump’s long record of expressing disdain for service members, veterans, and their families, it’s unsurprising that his running mate has stooped to such lows."
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Walz, the governor of Minnesota who Democratic nominee Kamala Harris picked as her running-mate last week, joined the National Guard out of high school at 17 years old on April 8, 1981 and served until May 16, 2005. Walz has said he retired from the guard to run for Congress, which he did successfully in 2006. ISN'T IT FUNNY HOW A DRAFT DODGER ATTACKS SOMEONE ELSE'S 24 YEAR SERVICE CAREER. GOOD OL' CAPTAIN BONE SPURS.
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