by Haywood County, North Carolina is not a place where you would expect to find politicians who disrespect memorials to fallen service men and women. I lived there for over 30 years. It is and was a patriotic county filled with many veterans. Thus, when I read the post by my friend Tim who owns Old Grouch Military Surplus, I was shocked and saddened.
His store is located in the center of the town of Clyde across from “the big gun”. That is a decommissioned 50mm naval gun which serves as a memorial to the fallen in all wars from Clyde. The “big gun” is even incorporated into the town’s seal.
In front of the “big gun” is a stone monument in memory of Sgt. Charles Crockett Matthews who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1969. It was placed there by his wife Mary as Sgt. Matthews was the first person from Clyde killed in action since WWII.
From Tim:
They (local Democrats) decided to use the base of the Big Gun as a platform to make political speeches from. I don’t see that as an appropriate activity at a war memorial, no more than it would be a President having a campaign event at the Vietnam Wall would be, but I guess maybe some people could argue differently. But how they did it was utterly disrespectful and disgusting, and nobody can argue it was ok.
There is a stone monument in the front of the Big Gun, a memorial to SGT Charles Crockett Matthews who was killed in action in Vietnam. He was the first person from Clyde to be killed in action since WWII, so to add his name to the memorial his wife had the stone monument you see in the picture made and placed by the gun. When the Big Gun was relocated to its present position a raised pedestal was made to place it in a position of honor in front of the gun.
At least two of the politicians/candidates speaking proceeded to STAND ON the monument to SGT Matthews. And I mean the soles of their shoes right on his name engraved in the stone. Joe Sam Queen did and Jasmine Beach-Ferrara not only stood on it, she used for a step-stool to get up on the platform.
They STOOD ON the monument to a fallen Soldier so they could make political speeches.
For those that are unaware, Jasmine Beach-Ferrara is the Democrat nominee for Congress in the 11th District of North Carolina. She is a Buncombe County Commissioner as well as an ordained minister. What makes this even worse is that she has support for veterans as one of her campaign planks along with abortion, legalizing marijuana, gay rights, and climate change.
Tim notes that none of these pictures are “gotcha, hidden camera pictures” but rather came from the Facebook pages of the candidates involved.
What makes this even more disappointing is that some of the candidates involved such as Josh Remillard and Larry Bryson were veterans. They knew better and still just went along with it.
Tim concludes:
Everyone there- from those who organized it to the candidates it was for to those in attendance- saw a memorial to those from Clyde who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation as a good prop for partisan campaign speeches, didn’t take a second to reflect on if their actions were appropriate, and saw no problem with people standing and walking on top of that memorial for SGT Matthews as they did so. Had they simply stood in front of it and not hung campaign signs on it their event would have been 100% respectful. But that isn’t the path they chose.
I think Tim is 100% correct.