An Open Letter To The 50 Veterans Who Threw Back Their Medals

Dear Former Servicemen & Servicewomen:

I was quite disappointed to see your actions on Sunday, May 20, at the NATO protest just outside of McCormick Place.  What you did was a personal choice and an expression of personal freedom granted by the Constitution, but it was also an act that disgraced your service and disgraced all veterans.

Do you remember when you first enlisted?

Do you remember taking an oath to protect the United States in all wars foreign and domestic?

Do you remember learning your general orders?

More specifically, do you remember General Order #1?

It read:  “I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved.”

The oath you took, whether you like it or not, was an oath for life.  At no point when you said those words, when you learned your general orders, did it have a time limit that expired when your contract did.  You took that oath for life and made a permanent commitment to this country.

By protesting against the wars, you should feel what you are doing is still protecting this nation, still guarding everything within the limits of your post, and still honorably serving the nation.  You should carry yourself in a manner that still shows loyalty to your comrades and loyalty to your country and would make others that don’t agree with you still respect you and your point of view.

By throwing your medals back you relinquished the respect that you earned through service and the ability of others to respect your point of view.  Those medals honored your service, but would your service have been good enough to earn those medals without the service of others?  Were you a good airman, marine, sailor or soldier all on your own?

Those medals represent the drill instructors, trainers, commanders and friends who looked out for you and trained you to become proficient and become good at what you did, and their training kept you alive.  By throwing those medals, you disrespected their service to you.  Although that certificate has your name on it, that medal represents everyone that helped you along the way.  When the medals left your hand, you told everyone who helped you that you don’t care about them, that they don’t matter to you anymore, and that they are as low as the ground that the ribbon and metal now rests upon.

If you feel that you can no longer represent this country honorably as a veteran, then you need to relinquish all benefits of being a veteran.  From those of us that may not agree on the wars, but unite together as proud veterans who respect each other’s service; we ask you to please don’t stop at just throwing your medals.  Please head down to a consulate and renounce your citizenship.  We’ll be glad to throw you out of this country just as easily as you threw away our loyalty to you.

Sincerely,

Brad Drake
Former Army Sergeant
Afghanistan, ’03-’04 & ’05-'06