The Two Heroes Trump Wants Us to Forget This Memorial Day [View all]

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REAL HEROES OF THE CONSTITUTION

To truly understand this sacrifice, we must look past abstract numbers and remember the names and stories of a couple of the hundreds of thousands of real American heroes who died performing their explicit duty to uphold the Constitution:

First Lieutenant John R. Fox was an African American soldier who served in the segregated 366th Infantry Regiment during World War II. Despite facing systemic racism and being denied the full protections of the Constitution at home, Fox believed fiercely in the promise of American democracy and volunteered to defend it against European fascism. On Christmas Day 1944, during a fierce German counteroffensive in Sommocolonia, Italy, Fox’s forward observer post was surrounded by fascist forces. Knowing his position was completely compromised, he calmly radioed his own artillery unit and ordered them to fire directly on his position to stop the enemy advance. When his coordinator hesitated, Fox replied, "Fire it. There's more of them than there are of us." The barrage killed Fox, but it successfully broke the fascist assault and saved his retreating unit. Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, Lieutenant Fox gave the ultimate sacrifice to defeat tyranny abroad, leaving behind a legacy that demands we fiercely protect our democracy at home.

Captain Humayun Khan, a young University of Virginia graduate, served in the U.S. Army during the Iraq War. In June 2004, while inspecting a security checkpoint, a suspicious vehicle approached. Captain Khan stepped forward, ordering his men to hit the dirt, and confronted the vehicle before it could detonate near a facility housing hundreds of soldiers and civilians. He was killed instantly by the suicide bomber. Captain Khan’s sacrifice epitomized the ultimate fulfillment of the military oath—laying down his life to defend the pluralistic, constitutional democracy that had welcomed his family as immigrants.

Shall their sacrifice be in vain?

That is the question every American must look in the mirror and answer this Memorial Day. If we allow domestic authoritarians to tear down our judiciary, subvert our elections, and replace the rule of law with the rule of a single man, we are effectively telling First Lieutenant Fox, Captain Khan, and the millions of others buried at Arlington and across the world that their sacrifice meant nothing.

https://www.lincolnsquare.media/i/198734059/real-heroes-of-the-constitution