I was a Marine infantry officer serving in Vietnam with Charlie Company, First Battalion, Fourth Marine Regiment. Around this time, 56 years ago (February 28 through March 8, 1969), Charlie Company and a platoon from Lima Company were engaged in an eight-day battle for two hills on Mutter’s Ridge: Hill 400 and Hill 484. Between us, we lost 26 Marines killed, and 102 Marines wounded. The bulk of those dead Marines were teenagers. They died honoring their solemn oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, which enshrines such American values as the rule of law, the Bill of Rights, and our nation’s fundamental guardrail against falling into a totalitarian government: the separation of powers. Donald Trump took this same oath twice and JD Vance three times: as a Marine, as a senator, and as vice president.
Those Marines also died believing in the Marine Corps’ inviolable sacred motto, Semper Fidelis, always faithful, which means never abandoning a comrade, our country, or an ally. Those dead kids would never have believed that in a future conflict, our country would start trade wars with our allies, betray our comrades in Ukraine, and agree to Russian demands on Ukraine without Ukraine’s participation in the talks. Whenever the Trump administration plays what it calls “cards,” such as withholding weapons and intelligence, Ukrainians die. Ironically, this is supposedly done to “end the killing.”
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