No.Nonsense.

I really feel like I am more often starting my columns with “I didn’t watch it but. . .”

And once again, I didn’t watch the State of the Union address but, of course, I have an opinion. In my defense, it was an insane day at the job that pays my bills and I was too tired to listen to hours of Trumpalicicious spouting how he’s the best president since Lincoln. I watched my favorite YouTubers instead and am better for it. I’m thoroughly engaged in the news of the day, but sometimes just have to turn off the noise.

With that said, I got all the scoop after the fact. I know what he outlined and how people on all sides felt about his points. I did the fact checking and watched the snippets. And I did it in 20 minutes instead of enduring the hour and 40 minutes of his speech. As always for me, there were things with which I agreed and things I didn’t. I think if I fully agreed with anyone in politics, the sky would fall. I’m not going to expound on the points of the speech or the political ideologies. I want to focus on one event, instead.

In a moving moment, retired Navy Capt E. Royce Williams was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and became one of a handful of veterans who hold that distinction. For 50 years, the events that occurred in Korea were classified. When they were finally disclosed, Capt Williams’s heroism as a pilot in taking down four Soviet fighter jets in a single mission brought him a Silver Cross. In 2023, that medal was upgraded to the Navy Cross in the midst of a campaign to get him the recognition he deserved. I heard a story that he was asked four years ago when it was being discussed, what he would do if he received the award. He stated he would be grateful but that he wished his father could see it happen. Oh my, make me cry.

As Melania placed the medal on Capt Williams, the attendees were, for once, unified in standing for him. It was a beautiful moment where politics were laid to the side to honor a hero.

And then came the post-speech commentary.

I was distressed when I heard pundits say afterwards that that moment was nothing more than a political stunt. They classified the medal portion of the speech where several people were honored as nothing more than an award ceremony and a show. They parodied Oprah and her car giveaway, likening it to nothing more than a participation trophy.

And that broke my heart, as the granddaughter of a WWII vet. My grandfather, due to an administrative snafu, never received his service medals from the war. As with most vets from that time, he never discussed his experience until the last years of his life when he opened up about the horrors he faced. He wasn’t in a forward-fighting position and, instead, ran one of the fire stations on the headquarters base for General Dwight Eisenhower. Because Gen Eisenhower was the top commander of the Atlantic front of the war, that base was attacked regularly. My grandfather and his platoon were charged with cleaning up the results, putting out the fires and picking up the bodies. I don’t know what nightmares he endured for all those years in between, but the images he painted in the retelling were vivid.

When my dad learned that my grandpa never received his medals, he began a campaign to honor his dad’s service. The congressman for our home district championed the cause for us. My grandfather was a lifelong Democrat who had never voted for a Republican candidate in his life. Our congressman was Republican.

And none of that mattered when he traveled from Washington, DC, to the assisted living center where my grandfather lived to pin those medals on, himself. He sat down with my grandfather in the main dining room and ate dinner with him and they talked like two old friends. My grandfather passed on just a year later. That same congressman had a floor vote and was unable to leave DC but sent a staffer to the funeral home to bring us his condolences. My grandfather was buried with military honors, finally receiving the recognition he deserved.

Honoring a hero should never be political. It matters not which President gives the award. Who cares about Republican or Democrat? Who cares if it’s a private ceremony at an assisted living center or on the House floor during a State of the Union address?

Honor the hero.

Capt Williams, from the granddaughter of a veteran, thank you for your service. Thank you for standing in the gap for us, risking your life to protect the world. We are better for your presence in the skies. I, for one, am happy you received the honor you so richly deserve.