This letter was sent to me by one of the blogs visitors, I
checked it out and it is authentic. In my opinion, this Wounded Worrier and Hero
expresses what every true American feels; please read.
Dear President Obama,
My name is Brian Kolfage, I’m a triple amputee and retired
Air Force veteran who was severely wounded on September 11, 2004 in Iraq.
I nearly died in a war that most of your colleagues
supported overwhelmingly, including the two presidents who came before you.
Many citizens may not agree with waging war in Iraq to free the oppressed Iraqi
citizens, but it’s something that warriors like myself have no control over. I
joined to serve my country and to better my life. I’ve seen things that you
could never imagine, and they have made me the person I am today.
Mr. Obama, even though we have extreme opposite views, we
have one thing in common, we both attended school in Hawaii. However, that’s where the
similarities end. You see, as you attended your exclusive, private school, I
would ride my bike to Kaimuki High School in one of the roughest areas in Hawaii. Every morning I
would ride past Punahou, the exclusive private school you attended and I would
notice all of the Bentleys, Maseratis, and fancy foreign cars that all the kids
were dropped off in; wow it must have been extremely rough in Hawaii living that life, right? I could only
imagine what it was like to have that kind of money. Fortunately for you, not
many people are aware of the school that you and the upper class citizens of Hawaii attended. The
tuition to attend your exclusive, private school was more than it cost me to
obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Arizona.
You talk a big game when it comes to financial inequality, yet I’m quite sure
you have no idea what it’s truly like to have to sacrifice. You were one of the
elitist children in Hawaii.
After High School, we each chose very different paths. You
were able to attend America’s
finest Ivy League schools, while I pursued a career in the military, in hopes
of earning a degree. What we have in life as children usually helps to set the
tone for how we achieve success later in life. I worked to get where I am
today, while it was HANDED TO YOU….Mr. Inequality.
I volunteered to go to Iraq on both of my deployments, and
the second time I begged to go even after I wasn’t selected. During that second
deployment, I was ultimately placed on the team where I would lose both legs
and my dominant arm. Even though many Americans were against the war in Iraq, I’ve
never asked myself if it was worth it after losing 3 of my limbs.
I am frequently reminded of the many young Iraqi children
who would beg me for water, food, and toys while I was stationed in Iraq. Children,
who in all aspects made the poorest of poor American children look rich. You
have no idea what it really means to be poor. It’s laughable that you, who
would have no idea what it means to be poor would so frequently play the
inequality card.
While I was in Iraq, our mission was to liberate
the Iraqi citizens from a tyrant and that’s what we did. Never forget, it was
your people who sent us there, like the Clintons, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi
& Carl Levin. However, since the day you busted onto the scene you’ve been
talking about ending the war and pulling the troops out, not understanding the
blood sweat and tears that so many Americans and Iraqi’s invested. And with
complete disregard for every life sacrificed, every limb lost, and every broken
family, you bailed on our mission to pursue an agenda that was completely
centered on your re-election in 2012. If you didn’t bail on Iraq you were
worried that you may not get re-elected and that’s a fact. Just before
elections on Oct 11, 2012 you said “Al Qaeda is on the run and Osama bin Laden
is dead.” Look at Iraq
now, they are in shambles and the Al Qaeda flag is flying freely. Clearly,
you’re unfit for duty as a Commander in Chief. You put your own agenda ahead of
America’s agenda, and now
you have single handedly ruined and destroyed nearly everything we gained in Iraq. It
clearly means nothing to you, because the only thing that you’ve personally
invested in that country was a promise to bail on them. However, people like me
gave limbs, friends have died, and we’ve watched families destroyed by war’s
aftermath.
I’m not placing blame on you for the war, I’m placing blame
on you for destroying what we’ve worked so hard to build. You’re not a leader,
you’re a community organizer. A leader would have stood up regardless of the
situation and put America’s
agenda first and that is ensuring a secure Iraq even after 10 years of war.
But, you placed Barack first, just as Robert Gates confirmed in his new book. I
can’t help but think of those poor kids who I gave water and toys to 11 years
ago. They’re probably 15 or 16 years old now, and I can only imagine what it’s
like for them to have their nation being torn apart yet again; all because of
your poor leadership qualities. Regardless of why we went to Iraq, its water
under the bridge. We went there, we waged war, and we not only owed it to our
KIA’s but we owed it to the citizens of Iraq. We invaded their country and
turned it upside down, and you bailed on them. You bailed on our soldiers and
you’ve wasted every death and every limb, it’s all for nothing. And to make
matters worse you blame others for your failures.
You’re just another elitist rich thug who’s pretended to
live the rough life growing up in the inner-city. You’re only worried about
your own agenda and furthering your party instead of taking care of Americans.
Your inability to be a leader at some of the most critical points has caused
both of our wars to fail. You’ve been a joke to most of our veteran community
and we have no faith in your ability to lead.
Senior Airman Ret Brian Kolfage USAF
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