'Desecrated hallowed ground': Marine vet rips Trump’s 'truly disgusting' cemetery photo-op

When an employee of Arlington National Cemetery declined to press charges after an altercation with members of Donald Trump's campaign, the U.S. Army said it considered the matter "closed." The employee, who said she was physically pushed during the incident, reportedly feared the possibility of threats from Trump supporters if she pressed charges.

But the controversy over that late August incident hasn't gone away.

In an op-ed published by the San Francisco Chronicle on September 4, U.S. Marines veteran Sandy Alderson slams the Trump campaign's behavior as disrespectful and wildly inappropriate.

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"Even in these partisan times," Alderson laments, "I never thought this sacred place — where Americans of all types and all generations collectively are honored for their sacrifices — would be corrupted by politics. And yet, that is exactly what has happened."

During the August 26 incident, the Arlington employee objected when Trump campaign staffers wanted to shoot video in a restricted area of the cemetery where videos and photos are strictly prohibited.

Alderson argues that in the days after the incident, Trump's campaign only made matters worse.

"In the days since," the veteran observes, "we've seen photos of a tone-deaf Trump giving a thumbs-up at the graves of fallen Marines. And as the backlash has increased, he has tried to rewrite history by calling the altercation a 'hoax' while his campaign has tried to place the blame on the Arlington official. It is truly disgusting behavior by a former commander-in-chief."

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Alderson adds, "Arlington is such a special place that many men and women who serve in the military, myself included, are not eligible to be buried there. It is mostly reserved for those who served entire careers or were wounded or killed in action. It is a tranquil setting that insulates the grieving from the politics of the moment and allows the dead to be properly remembered. Yet none of that stopped the former president from attempting to use it as a political stage for campaign purposes. In an effort to recast himself as a champion of the armed forces, Trump managed to desecrate hallowed ground that belongs to the 400,000 Americans buried there, their families and the nation as a whole."

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Sandy Alderson's full op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle is available at this link.