D-Day is upon us...again

We will gather on the National Mall peacefully and patriotically...but not quietly

The OG D-Day

Today is the 81st Anniversary of the D-Day invasion of June 6th, 1944. It was the largest military amphibious invasion in world history. An audacious plan to begin the retaking of the European continent and end the Nazi regime forever.

The Allies had been fighting for nearly five years since the invasion of Poland. Much of that time had been spent trying to stop the march of Germany across Europe and Africa. When they were stopped finally, the job to build up combat power and counter attack began.

I have a special affinity for that day. My father served in World War II but just at the very end of hostilities and in the post-war years. He didn’t see fighting but I spent seven years over two tours with the famed 101st Airborne including the invasion and first year of the Iraq War.

Flying a UH-60 on my first mission into Baghdad in April, 2003

I have a painting at home of the famed ‘Filthy Thirteen’ members of the 101st Airborne’s demolition team who went in ahead of the invasion and fought all the way to the Eagle’s Nest.

I had the privilege of serving as the Operations Officer (S3) for the 6th Battalion of the 101st Aviation in March, 2003 as we headed in to Iraq. Our unit had the famed Pathfinder Platoon under our command. The night before we gathered in their tent as they shaved their heads in to mohawks and prepared for the fight.

A legacy I am honored to have been a small part of.

Now today

I am in my hotel room in Washington D.C. preparing for the Unite for Veterans, Unite for America rally on the National Mall. We have been working with a small group of dedicated veterans to build an event that will shake the halls of Congress and the buildings surrounding Lafayette Square.

We want those in power to know we aren’t going to sit back while they quietly try to destroy the benefits and healthcare our veterans fought to earn. We won’t accept them firing thousands of veterans and others from their jobs at the will of a child. We will not accept the attacks on our Constitution that we swore oaths to uphold.

The stage from the U.S. Capitol

We don’t know how many will join us but estimates range from 10,000 to 20,000 and we will be joined by the Dropkick Murphys, combat veterans Senator Tammy Duckworth, and former Representatives Connor Lamb and Adam Kinzinger. But, most importantly, a dozen or more veterans who have served and are being affected by this madness.

I am scheduled to be the final speaker.

I will talk about how I got to this moment and the things I saw over my military career that made me who I am. I will tell the crowd (whoever is left at that point) that we have now united for veterans…and now it’s time to carry the mission forward and unite for America.

It is time to raise our voices and stop the march of authoritarianism, oligarchy, kakistocracy, and kleptocracy on our shores. We will then turn the tide and send them back to where they belong.

Peacefully and patriotically.

With fellow veterans Peter Lucier and Emir Hadzic

Join us

If you can make it to the National Mall at 2:00 PM ET I’d love to see you there. If you can’t there are over 200 sister events organized by Indivisible and 50501 around the country and we will be livestreaming it all right here.

You can even catch it on C-SPAN as well. We have raised all the money to pay for it ourselves. If you want to help with that we still have last minute bills to cover and any little bit would be appreciated.

Donate here for Unite for Veterans, Unite for America (tax deductible)

It’s been a long march to get here and now it’s time to go forward.