I saw a collage of American flags on my Facebook page and that made me think of my dad. We had a flagpole near the front patio. In the summer, nearly every day that I was home, we would line up and take down the flag, fold it up into a triangle and take it inside, reversing the operation in the morning.

My dad was a colonel in the Army. He was stationed at the Pentagon as an aide to Gen. Douglas MacArthur during World War II, and was a big player in supplying the Pacific Front with military equipment. He flew with the airplane that held the first deployment of night-vision goggles that were to be used in a successful night attack in a significant island battle with the Japanese. This was top secret for years.

He often contacted the Pentagon leaders during the Vietnam War with suggestions for battle plans, and we had many a fight over that war and Nixon.

Dad was a big conservative Republican. That is why I was shocked one evening as we watched the news. President Richard Nixon had been implicated in Watergate, and when the truth came out it was hard for Dad — he was a big supporter of the president. But Dad had fought fascism, and an emperor king of Japan as well. He knew what freedom was and Nixon had defiled America by his actions. And that night, when Nixon began to speak on the TV, Dad stood at attention, flung his hand up in the air and into a Hitler salute and shouted “Heil Nixon” in disgust.

I learned a powerful lesson about presidents then. And the importance of truth. I honor the flag, I honor the office of the president, but I cannot honor this president as he has defiled our nation with his actions and his lies. I truly and objectively feel that no list of accomplishments can equal the dishonor he has brought to the White House.

If my dad were still alive, I know he would agree with me.

June Colony

Lostine