Editor, Gazette-Journal:

My dad served two tours in Vietnam. For him, serving his country was the highest of honors. When Dad retired from the military, he continued to serve in other ways; helping to found the Coast Guard Auxiliary, serving on the Gloucester County Planning Commission, volunteering for the Red Cross, serving at his beloved Abingdon Episcopal Church, and of course working for and donating to the Republican Party. Our family had been voting Republican for four generations.

On January 6, 2021, I dropped by to see my folks. They were glued to the television. We watched in absolute horror as a horde of Trump supporters left his speech, and on Trump’s orders, marched on our Nation’s Capitol. I will never forget the look of despair on Dad’s face. Later that evening, another Republican that Dad supported, Rob Wittman, voted against certifying the election results. I believe that was the beginning of the end for my dad.

He was buried that fall at Abingdon Church and honored with a 21-gun salute. My son missed his granddad’s funeral because he was serving in Iraq.

Now we face Trump as a candidate for the third time. A man who did everything to avoid serving his country in Vietnam. A man who called deceased American Heroes “Losers and Suckers.” The last straw for me was the absolute disrespect he showed at Arlington National Cemetery, one of the most sacred places in our country. Have you ever been there? I cannot believe that anyone who has been there to honor the dead would ever condone that kind of disrespect.

Most of our family is not voting for Republicans this election, and my mom will be voting for the Democrats for the first time in 91 years. I couldn’t be any more proud.

Susan Arnold Alvarado
Hayes, Va.