Veteran warns against another Trump term

Racism has always been a big part of our society. The Puritans considered witches, Indians and Catholic priests "vermin."

It wasn't called the "KKK" until we freed the slaves. Today that KKK is the official party of racism and is a big part of Trump's MAGA party.

When Trump calls immigrants "vermin" it reminded me of basic training on my way to Viet Nam. Dehumanize the enemy – that makes it easier for "our boys" to kill them. They're zipperheads, dinks, gooks – not human beings.

I sat Victor Alert in Germany. This was in the '70s – the Cold War with Russia. We had a nuke hung on our F-4. The plane was parked in an open-end concrete Quonset ready to go.

One time I asked one of our pilots, a leader of the Mormon church on our base, how he coped with the idea of killing 400,000 people with his bomb. He said, if it's God's plan he'd follow it. Some of us just used alcohol.

Now, I understand what Korea and Viet Nam were about – capitalism and freedom standing up to communism and dictatorship. And we're still standing.

I am a vet. It's a shame Trump considers the army "his army." Our military's job is to protect our society, not police it.

If Trump wins, there will be more violence. You non-vets will be shocked. You're not "prepped" – just a few school shootings and eight years of chaos and corruption. All impersonal to you – unless your kid was shot.

Democrats, get up and vote. Republicans, reconsider. You'll be very sorry if Trump wins.

– Bill Collins, Polson