Speaking to a group of veterans in Pennsylvania, Sen. JD Vance opened up about his journey from a “troubled kid” to a US Marine – and excoriated Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for his flagrant “dishonesty” about his military history.
“I was, so fortunate to have the Marine Corps play a role a transformative role on my entire life. I was, in a lot of ways, a troubled kid, a directionless kid. And the Marine Corps really changed who I was,” Vance (R-Ohio) recalled about his service.
The Buckeye State Republican took aim at veterans issues, weighing in on the wait time snarls plaguing Veteran Affairs – where he himself has received healthcare.
“We’ve got to get back to a presidency that is always faithful to the service veterans,” he said. “We’ve got to get back to the presidency of Donald J. Trump. He did already – He’s going to do it again if we get another opportunity.”
During his speech, Vance paused for a moment of silence to honor the 13 American service members who were killed during the 2021 Kabul airport bombing, amid the fast-approaching three-year anniversary.
“President Joe Biden got us out of Afghanistan in the most disgraceful way. Of course, Kamala Harris was right there every step of the way,” he said.
Fellow veterans Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Brian Mast and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) also spoke at the event, stumping for the Trump campaign.
“There’s only one person asking to be your vice president, one person asking to be your president that’s trying to make this country worthy of the sacrifice of those Gold Star families,” Banks said. “That’s JD and President Trump.”
To that end, Waltz argued that “President Trump was the first president in modern history to leave the Middle East better off than when he found it.”
“The number one job of the federal government is to keep us all safe. And Biden and Harris have failed miserably at that job. Recruiting is at an all time crisis,” Waltz said at the event. “We must have a commander in chief and a vice president as his side that our enemies respect and that our enemies fear.”
“President Trump and soon-to-be Vice President Vance have a plan to rebuild our military and pay the troops what they deserve,” he added.
‘Relatable’
In an endearing moment, Vance explained that his “Mamaw” was very “worried” about him serving, but recognized the value of his service to the nation.
“She loved the Marines, and she was proud of this country and proud of what the Marines fought for,” he recounted. “I remember when a Marine Corps recruiter … came to our house and my Mamaw said, ‘You step one foot on my porch, I will blow it off.’”
It played well with many of the attendees, which included a mix of veterans and non-veterans alike, who told The Post they came away pleased with Vance’s remarks.
Joyce McEldowney, hailed Vance as “very relatable” and “very down-to-earth,” while surmising that he’s an important asset for Trump.
“He brings so much logic. You can understand him, you can relate to everything he says,” McEldowney told The Post.
Andrew Pallus, a 23-year-old school board member in Leechburg, Pa. mused that Vance will “project the Republican Party to the future.”
“His biggest strength is pulling these younger voters – those who are between the ages of 18 and 35, 18 and 40 even,” he said. “He’s experienced what we’ve experienced, and I think that helps win the ticket.”
Vance also lit into Walz’s repeated exaggerations of his service record, raging about how the Democratic VP pick’s false allusions to combat experience are an insult to combat veterans.
“Tim Walz said he carried a weapon in war. He never went into war,” Vance said, referencing a 2018 claim Walz made about wanting to relegate “weapons of war that I carried in war” to the battlefield. The Harris campaign recently shared a clip of that exchange.
Vance’s words resonated with veterans in the audience, including John Grillo, who served in Vietnam.
“There were a lot of things said today that I wasn’t aware of, especially with Walz,” he told The Post after the event. “I watched a lot of guys die … As far as I’m concerned, [Walz] does not exist.”
“I want everybody that not’s a veteran to love this country, because I love it,” he added. “I would go to Vietnam even at 80, and serve [for] what I believe in: Freedom. Freedom for you to stand here and ask me that question,” Brillo added.
‘Stolen valor’
Despite serving some 24 years in the Army National Guard from 1981 to 2005, including a posting in places like Italy, Walz ultimately never fought in combat.
Vance deployed to Iraq as a combat correspondent and worked near a combat zone but has openly acknowledged that “I never saw a firefight myself.” He served in the Marines from 2003 to 2007.
“Tim Walz said he didn’t know his unit was about to deploy to Iraq when even his own press release at the time said that he knew exactly that,” Vance went on. “Tim Walz claims to be a Command Sergeant General, even had it printed on his challenge coin and he knew he never achieved that rank.”
Walz ultimately retired from the Marines in May 2005 months before his 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion was dispatched to Iraq. He had submitted paperwork to step down five to seven months beforehand, according to Fox News. That battalion ultimately deployed in March 2006 for about 22 months during the brutal insurgency in Iraq.
His battalion was informed that an Iraq deployment was possible in March 2005, according to a press release from Walz’s congressional campaign. It got the official order about mobilization for Iraq in July 2005, per the Minnesota National Guard.
That very same press release described Walz as a “Command Sergeant Major.” However, while he was technically promoted to that position, he left before finishing off the training needed to obtain that title, and was, therefore, a rank below when he registered.
Walz has previously fired back at Vance over the slew of attacks against his military record.
“I am damn proud of my service to this country. And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record,” Walz rebutted Tuesday at a campaign stop in Los Angelos.
But Vance said his argument “is not about disparaging anybody’s services, including Tim Walz.”
“This is about disparaging the dishonesty and asking Kamala Harris why are you showing such poor judgment by standing by a guy who insulted our veterans and lied about his service,” he said.
