For Donald Trump, no boundaries apply

On July 15, 1944, my father left our apartment heading to a neighborhood drugstore to buy the Sunday paper. He never got there. At the front door, a Western Union delivery guy had a telegram for the Shermans.

“We regret to inform you …” it began. My 24-year-old brother had died when his plane crashed in the Caribbean where it had been looking for German submarines. My brother was not a “loser” or a “sucker,” as Donald Trump describes fallen military. Dave had won a scholarship in high school to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and was a member of the wrestling team at the University of Minnesota. He was a cheerful, all-around guy who volunteered to serve our country.

Why is it so hard for Donald Trump to understand that about our military? His behavior at Arlington National Cemetery recently is an insult to my brother and every American who has died protecting our democracy.

During World War II, 16,112,566 Americans served in the armed forces. And 291,557 were killed and 671,278 wounded. Some are buried at Arlington where Trump and his toadies violated hallowed space, ignoring rules of behavior for presidents and children not long out of diapers.

Here's the newspaper report:

“The Trump campaign posted a video … that was recorded at Arlington National Cemetery, two days after an alleged altercation in which defense officials said a cemetery staff member sought to enforce guidelines the campaign had received not to take photos and videos near the graves of U.S. service members killed in recent years.”

“Defense officials said a confrontation occurred during the event … in which a cemetery staff member warned people employed by the Trump campaign that while they were permitted to take photos and videos in the cemetery, they could not do so in Section 60, the final resting place for many U.S. service members who were killed in recent conflicts …. The guidance was issued to the campaign both before the memorial event and again once they were on-site due to legal restrictions on campaign-related activities there, said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.”

Here’s more: “Steven Cheung, a Trump aide, also claimed, without providing evidence or details, that “an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.”

It is fascinating, though unlikely, that someone trying to enforce the rules has a mental health problem while those breaking them do not. A cheerful Trump giving a thumbs-up sign, as he did, hardly seems “solemn.”

When asked, cemetery personnel said: “We can confirm there was an incident, and a report was filed.” I hope some leader of the American Legion and its auxiliaries have the guts to speak up and describe the Trump behavior for what is: an insult to men and women like my brother who died, not as “losers” and “suckers,” but good citizens. Donald Trump will never be a good citizen, nor respect those who are. Other people’s heroism is simply a prop for his cowardice.

Norman Sherman of Coralville has worked extensively in politics, including as Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s press secretary.