Mr. Clark took offense at Jamie Stiehm’s guest commentary of 05 September “Arlington: No place for traitors to feel at home”. He said she did not take into account the facts of the subject that was discussed in the commentary. Mr. Clark states “The one major fact is that the families of the fallen marines asked Trump to attend the graves of those fallen marines with them. He did not request it nor did he campaign during the visit.” He disparaged the Standard Examiner for not fact checking before allowing “this kind of garbage” to be printed in the paper. He states, “Whether one likes or dislikes Trump is irrelevant when the facts are not included.”

I could not agree more with Mr. Clark about major facts not being included. Let’s include the facts. Trump went to Arlington National Cemetery at the invitation of members of the families of two U.S. Marines killed in the Kabul airport Abbey Gate bombing on Aug. 26, 2021. His campaign staff says it had permission from the family of one soldier buried at Arlington to take photos and video in the cemetery. However, in cemetery law, their permission is irrelevant. They are not cemetery officials. The law allows cemeteries to make their own rules.

Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign. Arlington National Cemetery shared and emphasized this law and its prohibitions with Trump’s staff.

Trump’s campaign photos in Arlington broke the law and read as a brazen bit of tragedy. A Trump aide shoved aside an Arlington official who tried to ensure that Trump and his group followed the law and respected the prohibition against politicizing hallowed ground that many Americans revere. These soldiers died carrying out an unwise Trump deal for U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Show some respect.

Thumbs up and a smile to Mr. Clark.

Richard Keckler

North Ogden