Opinion | Honor veterans by standing up for the values they defended

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As Veterans Day arrives, I’m reminded of my father, Thomas Byrnes — a quiet, resilient man from St. Paul who served as an aerial gunner in World War II.

Near Amsterdam, his plane was struck by German anti‑aircraft fire, killing the pilots. He parachuted out, landed in an irrigation ditch and was captured. He was packed into a boxcar to Frankfurt, held in solitary confinement and interrogated. Yet, true to his training, he said only his name, rank and serial: “Sgt. Thomas A. Byrnes, number 37282507.” After 17 days he was transferred to Stalag 17B near Krems, Austria, where he remained for some 14 months.

In April 1945, he and 4,400 fellow prisoners were forced to march for 27 days through Austrian backroads, with bayonets at their backs, before being liberated by the U.S. 13th Armored Division. He endured unimaginable hardship with courage. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart. He was, in every sense, a patriot.

His story is also our family’s story — one shared by countless families shaped by the Greatest Generation. I’m reminded of a Minneapolis Daily Times article from Nov. 12, 1944, headlined “1,300 War Prisoners’ Kin Thrilled by Times Meeting.” The story, which my Aunt Florence saved in a scrapbook, described a gathering for families of American POWs. Listed as my father’s “primary next of kin,” she attended hoping to learn any news of him.

The article captured the hope and worry of families waiting for word from their loved ones and learning how to help. My father would later show us that clipping to remind us that the war wasn’t just fought on battlefields, it was experienced in homes across America. He often emphasized the importance of organizations like the Red Cross, which helped families stay connected and provided essential aid to prisoners of war.

But patriotism is more than ceremony. It’s how we treat those who have served. Recent years have brought alarming signals, like when leaders use dismissive or divisive language toward service, and when debates about budgets overshadow dignity and care for veterans. Recently, cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) threaten about 1.2 million veterans who live in households that depend on this program. Veterans don’t fight wars so they might struggle to afford groceries. My father never asked for handouts — but he believed service should be met with meaningful support: timely health care, fair benefits and respect for the alliances that help keep peace.

Most egregiously, in his first presidential term, President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw from NATO, and this year a bill was introduced in the Senate to do that very thing. Trump has repeatedly insulted our closest allies. These alliances aren’t burdens — they’re the foundation of the postwar world my father helped secure.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, reflecting on Trump’s praise of Russia’s president, warned, “The thing I am concerned about is to not give away the store to Vladimir Putin.” She added, “There is strong bipartisan support in the Senate for Ukraine’s freedom and democracy.” Her warning echoes what my father’s generation understood instinctively: Alliances matter, and freedom is not free.

This Veterans Day let’s honor our veterans and fight for their values. Let us protect our democracy by demanding that those who seek to lead it reflect the character of those who served. We owe that much to my father, and to every veteran who gave more than most of us will ever know.