Holocaust Survivor Organizes Military Support for Donald Trump

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Sid Shachnow is the only Holocaust survivor to become an American military flag officer.

A 40-year veteran of the Army, he served with the U.S. Army Special Forces for 32 years, later serving as the commanding general of the Airborne soldiers at Ft. Bragg. He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

He’s also one of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s biggest supporters. Working alongside Navy Rear Admiral (lower half) Charles Williams, he gathered a group of retired flag officers who have endorsed the GOP nominee for president.

“He has the temperament to be commander in chief,” Shachnow said in explaining why he’s worked so hard for the Trump campaign.

“Donald Trump is more trusted to be commander in chief than Hillary Clinton,” Williams added.

The endorsement letter, which was signed by four four-star and 14 three-star generals and admirals, says that “the 2016 election affords the American people an urgently needed opportunity to make a long-overdue course correction in our national security posture and policy.” It goes on to say that such change can only be enacted by the commander in chief who was not “deeply involved with, and substantially responsible for, the hollowing out of our military and the burgeoning threats facing our country around the world.”

It continues:

For the past eight years, America’s armed forces have been subjected to a series of ill-considered and debilitating budget cuts, policy choices and combat operations that have left the superb men and women in uniform less capable of performing their vital missions in the future than we require them to be.

Simultaneously, enemies of this country have been emboldened, sensing weakness and irresolution in Washington and opportunities for aggression at our expense and that of other freedom-loving nations.

In our professional judgment, the combined effect is potentially extremely perilous. That is especially the case if our government persists in the practices that have brought us to this present pass.

For this reason, we support Donald Trump and his commitment to rebuild our military, to secure our borders, to defeat our Islamic supremacist adversaries and restore law and order domestically. We urge our fellow Americans to do the same.

In total, 88 flag officers signed on to endorse Trump. They are:

• General Burwell B. Bell III, U.S. Army, Retired
• General Alfred G. Hansen, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Admiral Jerry Johnson, U.S. Navy, Retired
• General Crosbie “Butch” Saint, U.S. Army, Retired
• Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, U.S. Army, Retired
• Lieutenant General Marvin Covault, U.S. Army, retired
• Lieutenant General Gordon E, Fornell, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Lieutenant General Harley Hughes, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Lieutenant General Timothy A. Kinnan, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Lieutenant General Hugh G. Smith, U.S. Army, Retired
• Lieutenant General David J. Teal, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Lieutenant General William E. Thurman, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Vice Admiral Mike Bucchi, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Vice Admiral Edward Clexton, Jr. U.S. Navy, Retired
• Vice Admiral R.F. Schoultz, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Vice Admiral Donald Thompson, U.S. Coast Guard, Retired
• Vice Admiral Jerry Unruh, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Major General Joe Arbuckle, U.S. Army, Retired
• Major General John Bianchi, CSMR, Retired
• Major General Henry D. Canterbury, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Jeffrey Cliver, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Tommy F. Crawford, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Felix Dupre, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Neil Eddins, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General David W. Eidsaune, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General William A. Gorton, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Kenneth Hagemann, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Gary L. Harrell, U.S. Army, Retired
• Major General Geoffrey Higginbothan, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired
• Major General John D. Logeman, Jr., U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Homer S. Long, U.S. Army, Retired
• Major General Billy McCoy, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Robert Messerli, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General John Miller, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Ray O’Mara, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General George W.”Nordie” Norwood, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Robert W. Paret, U.S. Air Force MC, Retired
• Major General James W. Parker, U.S. Army, Retired
• Major General Richard Perraut, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Sidney Shachnow, U.S. Army, Retired
• Major General Mark Solo, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General John Welde, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Major General Kenneth W. Weir, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired
• Rear Admiral Phillip Anselmo, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Thomas F. Brown III, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Robert C. Crates, SC, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Mimi Drew, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Ernest Elliot, SC, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral James H. Flatley III, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Byron Fuller, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Dale Hagen, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Charles F. Horne III U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Grady L. Jackson, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral J. Adrian Jackson, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Frederick C. Johnson, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Jack Kavanaugh, SC, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Charles R.Kubic, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Rich Landolt, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral William J. McDaniel, M.D., U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral E.S. McGinley II, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Douglas M. Moore Jr. SC U.S. Navy. Retired
• Rear Admiral John A. Moriarty, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral David R. Morris, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Ed Nelson, U.S. Coast Guard, Retired
• Rear Admiral Philip R. Olsen, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Robert S. Owens, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral W.W. Pickavance, Jr., U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Leonard F. Picotte, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Brian C. Prindle, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral William J. Ryan, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral William L. Schachte, Jr., U.S. Navy JAGC, Retired
• Rear Admiral William R. Schmidt, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Hugh P. Scott, U.S. Navy, MC, Retired
• Rear Admiral Gregory Slavonic, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral Charles Williams, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Rear Admiral H. Denny Wisely, U.S. Navy, Retired
• Brigadier General Remo Butler, U.S. Army, Retired
• Brigadier General George P. Cole, Jr. U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Brigadier General Philip M. Drew, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Brigadier General Jerome V. Foust, U.S. Army, Retired
• Brigadier General Thomas W. Honeywill, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Brigadier General Charles Jones, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Brigadier General Mike D. Jones, U.S. Army, Retired
• Brigadier General Thomas J. Lennon, U.S. Air Force, Retired
• Brigadier General Mark D. Scraba, U.S. Army, Retired
• Brigadier General Hugh B. Tant III, U.S. Army, Retired
• Brigadier General Robert F. Titus, U.S. Air Force, Retired

“Hillary Clinton has made clear she is running as a staunch defender of the status quo when it comes to the issues facing our military, and she has shown through her foreign policy decisions and her mishandling of classified information that she lacks the judgment to do the job,” Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn said. “Mr.Trump’s deep and growing support in the military community and his thoughtful proposals show he’s the right person to lead our men and women in uniform.”

Active-duty military personnel, including flag officers, are prohibited from endorsing political candidates. Retirees are not bound by the same regulations.

“It is a great honor to have such amazing support from so many distinguished retired military leaders,” Trump said. “I thank each of them for their service and their confidence in me to serve as commander in chief. Keeping our nation safe and leading our armed forces is the most important responsibility of the presidency.

“Under my administration, we will end the weak foreign policy of the last eight years, rebuild our military, give our troops clear rules of engagement and take care of our veterans when they come home. We can only ‘Make America Great Again’ if we ensure our military remains the finest fighting force in the world, and that’s exactly what I will do as president.”