“Happy Thanksgiving from me, the Secretary of War. Happy Thanksgiving from the President of the United States. Happy Thanksgiving from a grateful nation,” the secretary told thousands of Sailors and Marines onboard the carrier.
Then, Hegseth punctuated the message by evoking news of the attack on two National Guard members in Washington DC, the day before:
They are a reminder like you of the bravery and the selflessness of Americans who put it all on the line in the prime of their life to dangerous things on behalf of the American people. Whether it’s in our nation’s capital, walking patrol, or whether it’s in our nation’s hemisphere, out at sea, interdicting cartels, defending the American people — we are grateful for you.
The D.C. shooting was obviously on the secretary’s mind earlier in the day, even before it was announced later Thursday that 20-year-old West Virginia guardsman Sara Beckstrom had succumbed to her gunshot wounds.
Still hospitalized and in critical condition on Friday was 24-year-old Andrew Wolf, whom an Afghan national allegedly shot while the two West Virginia guard members were on duty near the Farragut West Metro station.
Prior to being flown to the aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill, Hegseth and his wife posted a message on X mentioning the attack and saying they wanted “to spend Thanksgiving with the troops.”
The warships are part of operation Southern Spear, a mission targeting narcoterror networks across Latin America. Hegseth and his wife said they were thinking about families of the troops who could not join them.
“And we know family is the backbone of your service,” Jennifer said. “And we are so thankful for that. And we just pray blessings upon you and your families wherever you are.”
Hegseth added, “I was deployed three times — was always thinking about my family and hoped they were gathering with food and football and all those things. These folks won’t be. We’re going to bring them maybe a turkey and a little bit of cheer.”
Later the couple served up plates of Thanksgiving dinner to Sailors.
The Secretary of War said he was serving a “mandatory” holiday meal.
“It’s mandatory turkey,” he said as he dished out large portions to Sailors.
He then turned to the camera and quipped, “To all the moms and dads out there, your kids get turkey whether they want it or not.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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