Honoring the military

I was recently insulted by President Trump's comments about members of the military being losers. Before people start saying not true, pay attention to the different times he referred to John McCain as a loser.

My uncle was captured by the Japanese in 1942 on Corregidor. He along with fellow soldiers were marched for days with little food and water. Eventually, he ended in POW camp in Japan. He was a slave laborer for three-plus years working in a condemned coal mine. They went to the mine before daybreak and did not return until sunset.

He had a small box of rice daily for his food ration. After a year or more of this treatment, he took a piece of shale and smashed his foot, breaking it. He hoped to be taken out of the mine. The guard looked at him and said he still had one good foot and go back and mine. These slave laborers were often beaten or shot. He suffered greatly during these years. He depended heavily on his faith in God. My uncle lived, but it took a physical and mental toll on him his whole life.

In Tom Brokaw's book "The Greatest Generation Speaks," my uncle was one of the first individuals to be interviewed. My uncle loved his country and never felt he was a loser. The men serving in the military often experience unbelievable hardships and horror, but they do it with honor for the country they cherish. God bless our military.

DIANE R. NIEVEEN, Jackson