Dinner With The President Of The United States

By Major Van Harl USAF Ret

Wisconsin –-(Ammoland.com)-  Back in the summer of 2006 we were in Wentworth, South Dakota to see the Colonel’s grandmother.

Thirty six miles due east is the town of Pipestone, Minnesota and the President of the United States and the First Lady were visiting.

I had called my sister who lives in Minnesota and suggested she drive to Wentworth to see us. She informed me she would be in Pipestone and was going to be having dinner with the President and the First Lady. It would appear she was involved in the political party of the then President. After arriving in South Dakota I called my sister about meeting her and she informed me that the Colonel, our daughter and I had also been invited to dine with the President.

We met in the lobby of the historical Calumet Inn and people were staring at the President. There were only twelve people in the dinner party and my wife and I sat opposite of the President and First Lady. The President was in Pipestone to address some Federal army troops, along with some Minnesota Militia members.

Since I am retired Air Force and the Colonel at the time was active duty the conversation moved quickly to the war.

Once the President discovered I was a newspaper columnist the subject of how the media was covering him and the war, was discussed. How both elected and non-elected backers who supported him in the beginning of the war were now attacking him in the open press. There was endless complaining about the high casualty rate of military members and the continued death of civilians, along with destruction of private property.

We discussed the Texas-Mexican border and the inability to secure that vital piece of real estate. The movement of unauthorized people across the border that could have an impact on national security, as well as provide a porous point of entry where destructive devices could be smuggled across to the devastation of the US.

Immigration was a topic of conversation and how that was detracting from the more important issue of finishing the war and getting the troops home safely. The sensationalism by the press of the death of military members, especially when more than one member of the same family was killed in action was discussed.

The First Lady was unhappy with the continuous malicious attacks on her husband by the foreign press with particular disdain for the French and English press. The continued tirades by foreign Governments on how they believe the US should handle the War, but without getting their Nation’s involved. Of course the US should be ever mindful of the political and financial needs of these foreign Nations.

We talked about the calling up of troops from the different States and how that was impacting those States and their security, with some states wanting to bring their troops home and not send any more in the future. We talked about the continued need for more regular army troops and the newspapers trying to muddy the waters with sensational stories about drafting men to fight. The issue of recruiting minorities into the military and the false perception that is sometimes alluded to in the press about the misuse of the troops was a topic of conversation.

Of course we talked about the cost of the War, the taxes that were needed to pay for the War and how it was all affecting the US as well as the world economies. And we talked about the length of the War and when it would end.

President Lincoln needed to prepare for his speaking engagement the next day so the dinner party came to an early end.

Of I am sorry did I mistakenly lead you to believe I had been dining with President Bush and his wife? No I was dining with Max and Donna Daniels who are President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln impersonators (www.abeandthebabe.com). There was a Civil War re-enactment going on in Pipestone and they were there to perform that weekend. The topics we discussed were the very issues that President Lincoln and President Bush both have had to deal with in their perspective wars.

When you watch a Hollywood movie about the American Civil War it is all so easy. The Union Blue is good and the Confederate Gray is bad. The Blue won and the Gray lost. But it was not that simple, lives were lost, there was great destruction and our Nation was forever changed. This was true in the Civil War and is even truer in the war on Muslim extremism.

Our Nation did change in 1865 and will continue to change in 2013, but more importantly it must first survive.

Major Van Harl USAF Ret.
[email protected]

About Major Van Harl USAF Ret.:Major Van E. Harl USAF Ret., a career Police Officer in the U.S. Air Force was born in Burlington, Iowa, USA, in 1955. He was the Deputy Chief of police at two Air Force Bases and the Commander of Law Enforcement Operations at another. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Infantry School.  A retired Colorado Ranger and currently is an Auxiliary Police Officer with the Cudahy PD in Milwaukee County, WI.  His efforts now are directed at church campus safely and security training.  He believes “evil hates organization.”  [email protected]