With the United States having just celebrated the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy beach, one veteran of that war said he doesn't recognize his country anymore.
In an interview Thursday during the commemoration in Normandy, France, Fox News host Martha McCallum spoke to Ronald "Rondo" Scharfe, a veteran of World War II who fought at Iowa Jima, about his experience during the war and how he feels about our country now.
Now 96, Scharfe said he lied about his age to fight at 16.
He told McCallum about his memories of the war, why he joined in the first place and how he was wounded in battle.
While she spoke to Scharfe about the horrors of war and the heartbreaking reality of losing friends from it, a very telling moment came when McCallum asked, "What do you think about the state of the country today? How do you feel about the country that you worked so hard to stay free, to keep free?"
Scharfe responded, "The real truth? "I feel like a foreigner in my own country lots of times."
"It makes my heart real heavy," he said. "And I just hope we can pull out of this.
"There's too much Hollywood going in Washington all the time. The important subjects, they don't cover, so the thing is I hope all the guys will rally up and we’ll go back and straighten it all out."
He also said younger generations should show more pride in the United States and respect the flag.
It was clear from his demeanor and his tone that Scharfe didn't see the United States going down the correct path.
Change is inevitable, and nobody would expect the world to look as it did in the 1940s, but he is right to lament a decline in patriotism and reverence for our great nation.
From his comments, it also was clear that he sees the opportunity for something better in the future.
Only four years away from 100, Scharfe has seen everything the younger generations were not around for.
He was alive for the dropping of the atomic bombs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the war in Vietnam and the collapse of the Soviet Union, to name a few. He has seen things in his lifetime that we hope won't ever be repeated.
On that note, it should be comforting to younger Americans that Scharfe still has a positive outlook at all.
We often look at current events and feel a certain uniqueness about what's unfolding. We are ignorant.
We believe this moment is unparalleled in significance. We don't realize how the world has gone through so many disastrous moments that led someone else to declare, "This is the end," before the good guys won out.
Scharfe saw the good guys win out with the defeat of the Axis powers, and it seems he's hopeful -- despite everything -- that the good guys will win again.
If a veteran of that terrible war can be hopeful, so can we.
