On Sept. 21, 2022, my 97-year-old father died.

In addition to being a wonderful husband, father, friend, artist and distinguished professor of art education, he was my best friend and a WWII veteran. He was a quartermaster on the USS Wilke, a small destroyer escort. Its size was advantageous when chasing German submarines but also more vulnerable to sinking if hit.

In his last days, we talked extensively, and I am struck by how he felt about society. He felt betrayed; many WWII veterans felt betrayed.

WWII veterans were, by and large, young kids who grew up during the Depression and knew a thing or two about privilege, money and not having either.

My father was fortunate because his father had work, but he didn’t have much. Shoes were a luxury. Fortunately, his grandfather was a farmer, so they had food.

WWII vets knew something about honor, loyalty, responsibility and sacrifice. They understood that the world was bigger than they were and that life was not about them and what they wanted.

They knew that you rarely got what you thought you deserved. They knew you had to work hard for anything you wanted. They offered their lives for their country both on the battlefield and in the workplace. No one wanted to go to war; they went because they had to go.

People demanding free handouts disturbed WWII veterans. Hearing about how evil the United States is, broke their hearts.

True, things are not perfect, but many veterans have suggested that those who think it is so bad, should go live elsewhere to see how the rest of the world fares.

Those people would discover that national health care doesn’t allow the medical treatments we have here (many foreigners come here for treatment). They would learn that they couldn’t voice their opinions as freely elsewhere.

They would discover that their standard of living would not go up. They might discover that the imperialism they rile against is much more benign here than elsewhere. They might discover problems others have with racism, sexism and all the other isms they think are the failings of the United States alone.

They would, those vets hoped, learn that the U.S. is not so bad.

Many veterans, not just WWII veterans, feel betrayed when others, generally people not willing to give their time or lives for anything, are so ungrateful. They despair when they see people, again people not willing to give to anything but themselves, try to tear down society.

They are afraid for this country. They fear this country may not survive the hostility from within because our enemies will use it to destroy us.

They fear the United States has lost its way. They did not fight for that.

They fought for the ideals that made this country great, and they believed this country was and is great.

My father wanted to see those ideals return, as do so many other veterans. We owe them that much.