Local Veteran Reacts To Chattanooga Shooting
[gtxvideo vid=”ruBcX6iD” playlist=”” pid=”XiOflQdH” thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/ruBcX6iD.jpg” vtitle=”Local Veteran Remembers Victims of Chattanooga Shooting”]
George Williams served 20 years in the Marine Corps, with two tours in Vietnam and many others across the globe.
He says it was hard hearing the news about his fellow marines in Chattanooga.
“But to get gunned down in an unexpected place, you should be safe in your own backyard. That’s a hard pill to swallow,” said Williams.
He says that things have changed a lot since his time in the military. Wars have changed and it’s harder to tell who the enemy is.
“We knew that all our enemies we thought were foreign, not domestic. Back when I was a kid we still had the civil rights movement going on with a lot of problems, but just for someone to ride around and murder people, didn’t seem possible,” said Williams.
In response to the shooting, there’s a new White House petition asking for military service members to be allowed to carry concealed handguns on military installations, including recruiting offices. But Williams says that’s not the answer, especially for recruiters.
“He’s supposed to present a neat and four square picture of what the marines is. I don’t think we want them to walk around in the community looking like they’re in combat because you’re at home,” said Williams.
