Dorothy Navarez-Woods, the widow of NAVY SEAL Tyrone Woods who was killed on the night of the Benghazi terrorist attack, was on the Hugh Hewitt show this morning, where she was asked about the two Trump controversies circulating in the media; his attacks on the Khan family for ripping him a new one at the Democratic National Convention and accepting a Purple Heart at a Virginia rally. Navarez-Woods started out by saying that she does not wish the Gold Star status on any family, but added that it shouldn’t be used as a shield “when we hear something we don’t like.” She sees it as no one questioning Khan’s service and sacrifice to our country, and that he was an American first that day. Yet, she add the she feels the Khans are very public right now because they’re Muslim. As for the Purple Heart flap, as someone who has served, she understands why veterans do those and was “disturbed” by how the media took issue with Trump accepting the medal at the rally, noting that it would’ve been insulting if he hadn’t.
Hugh then pivoted to the night her husband died and Clinton meeting her at the Air Force bas when Tyrone’s body was flown back. Navarez-Woods said that Clinton apologized to her, hugged her, but didn’t say a video was responsible. Cortney has more on that here.
HH: And I’m honored now to be joined by Dorothy Woods, who is the wife of Ty Woods, Navy SEAL, hero of Benghazi, defending, defender of the Benghazi compound during the long 13 hours we saw on film. Dorothy Woods, welcome, it’s good to speak to you on air.DW: Thank you, Hugh. Good morning, thank you for having me.
HH: My pleasure. Dorothy, I’d like to start maybe at the end of our conversation. Your reaction to the Khan-Trump controversy involving the Gold Star family that are the Khans and Mr. Trump?
DW: Yes. Well, first and foremost, I would never, ever want to wish a Gold Star status on anyone. But I also truly believe that it should never be used as an excuse or a shield when we hear something, and when I say we collectively, the Gold Star families, when we hear something that we don’t like. The way I see it is no one ever questioned Major Khan’s sacrifice or his service or his death. He was rightfully given full military honors, you know, like my family, his family, have lived under the benefit of American citizenship. And the second generation, Major Khan and myself, we’ve chosen to give back. I believe that Major Khan was an American first that day, and that’s very important.
HH: Dorothy Woods…
DW: My issue…
HH: Okay, go ahead.
DW: So my issue here is I believe that the Khans are only public because they are Muslim. And to me, that sends the wrong message that they are more important than the rest of us. No loss is more or less important than the other.
HH: Let me ask you as well about the Purple Heart controversy since it’s also recent. Donald Trump was given a Purple Heart, for which some media people mocked him in his comments. What was your reaction to both the giving and the media reaction to Mr. Trump’s reception of the Purple Heart?DW: Well, I was disturbed that he was criticized for accepting the Purple Heart. Some have said that he should not have accepted it. As someone who has actually served, I understand what it means to give your award to someone. This is what men and women in military do. This is, they feel very strongly about this. It’s an honor to give your award to another. And for Mr. Trump, quite frankly, to not have accepted it would have been an insult. Now personally, when Ty died, men left their tridents on his coffin. They have, and still do leave, their awards at his grave. You know, in fact, someone left a Silver Star at his gravesite. And for them, it’s an honor, and more importantly, it’s for them to recognize him and his sacrifice. It’s more an honor, it’s more important for them to honor him than to have that honor for themselves. So that’s how I feel about it.
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Yet, getting back to the Purple Heart and the Kahns. Yes, maybe the Khans are definitely more public because of their religious background. Certainly the Democratic Party wanted to highlight that point at the DNC—that Muslims are just as patriotic as any other American. Look! Their son sacrificed his life for our country. All of which is true. Captain Khan is a hero. He served with distinction. His hero was Sen. John McCain. Even if his parents are doing this for political purposes, it’s still not a fight worth having because of the former. There’s no victory in taking on a family who lost their son in service to our country. Again, even if they’ve become another set of attack dogs for the Democratic Party, you can’t win. All you do is create more negative media attention against you, which is precisely why Trump should’ve just left this family alone.
I can see the point that not accepting would’ve looked bad. I think the media is focusing on what Trump said afterwards.
“I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier,” he said.
Again, callous and ignorant of how these medals are awarded. It goes to the people who are willing to put their lives on the line, to get wounded or killed in actions against those forces that wish us harm. It’s not like winning the businessman of the year or getting your name featured in Forbes. It goes to incredible people who, for the lack of the better term, have more guts than most of us put together.
So, yeah—maybe Trump could’ve accepted the medal by simply saying thank you, thank you for your service…just incredible—and then moving on with the rest of his speech. He didn’t.
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