A retired Marine and double amputee said Americans shouldn’t feel guilty about celebrating the traditional start of summer during the Memorial Day weekend, adding that fallen service members would want to be remembered but that Americans should enjoy themselves.
“I don’t agree with the rhetoric that we can’t celebrate,” retired Staff Sgt. Johnny Joey Jones, a Marine bomb disposal technician who lost his legs in Afghanistan, said on Fox News Monday. “I was there, and I witnessed men laying their life down for this country. I can tell you every one of them that I ever knew would want us to enjoy today and do it in remembrance.
“It’s OK to cook out. I don’t believe in guilt patriotism; I don’t believe in looking for the tears,” he continued. “I believe in celebrating. I believe these men and women that have laid their lives down deserve that. And so, for me, today is a very happy day because I get to remember those guys and gals that are my heroes.”
Jones, who has worked with NASCAR, said the NFL could learn from the organization when it comes to dealing with the issues of patriotism and sports.
Jones was referring to the NFL’s recent decision to require players to stand for the national anthem but allow them to stay in the locker room for the song if they choose.
“NASCAR knows its place in our society. It’s in entertainment. One of the things that NASCAR went through just a few years ago was removal of rebel flags from events. That was something that the fan base understood, accepted and embraced,” he said.
“There is a NASCAR driver diversity program. The same issues that maybe Colin Kaepernick or some of the NFL players bring to life exist in every walk of life, but NASCAR’s learned to embrace those issues and tackle them as a community. Not in a divisive way.”
