A Chattanooga veteran of the Vietnam War said, “No one has fought harder for our active duty military and our veterans than Marsha Blackburn. We need to elect her to the Senate because the issues with the VA are far from solved.”
Terry Thomas wrote a column for the Times Free Press supporting Republican Marsha Blackburn in her U.S. Senate campaign against Democrat Phil Bredesen.
“I served in combat on the rivers in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy, and now I serve my fellow veterans as the quartermaster of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1289 here in Chattanooga. We have about 400 members, all of whom have served our country faithfully over the past several decades.
“Too often, our members find themselves unable to receive the care they need — the same care they have earned and were promised. Your heart will break hearing about what our veterans have to go through to get care from a dysfunctional Veterans Administration. President Trump is working to make the necessary changes that the Obama administration put off for too long, but he cannot do it alone. He needs senators and congressmen who are willing to work with him to get the job done. That’s precisely why I joined with a 1,000 veterans across the state in a coalition in support of Marsha Blackburn.”
Thomas detailed the challenges that Chattanooga veterans face in having to drive to Nashville for treatment and the many delays they face in receiving care. Trump signed he VA Mission Act to give veterans greater choice about how and where to receive treatments, he said.
Thomas said one of his reasons for supporting Blackburn is her support of President Trump. Blackburn (R-TN-07) on Tuesday released a campaign video touting Trump’s endorsement of her at a May rally in Nashville.
Thomas, a resident of East Brainerd, served four years in the U.S. Navy and spent one of those years in Vietnam. He also served as a Tennessee state trooper for 32 years. He has been the quartermaster at VFW Post 1289 in Chattanooga.
