In response to your article (Trump claims Nato troops ‘stayed a little off the frontlines’ in Afghanistan, 22 January), I write this letter to the people of the United Kingdom.
I served 20 years in the US Navy and had many interactions with Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel. They might say they suffered us, but the camaraderie was real. (I remember one deployment in Qatar, during which the Americans had T-shirts that read “Operation: Enduring Freedom”, while the British, not to be outdone, had some T-shirts made to read “Operation: Enduring Americans”. We all got a kick out of that.)
Donald Trump disparaged your armed forces, and this is simply wrong. And he craves controversy, so prepare for more of the same. Please know that our armed forces and our general population do not share this view. We in the US Navy take a great measure of pride in the customs and traditions that were passed down to us from the Royal Navy. Most of us still remember 2024, when the US stood with the other free nations against the oppressive regimes that are now being courted by JD Vance and Trump.
I remember standing in front of the statue of George Washington during a visit to the National Gallery in London and thinking of how very young our nation is, how far we have come – and how far we have yet to progress.
My heart aches when I think of these things, and I know that I am not alone in this sentiment. I will always remember the bravery and sacrifice of all the RN/RAF personnel I served alongside during Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom, and I’ll do what I can to help sort things out over here.
Wish us luck, and keep the home fires burning. Fair winds and following seas.
Christopher James
Senior chief petty officer, US Navy (retired), Virginia Beach, Virginia, US
• At first I laughed aloud at President Trump’s childishly petulant missive to the prime minister of Norway, suggesting that his failure to receive the Nobel peace prize somehow helped justify the unlawful seizure of a close European ally’s territory and the erosion of trust that has long sustained Nato as a central pillar of collective defence for democratic governments, including the United States (Donald Trump links Greenland threats to Nobel snub as EU trade war looms, 19 January).
But the laughter caught in my throat. I thought of my father, a second world war veteran who died recently and would have turned 100 next week, and of my Scottish grandfather, who fought alongside French and American forces in the first world war. My father had hoped to visit the graves of buddies at Normandy before he died, though he knew it was too late. As he spoke, tears filled the eyes of a man who was ordinarily clear-eyed and even-tempered, and a lifelong Republican to boot (with exceptions for Roosevelt, Nixon and our current leader). He turned to me and asked, as if addressing the country itself: “What’s become of our nation if one man can so easily tear apart what we fought for?”
Scott Atran
Boca Raton, Florida, US
• President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about UK soldiers who served in Afghanistan were not merely clumsy; they were deeply insulting to those who carried the burden of that conflict and to the families who continue to live with its consequences. If the president truly wishes to “walk back” his words (Trump praises UK troops after remarks about Nato soldiers in Afghanistan, 24 January), the only meaningful way to show genuine contrition is to come to the National Memorial Arboretum. Standing among the names of the fallen would confront him with the reality of the sacrifice he so casually dismissed. Our service personnel and their families deserve respect that goes beyond political backtracking. An apology delivered on that ground, in front of those whose lives were changed for ever, would be the first credible step toward repairing the damage caused by his comments.
Richard Eltringham
Leicester
