A veteran from North Carolina took to social media to send a moving and heartfelt message to his colleagues: “Remember your oath.” In the TikTok video, the veteran can be seen wearing his uniform and patriotically standing in front of the American flag. He introduced himself, saying that he served in the Air Force and swore to defend the American Constitution. He further emphasized the terms of the oath, saying that the first part refers to protecting the Constitution against “all enemies foreign and domestic.”
He continued, explaining that in the following two parts of his oath, he had sworn to obey the president as the Commander-in-Chief and also follow his superior officers. However, there was a fourth part that he wanted fellow officers to pay attention to. “It mentions the UCMJ… And to the veterans and the active duty members, that stands for the Unified Uniform Code of Military Justice,” the nervous elderly man shared.
He further explained that the UCMJ has a part that “gives every soldier, sailor, airman, marine, coast guardsman, and now space force the duty to not obey an illegal order.” Passing his message across, the veteran declared:
“I’m asking my fellow veterans to stand with the Constitution. And I’m asking all of our active duty brothers and sisters — remember your oath. We are not your enemy. We depend on you to protect us.”
He concluded, vowing to “stand beside” active duty members, should they choose to fight for them. “Please, remember your oath,” he reiterated.
In his post’s caption, the veteran stated that he was posting the video because of the happenings in the country. He likened the situation to that of another country, saying that what he can see on the news and videos “happened to another civilized nation back in the 1930s.”
The video gained much traction on social media, garnering over one million views, 167,000 likes, and over 28,000 comments. One user pointed out that since President Donald Trump has spoken against veterans, he is one of the “terrorists.” The comment read, “What our president has said about vets should be enough for all of us to realize he’s one of the domestic terrorists.”
One individual added, “MAGA wants people to be afraid to speak up. Speak Up 💙 💪🏼💙 💪🏼”
Other users supported the veteran, asking active duty members to listen to his pleas. One pointed out that “deporting naturalized citizens is trafficking.” The user stated that although it wasn’t in the law, it was “approved by House Republicans. So the fight is real.”
After the veteran’s initial video went viral, he recorded another video expressing gratitude to people for responding to him. He stated that he received hundreds of DMs from other veterans who resonated with his message and are as on edge as he is. He further encouraged everyone to “have faith” in the military and armed forces because they all took the same oath and are here to protect them.
