reactions

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – With the conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensifying, many here at home are watching and are concerned.

“It’s really heartbreaking because you see a regime with a dictator basically who has invaded a nation that was no threat to them to take it over to rule,” David Trogdon, a retired veteran & HOPE Project Chaplain, and Director said.

Local veterans are speaking out. Trogdon said he has been watching like most of the world, as Russia invades neighboring Ukraine.

“You see the lives that are being lost with this invasion of Ukraine. The people of Ukraine. Fighting and dying for their nation and their freedom,” Trogdon said.

“I think the Ukrainians have a lot of pride in their country. They’re going to want to defend what they have,” Bill Danka, a Retired U.S. Navy Commander, said.

Local veterans want to emphasize as we watch the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine to also remember the families that are left behind. Waiting on their loved ones.

“One of the things that I would say is it doesn’t matter if you’re Ukrainian, Russian, American. When you’re serving your country’s military, your job is to take care of your country and also your family,” MSgt. Laura Bosco, United States Air Force, Retired/HOPE Project, Inc. Equine Professional & Riding Instructor said. “You are defending your homeland and those individuals that are young and going. As well as the old that are going to fight, that is important to know your family is behind you.”

But for these veterans, they’re hoping and praying.

“Prayers out to the Ukrainian people and hopefully there will be some sort of solution that doesn’t require a loss of life by a lot of civilian people,” Danka said.

“Pray for the people of Ukraine who are fighting and dying. We pray for our leaders to make the decisions that need to be made. We pray for those that are deployed. We pray for those that are getting ready to deploy,” Trogdon said.

“I think it’s important that we pray for them, I think it’s important that no matter what you think of the situation. That you remember this is another person, another human being. Someone that is fighting for a cause that we believe in and we should be supportive of that,” Bosco said.

The veterans we talked to also tell us they hope American troops won’t have to get involved.

“We need to not involve Americans in that. Just because of the geographics of the area. I mean the area is pretty much completely surrounded by Russia and all their stuff. There isn’t much we could do over there even if we wanted to,” Danka said.

“What does it mean for our military who are sons, and daughters, and fathers, and mothers, husbands and wives and children. What’s going to happen with them and so there’s a lot of things we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Trogdon said. “But as a military, we have to always to deploy and fight our nations battle. As the military, we don’t make decisions on that national level. We do what we’re told to do. It’s our families that ultimately have to pay the high price.”

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