A Gold Star mother who lost her son “never got a call” from former President Obama, but what she received from Melania Trump was priceless.
Amid the uproar over President Trump’s remarks about his predecessors not calling the families of fallen service members, Jill Stephenson revealed that she, too, never got that personal call from Obama when her son, U.S. Army Ranger Benjamin Kopp, died in 2009, Independent Journal Review reported.
The 21 year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the leg while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. His mother’s fears that he would lose his leg turned worse as Kopp ended up in a coma and died eight days after being admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center.
“I never got a call,” Stephenson told IJR.
“The Obamas never sent these, either,” the mother added, sharing a personal letter she received from First Lady Melania Trump.
“I wish to offer my heartfelt gratitude for the sacrifices you have made and the high price you and your family have paid to help ensure our freedom,” the September 2017 letter addressed to the Gold Star mom began.
“As a mother, you bear the burden of war in a very personal way. I want to take a moment, on Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day, to honor you and your son, Corporal Benjamin Kopp, who laid down his life to protect us, our country, and all we hold dear. His sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Trump continued.
“I hold you close to my heart and keep you in my prayers,” the letter concluded, signed by the first lady.
Gold star father on president ‘disrespecting’ soldier’s widow: Trump’s words were misconstrued
The letter is a loud and clear rebuttal to those criticizing the president this week when he discussed his plans to contact the families of the four U.S. Special Forces killed in an ambush in Niger earlier this month. Trump said he planned to call the families and noted that previous presidents had not generally contacted families by phone.
Trump breaks his silence on slain Green Berets–one thing he reveals should put his critics to shame https://t.co/sfn7lNFMyf pic.twitter.com/VgexfHBBy1
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) October 18, 2017
The backlash over his remark prompted the president to direct anyone questioning if Obama made calls to families of fallen troops to speak to Gen. John Kelly whose son was killed in Afghanistan in 2010.
White House says Obama did not call Kelly after his son was killed in battle https://t.co/HgnZ406KtZ pic.twitter.com/ud32yEs2Aa
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) October 18, 2017
Trump also came under fire when a Democratic congresswoman slammed him for what she claimed he said in a private phone conversation with he grieving widow of one of the fallen soldiers from the Niger attack. Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson bashed Trump on multiple news outlets for allegedly telling Myeshia Johnson that her husband, Army Sgt. La David Johnson, “knew what he signed up for … but when it happens, it hurts anyway.”
Trump fired back saying Wilson “totally fabricated” what he said.
With all the backlash from the left, Stephenson’s letter proves again what many military families already know: that this is one president who has total respect for those who serve their country.
Stephenson channeled her grieving into ways of helping others over the years since Kopp died. A vocal advocate for veterans’ issues across the country, she also became part of TAPS, a program that helps military families with the grieving process, according to IJR.
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Kopp bravely saved the lives of six of his fellow soldiers on the battlefield and impacted the lives of others even after his death. The story of his service and how he saved four more Americans, and impacted the lives of more than 60 others through his organ donations, is chronicled in the book, “Heart of a Ranger: The True Story of Cpl. Ben Kopp, American Hero in Life and Death.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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