War vets react to Trump victory

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — A hand full of veterans watched on a large screen Wednesday as Hillary Clinton stepped to the podium and admitted defeat.

"I'm just so glad that (Donald) Trump won," veteran James Ritchie said.

Ritchie served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and is comfortable as a Trump supporter, despite the fact that the president elect has no political experience and never served in the military.

He believes Trump will make America a stronger global military force.

"The world has not been led right, and he is the man to do it," Ritchie said. "I couldn't be more happy that she lost the election."

Vietnam veteran Ron Glover said he couldn't trust Clinton as commander-and-chief and that controversy follows her.

He believes new leaders in the VA will do more for younger veterans from the war on terror, survivors of roadside bombs and those with post-traumatic stress syndrome.

"They are 30, 40 years my junior, and I just feel terribly sorry for what they are going through," Glover said.

Patrick Brown, an “Operation Desert Storm” veteran, said Trump doesn't respect the brutal side of war.

"I got and nephews, nieces and cousins still in the military, and I'm worried for them," Brown said. "He has given some reckless speeches that got to have you thinking."

Still, other veterans said they can't back Trump because he couldn't acknowledge Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war, as a war hero.

One veteran who voted for Clinton said people like him need to work for the change they want to see on a local level.

Cox Media Group