Why This Politician Kept His Distinguished Military Service A Secret From Voters
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on October 18th, 2014 11:08 pm by HL
Why This Politician Kept His Distinguished Military Service A Secret From Voters
Seth Moulton was awarded two medals for heroic service in Iraq, but you won’t hear him talk about it on the campaign trail.
The post Why This Politician Kept His Distinguished Military Service A Secret From Voters appeared first on ThinkProgress.
CREDIT: AP
Smiling spouses are a plus. Young children even more so. Come from a well-known, highly regarded family? That’s another bonus. But there might be no greater asset for a candidate for public office than a distinguished military career.
But one Democratic congressional candidate in Massachusetts has taken a very different approach to his military record: rather than run on it, Seth Moulton has kept hidden his acts of heroism from his time in Iraq during the early stages of the invasion in 2003 and 2004.
According to his military record obtained by the Boston Globe, Moulton was awarded the Bronze Star medal for valor and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal for valor for leading his platoon into battles south of Baghdad.
You wouldn’t know it from Moulton’s campaign though. Whereas many candidates put their military careers front and center, Moulton kept his accolades out of the public eye, even leaving his own parents in the dark until this past week.
Moulton explained his decision as a matter of respect for those who served and continue to serve. “There is a healthy disrespect among veterans who served on the front lines for people who walk around telling war stories,” Seth Moulton told the Globe.
Moulton defeated incumbent John Tierney in the Democratic primary, and is running against Republican Richard Tisei in the sixth congressional district.
The post Why This Politician Kept His Distinguished Military Service A Secret From Voters appeared first on ThinkProgress.
