SHARE THIS

Now that the election is over I want to put an end to a whisper campaign that began before the May Primary.

I’m not going to rehash how my military discharge status became a subject of suspicion and accusation. If you don’t know, you can find that out by doing a search on this site.

I do want to make it clear that Betty-Jo Bonners, the Republican candidate in this past election, did not participate in this whisper campaign.

Betty-Jo did not, to my knowledge, engage in any personal attack on any candidate and her approach to the election resulted in a very good showing at the polls. She failed to obtain a seat on Council by only 9 votes.

With 4 years ahead of me on Council I want to make sure every resident I represent, including those who do not vote or take no interest in local politics, knows the truth about my discharge status from the U.S. Navy.

With Veterans Day arriving tomorrow, it does ruffle my feathers when someone asks me about a rumor they heard regarding my discharge from the military. Though, I do give those who approach me, credit for having the decency to ask me directly about it.

The government affords every veteran 62 years of information privacy for a reason. Our DD-214’s contain a lot of personal information, including our Social Security Number. Some of it may contain information that a Vet may only want to share with family and not the public.

To put this particular whisper campaign in the same trash can as the others, I am displaying my DD-214 for all to see only that information which I have publicly stated in the past (discharge status, rating (job), years of service).

The rest of it will remain private.

The only other non-family member to have seen my unredacted DD-214 was fellow Navy Veteran and Councilman Paul James, who publicly verified my discharge was Honorable.

Should anyone else want an unredacted copy it will be available from the National Archive in 2044.

CLICK HERE for my DD-214.

Thank You,

Matthew A. Dees