Military diversity something to be thankful for

Diversity in the ranks has been the lifeline of our military, but it wasn’t always that way.

We ought to be thankful for all of the men and women from a variety of ethnic backgrounds who put their lives in harm’s way to protect our freedoms and way of life.

When my father was inducted into the U.S. Army during World War II, our military was segregated. That lasted until 1948 when President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981. Truman recognized integration was key to winning the war in Europe.

For example, Japanese-American units (Nisei) fought with allied forces to liberate Rome and Dacha...