6/6/2021

My dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            It’s been 77 years since US teenagers exited their Higgins boats amidst intense enemy fire to scramble up the dunes of Normandy. 2501 of those kids died that day. As you may know my uncle, Stephen Ambrose, shared the stories of many of the survivors but I’m afraid he didn’t write about the heroics of Cpl. Waverly B. Woodson (WBW) Jr. who was a 21-year-old medic when he got wounded when his landing craft was hit by a shell. Despite the severe injury, WBW set up a first-aid station & was responsible for saving the lives of 200 men during his 30-hour stint during the invasion. Because he was Black, he didn’t receive a Medal of Honor even though generals urged President Roosevelt to give him one.  I hope you will remedy this grave omission.

            Kansas City just remedied a grave omission. They were one of the few cities in the country without a MLK Jr. roadway. Yesterday they unveiled the signs that rename a 5-mile strip through downtown. Mayor Quinton Lucas says they’ll be investing in road beautification to make the Boulevard live up to its name. I look forward to visiting it sometime soon.

            I hope your preparations for your G7 visit are going well. I’ll be interested in seeing if the group develops a strategy for dealing with XJ & the CCP. Apparently, XJ just gave a conciliatory speech where he expressed the importance of presenting a more lovable & humble image to the world. According to FP Chinese nationalism has gotten out of control & “China has poisoned itself through its own rhetoric.” They say China is flailing now which makes them dangerous. Please remind our friends at the G7 that war is not the answer.

            HYITL,