OPINION:
Over Memorial Day weekend, 30 to 40 teens and young adults participated in the battering of three off-duty Marines at a Southern California beach as part of an attack that was captured on video. The attack erupted Friday night after the trio of Marines asked the youngsters to stop lighting fireworks near the San Clemente Pier Bowl.
“They were lighting off fireworks, they were being belligerent, they were being obnoxious and annoying other people, so I went up to them and told them to stop,” one of the Marines, Hunter Antonino, told KCAL in Los Angeles. “We told them we were Marines so they would leave, but they didn’t. They just kept going at it.”
Most of us have been taught to respect the military, even when they’re out of uniform, because they represent law and order and at times have risked their lives to protect the public.
But not these young people.
As tensions brewed, one of the teens yelled “Get the f—k outta here” before another person charged one of the Marines and punched him from behind. When the Marine defended himself by punching back, he was consumed by the mob and beaten, and they continued to batter him after he fell to the ground.
Then an all-out melee ensued, with a mob of teenagers and young adults attacking the three service members. Two of them were captured on video trying to protect themselves by crunching up in a fetal position as the teens continued to kick and punch them. The attack ended only after a man and a woman intervened and ordered the assailants to stop.
Fortunately, police have used the video to identify the assailants, and so far, nine arrests have been made. By Tuesday, five teens — four males and a female — were arrested on a charge of felony assault with a deadly weapon and subsequently taken to juvenile hall, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff’s deputies said they would continue to investigate the attack “until all individuals responsible are identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“This is considered an assault with a deadly weapon because of the amount of suspects we are investigating,” said Sgt. Frank Gonzalez, Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman. “The weapons that were used were their feet while these victims were on the ground. So, regardless if the victims choose prosecution or choose medical attention, the sheriff’s department is going to investigate this to the fullest and try to determine who the suspects are.”
While law enforcement officers are doing their part, the attack should come as no surprise in today’s America, in which the left continues to demean the military in all aspects of life. Schools vilify our forefathers like Gen. George Washington, who fought for our nation’s independence in the Revolutionary War. They degrade heroes like Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who fought to end slavery in the Civil War. Statues of military heroes are removed without regard to the price they paid in blood to earn their place in history.
Even the military itself is no sanctuary. Under President Biden’s leadership, soldiers have endured training in “wokeness” instead of readiness, destroying morale. Since Mr. Biden became president, military recruitment has hit an all-time low. Last year, the armed forces struggled to meet recruitment goals to the extent that some questioned its sustainability without a draft.
“This is the start of a long drought for military recruiting,” retired Army Lt. Gen. Thomas Spoehr of The Heritage Foundation told NBC last year, adding that “2022 is the year we question the sustainability of the all-volunteer force.” So far, the general’s prediction has been borne out.
By the end of fiscal 2022, the Army missed its recruiting goal by 25%, down 15,000 active-duty soldiers, and since then, fiscal 2023 projections have been bleak. The Air Force and Army both estimate they will fall short 10,000 troops, and the Navy expects to miss their goal by 6,000 sailors.
The San Clemente attack is one illustration of a growing problem that is likely to get worse until “woke” indoctrination ends and our youth learn to appreciate our men and women in uniform.
Meanwhile, those who engaged in these violent attacks should face incarceration so they have enough time to consider the gravity of their actions. Perhaps with enough time behind bars, they will learn to appreciate the civility of the society our service members protect and the freedom their sacrifice provides.
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