‘It was a beautiful country, somebody is messing this place up’: WWII veteran, 100, who said America is ‘going to hell in a hand-basket’ says when he was in the Marines there was no time to celebrate July 4
- Speaking to DailyMail.con on Monday, Florida veteran Carl Dekle, who turned 100 last week, gave a heartbreaking assessment of the state of the country
- During a celebration of his 100th birthday at a church service in Plant City, Dekle said that America was ‘a beautiful country, but ‘somebody is messing it up’
- Dekle’s daughter said her father is concerned about the recent bruises to US democracy, including the Capitol riot and the alarming mass shootings epidemic
- ‘If you don’t like something, you talk to [legislators], not shooting people,’ he said
- Remembering his time in the Marines, Sergeant Dekle also said there was no time for celebration on July 4 back then, as he was fighting the enemy
A 100-year-old World War Two veteran who said that America is ‘going to hell in a hand-basket’ in a tearful interview has hinted that he fought for freedom which the country does not value.
Speaking to DailyMail.con on Monday, Florida veteran Carl Dekle, who turned 100 last week, gave a heartbreaking assessment of the state of the country he fought for 80 years ago.
‘Instead of the way we are going in our demonstrations, [we should go] through our legislators, who are elected. And if we don’t like the way they operate, then you get a chance to vote them out, and get new ones,’ Dekle said.
During a Sunday celebration of his 100th birthday at a church service in Plant City, Dekle also said that America used to be ‘a beautiful country, but somebody is messing this place up.’
Dekle’s daughter, Dorothy Shapiro, said her father is very concerned about the recent bruises to US democracy, including the January 6 Capitol riot and the alarming mass shootings epidemic.
‘If you don’t like something, you talk to [legislators] … not shooting people,’ Dekle said.
Remembering his time in the Marines, Sergeant Dekle also said there was no time for celebration on July 4 back then, as he was fighting the enemy on the frontline.
‘Well, the first Fourth of July, from the 4 to the 14 [of July 1941], we were shipped from Guantanamo, going down to Culebra, Puerto Rico, to do more practice landing. No celebrations whatsoever,’ Dekle told DailyMail.com.
Speaking to DailyMail.con on Monday, Florida veteran Carl Dekle, who turned 100 last week, gave a heartbreaking assessment of the state of the country he fought for 80 years ago
Remembering his time in the Marines, Sergeant Dekle also said there was no time for celebration on July 4 back then, as he was fighting the enemy on the frontline. Above, Dekle pictured in the 1940s
Sergeant Dekle told DailyMail.com that he believed the best way to boost morale in the US was to strengthen our democracy and moral values.
‘My thoughts and fears at this time is that our people are being led to [a socialist] government, which I certainly disagree with entirely,’ Deckle said.
‘[My advice to future generations is] that they join their churches … To have freedom of religion. We should advance our religion as much as we can.’
Speaking to the Plant City Courier & Tribune in 2009, Dekle highlighted the sacrifices he and many of his Marine Corps friends had made for Americans to enjoy their freedom.
‘I want the young kids to realize that freedom comes with a heavy price. It isn’t given to people out of the goodness of others,’ he told the outlet at the time.
‘It’s something you have to fight and sometimes die for.’
Sergeant Dekle told DailyMail.com that he believed the best way to boost morale in the US was to strengthen our democracy and moral values
Speaking to the Plant City Courier & Tribune in 2009, Dekle highlighted the sacrifices he and many of his Marine Corps friends had made for Americans to enjoy their freedom
During a Sunday celebration of his 100th birthday at a church service in Plant City, Dekle also said that America used to be ‘a beautiful country, but somebody is messing this place up’
During his time in the Marine Corps, Sgt Dekle braved snipers, anti-tanks and heavy machine-gun fires.
According to the Wall of Valor Project, he ‘inspired his unit to exert maximum effort in assisting to capture and destroy the enemy position.’
‘Sergeant Dekle conducted his half-track across a sandpit in the face of intense hostile fire and, keeping his vehicle abreast of the assault troops, directed his crew in delivering accurate fire at point-blank range,’ the post read.
In 1941, Dekle was stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before being transferred to defend an air base on the island of Upolu in British Samoa the next year.
His tour of the Pacific also included more than two years of fighting in the Solomon Islands. He returned to the US in 1944, and was stationed at a naval base in Daytona Beach.
Dekle’s resilience and perseverance remain strong to this day. During his birthday celebration on Sunday, he graciously addressed the crowd and even sent them into laughter.
‘Now let me speak, Pastor,’ Dekle said while holding onto the microphone, causing churchgoers to chuckle.
The war veteran then became emotional as he recalled how many of his friends had made the ultimate sacrifice.
‘There were no heroes, we were all scared to death. You don’t have any heroes; you have fellows who did what they were taught to do!’ he said.
‘Those old-timers, they trained us, and trained us well.’
In 1941, Dekle was stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before being transferred to defend an air base on the island of Upolu in British Samoa the next year
His tour of the Pacific also included more than two years of fighting in the Solomon Islands. He returned to the US in 1944, and was stationed at a naval base in Daytona Beach. Above, Dekle with his unit i Papua New Guinea in 1943
In an interview with Fox13 last week, Dekle said that while fighting in the war was his biggest pride, slain soldiers had not died for the America of today.
‘People don’t realize what they have,’ Dekle told the outlet.
‘The things we did and the things we fought for and the boys that died for it, it’s all gone down the drain. Our country is going to hell in a hand-basket.’
Dekle became inconsolable as he spoke about the contrasts between the America he grew up in and the current state of affairs in the country.
‘We haven’t got the country we had when I was raised, not at all,’ he said.
‘Nobody will have the fun I had. Nobody will have the opportunity I had. It’s just not the same. And that’s not what our boys, that’s not what they died for.’
Dekle said he had lived a good life and hinted at his appreciation for the little things as the reason behind his longevity and good health.
‘I really believe in this whole world and believe everything is beautiful. I mean if I wake up in the morning and see these plants, and all of those flowers, and the green grass in the ground, that’s beautiful,’ he told Fox13.
He proudly showed off his many medals from his time in the Marines. Among them, a Silver Star he was awarded for fighting in the First Marine Division during World War II.
‘He inspired his unit to exert maximum effort in assisting to capture and destroy the enemy position,’ an online description of the award read.
‘By his personal courage, bold leadership and staunch devotion to duty, Sergeant Dekle upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.’
Dekle’s remarks come as a recent wave of violence, mass shootings, inflation, and controversial decisions by America’s highest court have hindered the country’s morale.
A Gallup poll released in June revealed that a record-high 50 percent of Americans rated the U.S.’s moral values as ‘poor.’
78 percent said the values in America are getting worse, and only 12 percent rated the state of moral values as ‘good.’ Just 1 percent rated them as ‘excellent.’
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