Our son Matthew always wanted to serve his country. He wanted to fly.
He joined the Florida Air National Guard and volunteered for an active-duty deployment. Suzi and I prayed for a boring tour.
God had other plans.
He was assigned to Dover Air Force Base - Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations. Not what we prayed for. Not what he pictured when he signed up.
Since then he’s been part of some of the hardest missions our military has faced this year. Active duty suicides. The B-52 crash at Edwards. And most recently, the loss of four Army service members in combat.
He flew out to Edwards to help recover the lost aircrew. Last week he drove the second van at the dignified transfer - the President, the Secretary of War, and my brother, Gen. Razin Caine, all present to receive them home.
He told us how hard it was to see the families. He cried.
Suzi and I won’t pretend we were happy when we found out where he was headed. But we know now - this is exactly where he is supposed to be.
Matthew hasn’t given up on flying. He’s planning to take his officer test, flying with the Aero Club, and working toward his pilot’s licenses. Those pursuits are on hold, not gone.
But right now, this mission comes first. And I believe this deployment is quietly preparing him for the work he’s already begun with @NoFallenHeroes Foundation - sitting with families in the worst moments of their lives, long after his tour ends.
Helping to heal our heroes at home
I also want to speak to AFMAO directly. What this unit does is sacred, and it rarely gets the recognition it deserves. They make sure our fallen heroes come home dignified and presentable to the people who love them most. There is no harder, more solemn duty in uniform.
We could not be more proud of our son and the men and women he serves alongside.
Please keep AFMAO in your thoughts and prayers - and the families of the fallen. And pray for peace.
Fight’s On.
@SuziNFH
I have said many times that Katie would still be alive if the policies implemented after the 2020 election had never happened.
That makes REAL transparency about 2020 deeply important to me.
I don’t want partisan assurances, from either side, or media conclusions.
I want facts, evidence and independent verification.
Look at New Jersey today: competing explanations don’t prove either side right. They prove why transparency and independent audits matter.
And in one-party Illinois, I fear we may never get real accountability or transparency on issues that could reflect poorly on those in power.
That is not healthy government, regardless of party.
Some of us have deeply personal reasons for wanting real answers, and we should be doing everything possible to prevent other families from ever having those same reasons.
The daily pain and anguish of losing Katie in this way can be unbearable at times.
Knowing that foreseeable consequences of self-serving, one-party political decisions contributed to that loss only compounds an already unbearable burden.
This was NOT simply a DUI case.
Pretending it was is dishonesty by omission.
That is why transparency and accountability matter.
🚨 Welcome to the ugly underbelly of academia, where Americans end up paying for institutional greed.
Penn State stuck their hands into your wallet and snatched $922.6 MILLION in federal funding last year.
President Neeli Bendapudi is from India. Her salary is $1.4 MILLION, but when you add her yearly bonuses and perks, it's an estimated $2.2 million with an automatic 3.5% raise each year through 2032.
Penn State will now raise tuition by 2.5%, while giving President Bendapudi an ADDITIONAL $210,000 yearly bonus.
Since February of this year, “Dead ICE Agents Can’t Kill” flyers have been seen across campus grounds.
Bendapudi, clearly an academic luminary, stated that she didn't know who was responsible for littering her campus with flyers calling for the deaths of federal agents.
There are approx 2000 security cameras at Penn State. She can't seem to find the culprits.
One of Bendapudi's shining accomplishments was authorizing more than $2 million in DEI spending.
Our Department of Education is on track to hand this campus an estimated $1 BILLION in federal funding for 2027-2027.
Holy smokes, we are being fleeced.
Father Larry Holland, a Catholic priest in Canada, was offered euthanasia twice after being hospitalized with a broken hip.
He was not terminally ill. Despite knowing that he was a priest and opposed to euthanasia, hospital staff suggested ending his life.
Today it’s “voluntary“ euthanasia. Tomorrow, forced. We must stop both.
Shame on those of you who use this tragedy to voice your political hatred! My only son was killed in Afghanistan at 21 years old under Obama/Biden. Not one person from the Obama administration was in Dover to attend my son’s dignified transfer ceremony. We lost our precious boy and didn’t even receive a phone call. So, when you make this and political, just know it would have meant the world to us to have anyone there honoring my boy when his body was returned after making the ultimate sacrifice for the people and the country he loved so deeply (even while wearing a baseball cap). 💔
There’s a time and a place and this is not it. Show some respect for these families, especially when you have no idea what they’re going through! 😡
@FoxNews Next level: The Under Secretary reports to the Secretary of the Smithsonian (currently Lonnie G. Bunch III), who heads the entire Institution and manages its day-to-day operations across 21 museums, libraries, the National Zoo, and research centers.
President Trump, please — don’t go to that White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
You’ve been far too gracious to these traitors. My heart still remembers how you reached out after the assassination attempt to make sure they were okay, even as they’ve spent ten brutal years lying, attacking, and trying to destroy you.
You’ve always led with real integrity, strength, and a caring heart they could never understand. They’ve repaid you with nothing but pure evil, hatred, and disgust for everything you stand for.
And then Thursday night — refusing to air your speech? That cut deep. It was one of the most disrespectful slaps in the face after everything you’ve endured for this country.
You deserve respect, loyalty, and honor. They deserve nothing from you.
You are our Commander-in-Chief. They are the enemy of the American people. Skip that dinner, sir.
We stand by you, we love you, and we have your back no matter what. They’ve earned your contempt, not your time. 🇺🇸
@mattvanswol Lord God I thank you for this humble, yet brave man. You created him and put him in the right place during this emergency. I pray for the woman and her family..heal her Jehova Rapha! I also pray for our nation...could we have more men like this?
Where's the media coverage??? White Oklahoma City grandmother, 85, beaten, r*ped, and m*rdered in her own home.
Ina was found tied upright to her bed with her own clothing. Her hip was broken, leading to fatal internal bleeding. The devout Christian had multiple bruises across her body.
Her granddaughter Melissa Garcia had visited the day before and given her an early Christmas gift — a new recliner. Ina called later that night to thank her and asked if she knew the Lord. Melissa now regrets not staying on the call longer.
“She loved people,” Melissa said. “All she wanted to know was, did you know the Lord?”
Cordell Wilson, 33, was arrested days later while breaking into another home just blocks away. DNA evidence linked him to the crime. Prosecutors are now seeking the death penalty.
This attack on an innocent elderly woman who lived her faith is pure evil.
Justice for Ina demands the maximum penalty. Pray for her family and support every effort to deliver it.
#JusticeForIna #OklahomaCity
@clanceman65 Jesus be real and active in our lives. Give us peace as we wait and trust. You told us you were coming back...make us ready for your return!
The New York legal system continues to make a parody of itself. Cynthia Nixon, who played a lawyer on HBO’s Sex and the City, has been appointed by New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson to screen and recommend candidates to serve on the state of New York’s highest court.
.@GovPritzker, several months ago I ran into Laura Fine, the Democratic state senator for my district (IL-09).
She knew nothing about Katie or the circumstances surrounding her death.
But the moment I asked whether there was any way ballots could be tied to illegal immigrants, the conversation, and her tone, immediately changed.
Her response wasn't concern or an explanation.
It was basically: "Prove it."
That's an inversion of responsibility.
Citizens shouldn't have to prove government systems are trustworthy. Government has the responsibility to demonstrate that they are through transparency, verifiable data, independent audits, and strong internal controls.
Not to mention Governor you spent years promoting Illinois as a welcoming sanctuary state without acknowledging the tradeoffs or the risks.
My family lives with one of those tradeoffs every day.
So when you tell Illinoisans to simply accept your assurances about another public institution, don't expect trust to come automatically.
As a lifelong Illinoisan, your words ring hollow.
Trust isn't earned by dismissing questions.
It's earned by answering them.