To see a presidential candidate with a thumbs-up smiling photo at a soldier’s gravesite has sickened me. The candidate used Arlington National Cemetery’s Section 60, which is reserved for fallen veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, for a campaign ad.

I’ve toured that cemetery, and the experience stays with you forever. The silence is deafening and when people do speak, it’s with muted voices. It’s a sacred place, and a place of peace and reverence.

Those hallowed grounds are the final resting place for the nation's heroes, not a backdrop for political campaigns. To see this or any public figure acting as political pawns at Arlington National Cemetery is an embarrassment to our country.

Teresa Jenkins

SaddleBrooke

Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.

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