Outrageous…
College students spat on and harassed wounded veterans at their annual retreat in Panama City, Florida this week.
The students from Zeta Beta Tau fraternity also urinated on the American flag.
Is this what they’re teaching kids on college campuses today?
To spit on wounded veterans?
WJHG reported:
Twice a year Panama City Beach welcomes our wounded heroes into the community for the Warrior Beach Retreat, but an event aimed at honoring our nation’s veterans took a different turn at their hotel.
A group of college students didn’t show these veterans the respect they deserve.
“This retreat has just been an eye opener. It’s been more amazing than I ever thought it would be,” said Gina Harden, the wife of a wounded veteran.
Our community has always gone above and beyond to give them a heroes welcome. However, during this Warrior Beach Retreat it was a different story when it comes to some of our visitors.
Some veterans say they now know how Vietnam Veterans felt when they came home. They say they were subjected to similar harassment by a group of college students.
“They actually spit on me and my service dog as well, and that’s just so disrespectful and it hurts. I come and I feel honored and I feel safe and that I belong, but now I feel like I’m defending myself,” said wounded veteran Nicholas Connole.
Veterans say they were shocked at the level of disrespect these college students had. They told me that they threw beer on them from their balconies and even spit on them.
Linda Cope, founder of the Warrior Beach Retreat, says she’s never seen such disgusting behavior.
“They’re a total disgrace for our military,” she siad. “They were urinating on the American flag they were throwing things off of the balconies.”
These injured soldiers were staying at the Lake Town Wharf Resort at the same time students in the fraternity Zeta Beta Tau from the University of Florida and Emory University were in town for their spring formal.
The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity released a statement tonight on Facebook. The fraternity intends to turn the abusive incident into a “teachable moment.”