"But those [Walz] served with say he stepped aside just as rumors started to circulate that they could be deployed." or....
"I have no particular thoughts on Tim Walz and him being a potential Vice President. He may well have "played the game" to get out of an Active Deployment. However, his particular circumstances are by no means unheard of or unusual within the Services."
"When soldier Kyle Miller was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq on June 29, 2006, the man expected to lead them into combat was not there.
"Tim Walz, who would go on to be Kamala Harris' running mate, left his Minnesota National Guard unit two months before it deployed - and some will never trust him again.
"That includes Miller's mother who delivered a damning verdict on Walz's character, accusing him of taking the 'coward's way out' and 'running away' by opting to campaign for Congress instead of going to Iraq to face danger with her son.
"In an emotional interview with DailyMail.com, nearly two decades after 19-year-old Kyle's death, Kathy Miller said: ‘I don’t think it’s fair that (Walz) takes credit when he didn’t step up to the plate.
" 'Walz claims a rank he never earned. When he was called to serve, and protect our country he didn’t.
" 'To publicly present false prestige of his unearned rank an inaccurate representation, is a falsehood of who he truly is.
" 'My son stepped up to the plate. All our sons stepped up.
" 'My son wasn’t even 21 years old. He couldn’t even buy alcohol. Yet he took the step to serve our country while Walz found the best way to run away.'
" 'It was the coward's way out.' " . . .