93°F
weather icon Cloudy
Las Vegas, NV
Nation and World

WWII veteran kneels in support of NFL anthem protests

World War II veteran John Middlemas kneeling in support of NFL protests during the national athem. (BrennanmGilmore/Twitter)
More Stories
This image released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, shows a Ryobi-branded elect ...
780K pressure washers under recall after reports of explosions, impact injuries
Firefighters work on the site of a burning building after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, ea ...
At least 18 killed in major Russian attack on the center of Kyiv
Crosses, flowers and other mementos were places by the sign at Annunciation Cathic Church at a ...
Police: Minneapolis church shooter filled with hatred, admired mass killers
New COVID shots approved, but FDA limits access for many Americans
The Associated Press
September 25, 2017 - 8:23 am
 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — On a day when NFL teams grabbed the nation’s attention by coordinating demonstrations during the national anthem, a 97-year-old World War II veteran went viral with a solitary show of support for the protests.

Brennan Gilmore posted a Twitter picture Sunday morning of his grandfather, John Middlemas, kneeling while wearing a veteran’s cap. Gilmore wrote: “My grandpa is a 97 year-old WWII vet & Missouri farmer who wanted to join w/ those who #TakeaKnee: ‘those kids have every right to protest.’”

Middlemas is a farmer from Willard, Missouri. He tells the Springfield News-Leader he wanted to communicate “that you have to love everybody.” He adds: “We don’t kill people. We want to make people live.”

The image has been shared hundreds of thousands of times on Twitter.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Firefighters work on the site of a burning building after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, ea ...
At least 18 killed in major Russian attack on the center of Kyiv
By Hanna Arhirova and Samya Kullab The Associated Press

The Kremlin said Russia remained interested in continuing peace talks despite Thursday’s air attack, which was one of the war’s biggest since it began in 2022.

Crosses, flowers and other mementos were places by the sign at Annunciation Cathic Church at a ...
Police: Minneapolis church shooter filled with hatred, admired mass killers
By Giovanna dell’Orto, Steve Karnowski, Mark Vancleave and Hallie Golden The Associated Press

Investigators have recovered hundreds of pieces of evidence from the church and three residences, and are seeking warrants to search devices, Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said.

During Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort, Mickey Mouse and friends don brand-new Halloween-th ...
It’s the cheapest time of the year to visit Disneyland right now
Brady MacDonald, The Orange County Register

The start of Disneyland’s busy Halloween season is also one of the cheapest times of the year to visit the Anaheim theme park when bargain hunters can save more than $100 on tickets.

A giant dust storm approaches the Phoenix metro area as a monsoon storm pushes the dust into th ...
‘It was that bad’: Powerful haboob sweeps through Phoenix
By Ross Franklin and Hallie Golden The Associated Press

A towering wall of dust rolled through metro Phoenix with storms that left thousands of people without power and temporarily grounded flights at the city airport.

MORE STORIES