At a vigil outside Alligator Alcatraz in Florida last week, 101-year-old World War II veteran Robert Hilliard delivered a powerful speech that has since gone viral. The vigil was held as detainees were transferred from the facility to other undisclosed locations by the Department of Homeland Security.
Veteran's Speech
Hilliard, a Purple Heart recipient, began by recounting his military service: “In February 1944, when I was 18 years old, I was inducted into the Army, and they sent me for basic training to Camp Blanding, which is near Jacksonville, Florida.” He noted the irony that the same Camp Blanding is now being used as a detention camp. “What they taught me to do there was to kill people who had set up detention camps in Germany. Can you imagine how I felt earlier this year when they announced that one of the future detention camps would be at that same Camp Blanding in Florida? What remarkable irony.”
Allegations of Fascism
Hilliard did not mince words: “We in this country have seen a remarkable change. And in Washington right now — and forgive me, I’m gonna use the ‘f’ word — we have a fascist, a fascist government that allows innocent people to be put in detention camps and incarcerated.” He accused the president of lying about the purpose of the camps, stating that while officials claimed they were for immigrants with criminal records, 71% of the 65,000–70,000 detainees do not have criminal records. “29% have criminal records. 71% of the people in these camps, even with our country’s and our government’s statements about why they set up the camps, don’t belong there!”
Call to Action
He closed with a rallying cry: “We’ve got to fight. We’ve got to keep fighting. We’ve got to reach people all over this country and tell them, ‘Don’t look away. See what’s happening.’”
Viral Response
The speech, filmed by PhD student Thomas Kennedy and shared on Instagram, received widespread support. One commenter said, “If a 101-yr-old Veteran who was trained to spot and kill fascists in the Second World War says that we have fascists running our country, who has the knowledge to step up and call him wrong? Nobody.” Another noted, “20 years older than trump and 20x more coherent.” The video also spread on X, where one user asked, “Can we plan a different America 250 festival and have guys like this talk?!”
