Tragic non-encounter at Dover Delaware transfer of SCPO Owens

William "Bill" Owens, we all grieve the tragic loss of your son. it was a brave act of "truth to power" when Mr. Owens said he decided not to meet with Donald Trump.

Thank you for being public about your valid criticism about the failed Yemen raid.  

Senior Cheif Petty Officer Ryan Owens of SealTeam6

As tragic as the transfer scenes are to watch when remains of American heroes are received at Dover Air Force Base, the strength of a father to refuse a meeting with President Trump took extra bravery. Mr. Owens instinctively knew, his son's death with Seal Team 6 in a failed Yemen raid was more than likely preventable.  

In fact, Donald Trump made the decision to send Seal Team 6 on a dangerous raid inside Yemen. Although Trump was on the job for only one week, Donald Trump made the decision to launch the raid while having dinner. For an unknown reason, Donald Trump was not in the situation room receiving intelligence when he made the decision to attack an al Qaeda enclave in Yemen. In fact, at the very time the raid was going down, Trump’s twitter account got a new post from himself. It was later deleted, but yes, at the time the raid went down, Donald was tweeting!

It's now the father of Senior Chief Petty Officer (SCPO) Owens, who was killed in the failed raid, who is calling for an investigation. For unknown reasons, the US Congress did not call for an investigation of this raid.  

On behalf of the victim's father, this is double bravery calling for truth in the face of the power of an ambitious Donald Trump, who made bad decision for the wrong reason. A Commander in Chief doesn't garner leadership by putting the lives of the military in harms way. 

FoxNews reports on the story from an interview in The Miami Herald:
Father of slain SEAL admits he didn’t want to meet Trump
MIAMI, Fl – The father of the Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen revealed that he did not want to meet President Donald Trump during his son's dignified transfer ceremony.

Bill Owens, father of Chief Special Warfare Officer Willian "Ryan" Owens, told Miami Herald that he refused to meet Trump and his daughter Ivanka who attended the ceremony at Dover Air Force Base, in late January.

William Owens, 36, was the only U.S. person to die in the January 27 raid on a suspected al-Qaida compound. Fourteen Al-Qaeda members were killed during the operation, which was carried out by SEAL Team 6. Others were killed as well, including the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki,

At the request of Bill Owens and his family, no media or any bystanders were allowed to attend the ceremony. He told the newspaper Friday, shortly before the ceremony they were informed that the President, his daughter and Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware were going to attend it.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to see him," Owens recalled telling the chaplain of Trump. "I don't want to meet the President."

“I told them I didn’t want to make a scene about it, but my conscience wouldn’t let me talk to him,” Owens told the newspaper.

The Miami Herald reported that Owens, a military veteran, "cringed at the thought of having to shake the hand of the president who approved the raid in Yemen that claimed his son’s life — an operation that he and others are now calling into question."

William Owens, a married father of three, was from Peoria, Illinios. He went through SEAL training in Coronado, California and was stationed in San Diego from 2003 to 2007. Owens was most recently based in Virginia Beach, Virgina.

Trump missed his main target in Yemen raid that killed 30 civilians and one US Navy SEAL SCPO Ryan Owens.