SCSU Hosting Veterans Day Program Thursday

(KNSI) – Central Minnesota veteran Paul Braun will be the speaker Thursday at a special program Thursday at Saint Cloud State University.

Braun says his message will be one of empowerment.

“Unfortunately, we’re now being portrayed in media circles as, you know, the downtrodden or the veterans that are having PTSD issues and we want people to know that we’re successful members of our society.”

Braun is a successful small business owner who runs a restaurant and bar called the Palmer House in Palmer, just north of Clear Lake.

Braun and his interpreter began a program to safely extricate Iraqis from the country because of the threat they faced for helping American soldiers. Braun says when the English pulled out of Basra he saw first-hand what happened to natives who worked with the troops after friendly soldiers were gone.

“All the British interpreters were literally abandoned overnight and within a day or two people started bringing us the bodies of the British interpreters. And they would say, ‘This is my father and my brother, my cousin, he was an interpreter for the British. The Militia came last night and executed him in front of the family, what can you do for us?'”

Their story was made into an Emmy-nominated documentary.

Braun’s interpreter, nicknamed Philip Morris because of his cigarette habit, had to watch 19 bodies pile up at the entry gate of the American base in Basra, all for doing the same job he had been engaged in.

His family remained behind, and when ISIS rose up in 2013 or so, it was a constant fear of Philip’s that they might be hurt or killed for what he had done during the war effort, says Braun.

“Being able to introduce an Iraqi to Minnesota and Minnesota Nice and Minnesota winters and anything that comes along with it. And as he said he wasn’t able to fully enjoy the freedoms that we have here in the United States until he was able to get his wife and children here. So, after battling the State Department for three years, we were finally able to get a visa and be able to extricate his family.”

Philip joins Braun on a speaking tour around the state, and he has even enjoyed a personal meeting with then-President Donald Trump. Braun says Philip’s daughter is now 18, and she just enlisted to serve in the U.S. Army.

Braun says there was a plan in place to pull interpreters out of Afghanistan as well.

“In Guam, at least we have an Air Force base set up there. So, we had billeting, we had housing, we had food services and the infrastructure there for them. It’s on an island, so it’s not like they can swim away. If they pass muster, we could bring them to the United States. If they did not, we were gonna send them back to Turkey. And then Turkey could either give them asylum or send them back across to Afghanistan.”

The plan fell through, and Braun found himself fielding calls from Senators like Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ted Cruz of Texas as they tried to create an alternative solution during the chaotic days of August 2021. Braun says they were able to get many out through the country of India.

The event begins at noon Thursday inside the Atwood Memorial Center. Learn more by clicking here.

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