You Won’t Believe the Racist Things This 80-Year-Old Vietnam Vet Said That Cost Him His Job

The year 2023 didn’t turn out great for everybody, especially for one Joe Abodeely—who had his life’s work closed down due to his own stupid, hateful and discriminatory words.

Abodeely is a Vietnam War veteran who has been the curator of the Arizona Military Museum in Phoenix for the last four decades. Only recently was he forced to step down after the museum was closed permanently.

In a letter sent to Abodeely in May 2023, Arizona National Guard Brigadier General John Conley claimed that the Vietnam war veteran made some bigoted statements during a tour he was leading in February 2023.

The letter was obtained by the Arizona Republic in November.

Specifically, General Conley claimed Abodeely said, “Eventually they will replace me with some gay, Black, woman, woke Jew who will ruin the place.”

More from the Arizona Republic:

The letter said Abodeely also used profanity on the tour, called “all Americans” stupid, and “told the members of the tour group that they knew nothing of the realities of the Vietnam era because they were too young, brainwashed, stupid, duped, uneducated, or uncaring.”

That conduct was “unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” the letter read.

Abodeely has nobody to blame but himself. Shortly after the letter went public, he was ordered to go through diversity, equity, and inclusion training by the Arizona National Guard.

Yet still, despite the warnings he was given, he continued to make more hateful statements. In an interview with a reporter, he allegedly claimed that a mannequin of a soldier with a “hand on its hip” was meant to represent gay soldiers, according to the Arizona Republic

As a result, Abodeely has stepped down as the curator.

Even though the war vet is no longer involved with the museum, it’s still going through some tough times. For the last couple months, the museum has been closed due to state support being removed.

The Arizona National Guard is currently looking for someone else to run the museum and has plans to open it again to the public in the future.