Danish veterans protest outside U.S. Embassy over Greenland, combat contributions

Hundreds of Danish veterans, many of whom fought alongside U.S. troops in the Middle East, staged a silent protest Saturday outside the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen in response to the Trump administration’s threats to take over Greenland and belittling their combat contributions.

“Denmark has always stood side by side with the USA — and we have showed up in the world’s crisis zones when the USA has asked us to. We feel let down and ridiculed by the Trump Administration, which is deliberately disregarding Denmark’s combat side by side with the USA,” Danish Veterans & Veteran Support said in a statement.

“Words cannot describe how much it hurts us that Denmark’s contributions and sacrifices in the fight for democracy, peace and freedom are being forgotten in the White House,” it said.

Danish veterans are furious at the White House’s rhetoric, which disregards Greenland’s right to self-determination, a territory of NATO ally Denmark. They also strongly object to President Trump’s claim that Denmark is incapable of protecting the West’s security interests in the Arctic.

On Saturday, veterans first gathered at a monument honoring fallen Danish service members, then marched to the nearby U.S. Embassy, where they observed five minutes of silence — one each for Denmark’s army, air force, navy, emergency management agency and police.

“We also want to tell Americans that what Trump said is an insult to us and the values that we defended together,” Soren Knudsen, vice president of Denmark’s veterans association, told the Agence France-Presse.

He added that the organizers were pleasantly surprised by the support they’ve received.

“It all started within the association and grew into a large event,” Knudsen said.

Danish combat veteran Martin Aaholm, who served in Afghanistan alongside U.S. troops and lost both of his legs to an improvised explosive device, told CBS News earlier this week that he feels “angry and betrayed” by Mr. Trump’s comments about Greenland and Denmark.

“I have sacrificed a lot of friends, family, girlfriends, all because I was placed on the path of helping America after 9/11,” he said, adding that it was worth helping America. “I was amazed that we would answer the call, us little Denmark. I was amazed that we were able to fight with the big guys.”

“I think America has lost its soul. It’s not the America I grew up with, where America was the defender of peace in the world and wanted to spread democracy,” Aaholm added.

Forty-four Danish soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, the highest per capita death toll among coalition forces. Eight more died in Iraq.

Tensions were further inflamed on Tuesday when 44 Danish flags — one for every Danish soldier killed in Afghanistan — that had been placed in front of the embassy were removed by embassy staff.

The embassy apologized and replaced them.

“We have nothing but the deepest respect for Danish veterans and the sacrifices Danish soldiers have made for our shared security. There was no ill intent behind the removal of the flags,” it said in a post on its Facebook page.

The State Department later said that, as a general rule, guard staff remove items left behind following demonstrations and other “legitimate exercises of free speech.” The flags were returned to those who left them, it said.