MINNEAPOLIS -- World War II veteran Don Holden said Wednesday that the sacrifices made by World War II soldiers which helped establish the U.S. as one of the most admired countries in the world was squandered by the Bush administration and would continue to be squandered under the leadership of presidential candidate John McCain (R-Ariz.).

“The thing that disgusts us veterans is that we left things in pretty good shape after World War II, but now the U.S. and the Bush administration have alienated people around the world,” Holden, who lives in Portland, said over the phone. “If I were the family of those troops, I would have to ask, ‘Why? Why after five years?’”

Holden may be asking that question himself. His grandson, who is a member of the National Guard, served for a year in Iraq. It moved Holden, who calls himself an “Eisenhower Republican,” to support Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

“Obama understands that the National Guard was never meant to be used as a foreign occupier,” Holden said. “And McCain wants to keep us at war.”

McCain will officially accept his nomination for president when he addresses the Republican National Convention Thursday night.