Daily Local, 4/20/2022- LETTER: Story on Houlahan’s ties to Ukraine hits home

By Rick Ammons

Your article on Andrew Jampoler and his daughter Chrissy Houlahan really resonated with me and refreshed my ardor for democracy. I did not migrate from Ukraine in the turmoil and aftermath of WWII and the Iron Curtain falling, but his career and mine mimicked each other: a career in the U.S. Navy, Vietnam service and years working in the national security aerospace industry.

He, Chrissy and I all share the same love of freedom, democracy and concern about the direction our country may head: Putin disguised his autocracy and brutality early on but has made it clear now who he is and what the world community of free nations must be. As Andrew, Chrissy and I feel in our bones, freedom’s light glows brighter when we stand up for others whose freedom is under attack, when we demand truth and transparency and when we advocate for a unified United States response to aggression.

I admire and count on Chrissy’s resolve and ability to work across the aisle in Congress so that the full weight of the US is behind our efforts to support freedom in Ukraine on behalf of all Ukrainians and the 5 million who have emigrated for safety.