LINK: PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — A group of injured and wounded veterans on a retreat in Florida’s panhandle claim they were harassed by members of a University of Florida fraternity, according to WCTV sister station WJHG in Panama City.
Attendees and organizers of a retreat for veterans say they were shocked at the level of disrespect shown by the college students.
“They actually spit on me and my service dog as well and that’s just so disrespectful and it hurts. I come and I feel honored and I feel safe and that I belong, but now I feel like I’m defending myself,” said wounded veteran Nicholas Connole.
Veterans say the students spit at them and threw beer on them from their balconies.
“They’re a total disgrace for our military,” Linda Cope, founder of the Warrior Beach Retreat said. “They were urinating on the American flag and throwing things off of the balconies.”
The veterans were staying at the Lake Town Wharf Resort at the same time as members of Zeta Beta Tau chapters at the University of Florida and Emory University, who were both in Panama City Beach for their spring formal.
Cope says she did receive an apology letter from the University of Florida President who says he has started an investigation into the incident.
She also received an apology letter from the Zeta Beta Tau’s UF chapter president, who was present during the incidents. Cope says she has not heard anything from Emory University.
