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Comedy content creator and Army officer Austin von Letkemann, known as “MandatoryFunDay” online, marked Veterans Day with a simple note of thanks, and then calmly batted away the politics that followed.
“Happy Veterans Day!… This is not an endorsement of the current administration, or any political administration or party for that matter,” he wrote in a post from Washington, D.C. “Democrat or Republican, it makes no difference to me. I just want veterans taken care of.”
Within hours, the comments section filled with both praise and pushback.
“This is quite an endorsement for a specific political party,” one user wrote. Another added: “My sympathies on having your existence utterly politicized, and used as a prop for convenience.”
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Austin “MandatoryFunDay” von Letkemann is shown at home in a photo shared with Fox News Digital. (Courtesy of Austin von Letkemann)
Von Letkemann, who’s built an audience of more than a million by blending military humor with everyday dad life, kept his footing. In an interview with Fox News Digital, he said the day should be about service, not picking sides.
“At the end of the day, I’m a uniformed service member. I’m apolitical by nature — I’m supposed to be,” he told Fox News Digital. “If the next administration is Democrat, and they invite me somewhere, I’ll go. If it’s Republican, I’ll go. I just want to support my community the best way I can.”
He’d spent the morning at Arlington National Cemetery, where he attended the wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a “surreal” moment he said he won’t forget. “You hear about this location a lot being in the military,” he said. “It was really, really cool… a ceremony as significant as this.”
The reaction to his post, he said, reflects a broader online dynamic around veterans. “People are very, very angry,” he said, stressing that frustrations can be valid. “But when a figure in government asks me to show up, and it has something to do with the military or veterans, I’m going to do my best to be there and support.”
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Austin “MandatoryFunDay” von Letkemann poses with service members on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (Courtesy of Austin von Letkemann)
He’s trying to keep the focus on veterans and on his work. Von Letkemann partners with veteran-led companies and groups like the American Legion and Black Rifle Coffee on projects meant to help the community; this fall, he boosted an effort to pay off $25M of veteran medical debt.
“It is an absolute privilege when I get to do stuff like this,” he said of Black Rifle Coffee’s Operation: Debt of Gratitude. “The military and veteran community has blessed me probably far beyond anything I deserve.”
The content creator also talked about why he leans so hard on comedy. “Comedy is like an equalizer — it disarms people,” he said. “We create barriers and division among ourselves… but if I can make you laugh, you’re my friend. If I can keep you laughing, you’re like my best friend.”
Veterans Day, he added, is also a day of reflection. “The moment I realized I had lost more friends to them choosing to take their own lives than I’d lost to combat… that moment was probably the most significant,” he said. “There are a lot of people that are not with us anymore for a lot of reasons. I’m very grateful that we celebrate those individuals.”
Austin “MandatoryFunDay” von Letkemann attends an American Legion event. (Courtesy of Austin von Letkemann)
He doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, especially on issues like veteran homelessness, but he points to two priorities: mental health and steady work. “One homeless vet is obviously too many,” he said. “If we got the mental health issues that a lot of veterans face under control and employment under control, I think that would alleviate a lot of that.”
Mostly, he wants the conversation, online and off, to arc toward grace. “There’s a lot of negativity from the community, and it’s really disheartening at times,” he said. “At the end of the day, we should all be supporting each other.”
As a father of four, von Letkemann says fatherhood changed his tone online: “Being the father of four daughters has definitely softened me… I have empathy at the forefront of my mind in the content that I make, and I think that displaying empathy is a strength.” He doesn’t keep strict Veterans Day rituals, but when he’s home, “I like to grill… my daughters love the chicken wings that I grill.”
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If there’s one line he hopes sticks with fellow vets, it’s this: “You can either laugh or you can cry. I choose to laugh.”
When asked what comes after service, he said every veteran has more to offer than they realize. “Everything you learned in the military is something that can make you successful,” he said. “Nothing can keep a veteran down.”
Jasmine Baehr is a Breaking News Writer for Fox News Digital, where she covers politics, the military, faith and culture.
