Over 15 years ago, Danish platoon leader Martin Tamm Andersen was guiding his troops alongside U.S. Marines through the scorching sands of southern Afghanistan following a Taliban assault.
As his vehicle traveled at the back of the convoy, everything seemed normal—until suddenly, a cloud of dust enveloped everything. Andersen felt his body convulse violently.
“I had no idea what was happening,” he recalled. He checked his arms and legs to make sure he was still intact.
When the dust cleared, he saw one soldier bleeding profusely from the face, and another thrown from the turret, lying on the ground with two broken vertebrae. The explosion had torn their vehicle apart. Andersen quickly called for support from the U.S. Marines, who stopped a firefight with the Taliban, secured the area, treated the wounded, and assisted with evacuation.
At that time, American and Danish forces were united in their mission, risking their lives for one another.
Now, Andersen struggles to comprehend the state of the U.S.-Danish relationship as President Donald Trump ramps up his threats to seize Greenland, a semiautonomous Danish territory. Trump has repeatedly suggested the U.S. should take control of the strategically significant and mineral-rich island, even hinting that force could be an option.
“When America called on us after 9/11, we answered,” the 46-year-old veteran told The Associated Press.
“As a Dane and a veteran, it’s shocking and saddening to think the U.S. would consider taking over part of Denmark,” he said. “It feels like a betrayal of our nation’s loyalty to both the U.S. and our shared alliance through NATO.”
Andersen spoke from the Danish War Museum in Copenhagen, where the armored personnel carrier he was in when it struck an IED in Helmand Province in 2010 is now displayed.
Before Afghanistan, Andersen had served in Iraq, where he also saw friends killed and injured. He viewed his contributions to U.S.-led operations as part of a larger fight for freedom and democracy.
‘It feels surreal’
The U.S.’s growing pressure on Greenland has left many in Europe initially shocked, and now feeling deep sadness, betrayal, and concern for regional security amid Russian aggression. Denmark’s prime minister has warned that such a move could undermine NATO.
For Danish veterans, the threat is intensely personal. Denmark, a NATO member since 1949, has been a committed ally. Forty-four Danish soldiers died in Afghanistan—the highest per capita loss among coalition members—and eight more in Iraq.
“It feels surreal, almost like a bad joke,” Andersen said. “It’s hard to imagine that something like this is actually being proposed.”
Putting medals and flags away
Søren Knudsen, another Danish veteran who served twice in Afghanistan, was shocked last year watching U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Fox News claim Denmark wasn’t “being a good ally.” Vance echoed Trump’s argument that the U.S. needed more territorial control over Greenland to protect American security.
Knudsen, 65, keeps a photo in his Copenhagen home of himself surrounded by children in Qalat, Afghanistan. The mission, as he understood it, was to help secure a future for Afghan youth. After his second tour, U.S. forces gifted him an American flag. For years, he displayed it alongside a U.S. Bronze Star and other military awards. Recently, in protest, he packed both the flag and medal away.
He told his wife he would only display them again if the U.S.-Danish alliance were fully restored.
Knudsen, deputy president of the Danish Veterans Association, hears daily from fellow veterans who are hurt and frustrated by Washington’s stance. “Many who have been wounded, physically or emotionally, feel this as a direct affront,” he said.
Understanding security, defending loyalty
Danish veterans are outraged that U.S. rhetoric ignores Denmark and Greenland’s sovereignty. They strongly reject claims that Denmark is incapable of safeguarding Arctic security after fighting alongside the U.S. in war.
Both Andersen and Knudsen acknowledge U.S. security concerns in the region but are confident Denmark remains committed to defending it within NATO. Both maintain friendships with American troops they served with, and Knudsen notes that his wife is American, with a brother-in-law who is a U.S. Marine, emphasizing that many Americans do not share Trump’s views.
Denmark already hosts U.S. forces under a 1951 defense agreement, including the Pituffik base in northwestern Greenland under the Pentagon’s Space Force. Denmark and Greenland have indicated they would welcome an increased U.S. military presence. Yet, Trump told The New York Times that “ownership gives you things and elements that you can’t get from just signing a document.”
Knudsen said the idea of a U.S. takeover of Greenland would bring him to tears. “It would feel like the final blow to NATO and would shatter my admiration for the American experiment over the past 250 years,” he said.
