Why would I admit this? It started innocently enough. My mother was Danish American. She told me that Leif Erikson was my ancestor. That sounded cool when I was a young man, to be related to the first European discoverer of America. That was about 500 years before Columbus brought over three boatloads of Hispanics with no visas.

I inherited from my mother many of her books, including a History of the Kingdom of Denmark. I realized then that my Viking ancestors were pirates, thieves, murderers and rapists. I discovered that I shared my ancestor Leif with at least a third of Europe. There was nothing to be proud of. There was no “international law” at his time, but what Vikings did would be considered “war crimes” today.

I am proud of my Danish grandfather who played semi pro soccer for the Copenhagen team in 1910 and enlisted in the American Army in World War I. He died of malaria, contracted while he was in service. I am proud of our Danish cousin who was part of the Danish Resistance in World War II. He was tortured by the Nazis.

The Danes were the only occupied European country that effectively protected the Jews. When the Nazis ordered all Danish Jews to wear the Star of David (so they could be identified), the King of Denmark wore a Star of David riding his horse through public parks to encourage all Danes to wear the same star. When the big roundup of Jews was imminent, many, if not most, Jews were secretly sent one night across “the sound” to neutral Sweden for safety.

What does this have to do with current events? Leif’s dad, Eric the Red, settled in Greenland. From there Leif set out to discover North America. He conquered Labrador. Danish runes have been found as far west as Minnesota. The Danes have never claimed any part of Labrador or Minnesota, but, contrary to misinformation, they and the Inuit have been the real “owners” of Greenland for 1,000 years, not 300 years as some claim.

The United Nations Charter and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are treaties which the US Senate ratified. Under the United States Constitution, Article VI second paragraph, these treaties are the ”supreme Law of the Land.” By the US Constitution, Article II section 3, the President is required  to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”

The UN charter prohibits aggressive war and even the threat of such war. Article V of the NATO Charter requires every member state to come to the aid of a member attacked. If the US Navy attacked Greenland, our Army and Marines would be required to defend Greenland. That would be awkward. All the European powers would be obliged to defend Denmark from America. That could be bloody.

A dozen Nazi and Japanese generals were hung by the neck for the War Crime of aggressive war.

It is not ambiguous or nuanced whether an order from the civilian authorities to the military to attack Greenland  would be an unlawful order. Every member of the military from generals to privates would be legally obliged to disobey that order.

When I was 17, I enlisted in the Marine Corps. I never went to Vietnam. During that war the question of whether illegal orders should be disobeyed was covered. As a private, I was told that if I received an unlawful order, I was to disobey it. The president now says he will not use force to take Greenland, which would have been good information for our allies to have earlier. But if he changes his mind again, the US military won’t legally be allowed to help.

Paul “Skip” Stam works as a real estate and state constitutional law in Apex. He served 16 years in the NC House, the last 10 years as the GOP leader or speaker pro tem. Stam serves on the John Locke Foundation board.