First of two parts
President Obama soon will roll out the White House’s red carpet to greet Vietnam’s Communist party chief Nguyen Phu Trong.
What is being swept under America’s dirty-secrets carpet is that Robert A. McDonald, his Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), has refused to approve and support emergency humanitarian housing and care at the Los Angeles National Veterans Home for thousands of war-injured, dispossessed Vietnam War Veterans.
Six months ago, Dick Southern, Region 9 Director of Vietnam Veterans of America (California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Hawaii, Guam and the Philippines), filed a formal request to host a crisis housing and care facility on VA property. Nearly half (47 percent) of all homeless American military Veterans today are from the Vietnam War.
John Rowan, national President and CEO of Vietnam Veterans of America, revealed an even more sobering fact: “Today there are more homeless Veterans from the Vietnam War era than were killed during the war. These Veterans are elderly, frail and in declining health. They are being forced to live in deplorable circumstances. Make no mistake, VVA is fully committed to ending these inhumane living conditions by ensuring that our fellow Veterans get the quality housing and care they need and deserve.”
WQhy does VA Secretary McDonald refuse to approve and support a crucial humanitarian housing and care Reception Center on the Grand Lawn of the Los Angeles VA for not only Vietnam War Veterans, but all war-injured, homeless Veterans?
It’s common knowledge that Los Angeles is our nation’s capital for homeless Veterans and the Los Angeles VA is the largest in the nation while nearly half the property is sitting idle — and the other half is illegally leased to wealthy and powerful non-Veteran entities.
It has become common knowledge that Secretary McDonald is beholden to the wealth and power that control this land illegally. This is what forced Los Angeles to become our nation’s capital for homeless Veterans.
Bitter End That Doesn’t End
Even before the Fall of Saigon ended the Vietnam War 40 years ago, America’s active duty troops returned home to a hostile greeting from America’s citizenry while the U.S. government built more than 1,000 tents and Quonset huts in less than a week at Camp Pendleton in 1975 to provide emergency humanitarian relief and warmly welcomed more than 50,000 Vietnamese refugees.
Today there are an estimated 60,000 homeless Vietnam War Veterans nationwide.
The same U.S. government that provided humanitarian relief for Vietnamese refugees has refused to provide the same kind of basic housing and care for disabled Vietnam War Veterans who fought the purported Communist enemy in their behalf.
What’s More Important?
Vietnam Veterans of America will be holding their national convention at Springfield, Il, July 21-25.
If this convention’s main topic isn’t about the U.S. government’s abuse, neglect and human rights violations against homeless Vietnam War Veterans, what could possibly be the most important item on their agenda?
In just a couple of weeks we will learn what the organization’s No. 1 priority really is.
Loyalty to His Wealthy Friends
On Aug. 29, 2013, disabled homeless Veterans won a federal judgment against VA bureaucrats. The verdict reinforced the very reason we hung the American flag in distress six years ago on the front gates of the VA. The goal was to send forth a public message that “life and property are in extreme danger,” i.e., disabled homeless Veterans’ lives and their deeded property.
On Jan. 29, Secretary McDonald came to Los Angeles. He manipulated a secret “settlement agreement” behind closed doors with two of his wealthy friends – attorneys Bobby Shriver and Ron Olson. Neither is a Veteran.
This threesome secretly finagled a reprehensible agreement that vacated Veterans long-sought and hard fought Judgment victory and then gave aid and comfort to the illegal occupiers of this sacred land.
More Lies and Cronyism
As predicted by the Old Veterans Guard, Secretary McDonald’s secret scam settlement is a Trojan horse. He lied about his promised mandatory exit strategy that would evict the nine illegal occupants from VA property.
To the contrary and shortly after the settlement announcement, Secretary McDonald secretly orchestrated a brazen “entry strategy” with additional backroom wheeling-and-dealing that benefits even more of his fat-cat non-Veteran friends with real estate deals that swindle five historic Veteran properties they will control and operate outside the Secretary’s illusory “master plan.”
Another hoax is that the VA is paying a major architect and contractor $1.5 million over the next three months to conceive Secretary McDonald’s deceptive master plan that will include even more violations of the Deed of 1888 with long-term, low-rent “enhanced use leases” consummated with independent sources to build a 150-unit supportive housing project that won’t be completed in years.
There are an estimated 20,000 homeless Veterans in Los Angeles. The VA isn’t even applying a small band-aid to this massive wound.
Every time Secretary McDonald is in Los Angeles, he has engaged in private meetings with the rich and powerful non-Veteran entities. He has approved shyster deals on their behalf, followed up with private gatherings while he and his top Washington D.C. aides continue to lie about this blatant corruption and cronyism.
(To be continued)
Mr. Rosebrock may be contacted at rrosebrock1@aol.com