[Editor’s Note: The public is invited to a Veterans’ rally, from 1 to 4, on Sunday afternoon at the corner of Wilshire and San Vicente boulevards, Brentwood, “to save the Los Angeles National Veterans Home.”]
Last Sunday, a group of loyal, grateful and patriotic Veterans and community supporters gathered to pay tribute and to thank John P. Jones and Arcadia B. de Baker for their benevolent Land Grant of 1888, 120 years ago.
The grant specified that a certain plot of land would be permanently maintained as a National Home for America’s Disabled Soldiers here in the Brentwood section of West Los Angeles.
The number in attendance at Sunday's tribute would have been far greater had the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration not intentionally delayed and dragged its feet before reluctantly granting the required permit only a few days before the planned celebration.
Many Ways in Which It Hurt
This purposeful delay by the V.A. knowingly prevented us from notifying more Veterans and the general public to give all interested parties ample time to make plans to attend the event, as well as preventing us from garnering more sponsors for refreshments and patriotic entertainment.
This contrived and delayed manipulation by the V.A. was definitely injurious to our plans for this noble cause.
As though there was not enough satisfaction at hindering and thwarting the plans for this honorable occasion, the V.A. added insult by having two V.A. employees there to monitor our every spoken word and movement of action.
One was a woman posted behind the Building 220 area. Another was a young man posted at the area known as the Great Lawn, where we actually gathered. He became known as the V.A.’s “useful idiot.” No doubt the V.A. will promote this young man for making endless notes and cell phone calls to those whom he reverently serves but were too cowardly to face Veterans on their own.
They Should Have Joined Us
Nobody from the V.A.’s local Public Affairs office even stopped by to acknowledge this tribute of the 120th anniversary, something the V.A. should have organized itself. In fact, nobody from the V.A. was there to join in this noble celebration, only to monitor and suppress our civil rights.
The V.A.’s puppet of censorship notified Veteran attendees that we had apparently violated “Condition 8” of the permit (V.A. regulations prohibit the following: Unauthorized distribution of pamphlets or handbills, solicitation for petitions, posting or display of placards, taking photographs for advertising purposes, and demonstrations, orations or partisan activities.)
We are not sure if the so-called violation was when we proudly presented our nation's colors, said the Pledge of Allegiance, the chaplain gave a prayer, a tribute of thanks was given to the benevolent land grantors for the National Home, our announcing important Veterans’ causes, the reading of the Veterans’ Declaration of Enforcement of the Deed of 1888, a Veteran’s wife reading “It’s the Veterans,” a singer singing a song to honor America’s Veterans, or when we all ate hot dogs and drank some apple cider.
How to Dampen Enthusiasm
Or, maybe it was a pamphlet that was passed out, “Creating Opportunities & Inspiring A Better Life” through the “Disabled Veterans Educational Programs,” or the flyer titled “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day Celebration” that was passed out to the attendees that violated “Condition 8.”
Whatever it was, the V.A.’s censor policeman wasn’t happy. He was going to “tell my boss.”
We requested that he tell his V.A. “boss” to put the so-called violations were in writing. If not, we demanded that the V.A. send a written apology to those who were in attendance and had our First Amendment rights trampled on last Sunday.
Our celebration was scheduled from 11 to 4. But after the censor policeman informed us of violating “Condition 8,” our morale and enthusiasm dwindled quickly.
We dispersed from the grounds at about 2:20.
Do You Recognize This?
We are not sure what kind of democracy that America is trying to spread around the world when we send our brave men and women into harm’s way.
But hopefully it is not what we experienced last Sunday.
America’s armed forces recently removed a controlling dictator in Iraq who would have been extremely proud of the V.A.’s oppressive forces at work, suppressing the freedom of expression of those in attendance for this noble and honorable celebration.
What should have been a great day of honor and celebration for the National Veterans Home and those who have honorably defended America’s freedom and independence, turned out to be a disgusting display of government censorship and oppressive rule. It certainly was not representative of the U.S. Constitution that the Veterans in attendance once proudly raised their right hand and pledged their lives to defend.
There has been unprecedented land grabbing going on at the Veterans Home in Brentwood for several years.
‘Beauty’ or ‘Duty’?
Recently the V.A. gave away (rent free) 16 acres of Veterans' sacred land to a neighboring special interest group for a public park.
The V.A. also gave this same group $1 million of Veterans’ seriously needed healthcare money to build a fence to beautify the entry into Brentwood. The V.A. also allowed this same group to desecrate the military’s watchword of “Duty, Honor, Country” by engraving “Beauty, Honor, Country” on Veterans’ property because the group’s mission is to “beautify” the entry to Brentwood.
The V.A. already has leased much of this hallowed land for commercial profit at the expense of Veterans’ healthcare and quietude.
While it is insulting enough that Veterans land is being prostituted, the fact that the V.A. monitored and censored our every word and action on one of the most sacred days of Veterans’ history here in Los Angeles is reprehensible.
Speaking of Shame
The fact that Veterans were paying tribute to the very land that the V.A. has been giving away was no doubt behind their egregious conduct.
It pains our fellow Veterans to tell you how ashamed and embarrassed we are of our government’s behavior last Sunday toward the very men and women who pledged their individual lives to support our country and its citizenry. The Founding Fathers and the land grantors would be appalled at what took place, as should every American citizen who lives comfortably under this great blanket of freedom provided by America’s military Veterans and today’s armed forces.
Mr. Rosebrock is co-Director of We the Veterans. He can be reached at dutyscalling@aol.com
