Eighty-five-year old World War II Veteran Dan Overmyer has called a press conference for 2 p.m. tomorrow, Veterans Day, to unite fellow Veterans and to declare opposition against the chained, padlocked front gates at the entry of the Los Angeles National Veterans Home while 20,000 fellow Veterans remain homeless on the dangerous streets of Los Angeles.
The assembly will be outside the Veterans’ Home, at the northeast corner of Wilshire and San Vicente boulevards, in West Los Angeles.
Mr. Overmyer expressed outrage with U.S. government, saying:
“How can a nation celebrate Veterans Day when so many Veterans are homeless while their land is being given away by the VA to a wealthy homeowner group for a public park?
“Is this the way America honors those who have defended the freedom and safety of all others? This is absolutely disgraceful!”
Mr. Overmyer and fellow Old Veterans Guard members from World War II, the Korea and Vietnam wars, will challenge President Obama and Dept. of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to unlock the chained gates and open the Veterans Home to all disabled and homeless Veterans, as exclusively promised in the Congressional Act of 1887 and the Land Grant Deed of 1888.
In a recent VA announcement, Secretary Shinseki proclaimed:
“President Obama and I are personally committed to ending homelessness among Veterans within the next five years. Those who have served this nation as Veterans should never find themselves on the streets, living without care and without hope.”
Mr. Shinseki further declared: “The VA will spend $3.2 billion next year to prevent and reduce homelessness among Veterans.”
Local Veterans want a large portion of that money spent at “The Home,” as it is both affectionately and reverently called. Los Angeles is home to the largest VA in the nation, and it has a homeless population of Veterans larger than some cities.
Ted Hayes, a longtime activist and founder of the Domed Village, former homeless shelter in downtown Los Angeles, will speak out against the chained gates.
Mr. Hayes will call for an immediate ending of Veteran homelessness by opening the front gates and creating a “Tent City” and Domed Village on 16 acres of Veterans’ sacred land that the VA recently leased to a wealthy Brentwood homeowner group for a public park, rent-free.
Mr. Rosebrock, a Veteran, may be contacted at DutysCalling@aol.com
