The Old Veterans Guard held a press conference last Sunday to announce a $2.5 billion “Grand Plan” to rebuild the Los Angeles National Veterans Home into a sovereign and Grand Home, just as it was deeded 122 years ago, “to be permanently maintained as a National Home for Disabled Soldiers.”
The press conference was held during the Old Veterans’ 100th consecutive Sunday Rally to protest the abuse and misuse of Veterans sacred land.
Likening the current conditions of the dilapidated buildings at the Veterans Home to the ruins of war-torn Europe and Japan 65 years ago, the Old Veterans are calling on Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, to demolish the archaic and obsolete buildings of the 1930s and rebuild this sacred land, in a manner similar to the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe.
The Old Veterans “Grand Plan” calls for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs to invest at least $2.5 billion to transform and rebuild these ruinous and dysfunctional facilities into a 21st century National Veterans Home.
That's hardly a drop in the government’s stimulus bucket when considering what it spends to engage the two current wars and the amount of money spent to bail out mismanaged banks, investment, insurance and automotive companies.
Surely our government can invest this token to save the lives of 20,000 homeless Veterans while ensuring Disabled Veterans that they will always have a place to call “Home.”
Why the Investment Is Worthwhile
By rebuilding this sacred land into a Grand Veterans Home that we can be proud of, we will be investing in tangible assets to pass on to future generations of Veterans. Bottom line is that the investment will be in building a safe haven for Veterans instead of building a more bloated VA bureaucracy with non-Veteran employees.
Those who think they have an entitlement to take this sacred land and turn it into whatever serves their special interests under the shameful guise of “honoring our veterans,” are seriously misguided in their morals and lack the decency of respect .
This land was specifically deeded as a National Veterans Home. It never was meant in the slightest to be used for a public park, a community entertainment center, a used car lot, private school grounds, open / green space, or any other asinine and self-serving notion.
At the press conference, Bob Handy, a 77-year-old retired Navy Veteran, Chief Hospital Corpsman, shared photos of Disabled Veterans from the two current Wars that our country is engaged in.
A Graphic Definition
For those VA bureaucrats who have seriously mismanaged and abused this sacred land, you need to look at the photos on the following weblink and see the reality of what the word “disabled” means in the Deed of 1888. You need to clearly understand that it is your duty to make sure that they will always have continuous access to their Veterans Home without any outside intrusion.
Here is a photo gallery of military personnel wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan: http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/wounded/gallery.htm
These photos need to remind every American of what the real price of freedom really costs. This Veterans Home is an exclusive club because so many have paid an arm and a leg to be a member.
Anyone who has any hint of using these sacred grounds for anything but a Home to heal from war, had better keep it to themselves. Veterans will no longer remain silent about who you are and what you are.
We the People have an open-ended contract and responsibility to ensure that the finest Veterans Home imaginable will always be there for our Disabled Veterans, so that never again will anyone “misunderstand” the legal and moral meaning of: “To be permanently maintained as a National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.”
Dave Culmer, a retired 20-year Marine and Korean and Vietnam War Veteran, Chairman of the Los Angeles County Veterans Advisory Committee, Chairman, National Veterans Foundation, Service Director for the American Legion of the Los Angeles County Council, and the Greater Los Angeles Mental Health Consumer Advocacy Council, with more than 30 years’ experience assisting Veterans with mental injuries, spoke about ending Post Trauma Stress Disorder, PTSD. He introduced a more accurate diagnosis and term for mental and emotional injuries suffered while defending our nation: “Military Trauma Reaction” or MTR.
This injury is exclusive to those who wear the uniform and should never be bundled up and shared with civilian trauma injuries.
Fellow Veterans and friends of Veterans: We are embarking upon a new and proud era to honor and serve the defenders of America’s freedom and independence. We encourage your full support and active participation to make it a success.
Mr. Rosebrock may be contacted at rrosebrock1@aol.com
