Angry and outraged military veterans are heading to Washington this weekend to stage a mass storming of the very memorials and monuments that were created in their honor but that they now cannot access because of the government shutdown.
A campaign, Million Vet March on the Memorials, is making the waves of social media, with posters and commentators vowing to make the trek to the nation’s capital this Sunday to send a 9 a.m. message to Capitol Hill: “These memorials belong to the American veterans and people,” the group posted on its Facebook page.
So far, almost 3,000 people have promised to attend, Facebook figures show. And meanwhile, support is only growing.
A page poster with the handle Hawkeye Hzyan vowed, “I’m going to try my damndest to get out there.”
Another, David Stoeckl, offered: “Driving from Baltimore to the Greenbelt metro station off 495. Car space available – Friend request & PM.”
And another — who happened to be a Hollywood movie director who now lives in Rappahannock County, Va., and can count “Gods and Generals” and “Gettysburg” among his feats — posted his disgust. Ron Maxwell wrote: “My dad served in the Army Air Corps in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. Although we miss him every day I am glad he didn’t live to see the disgraceful act of blocking WW Two veterans from visiting their memorial. The very same park service is opening the DC Mall and providing staff for an illegal alien amnesty demonstration this coming week. The world turned upside down!”
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Veterans and their supporters will be assembling at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, but for those who can’t make it to the nation’s capital, the rally is also going forth at key points in states. For instance, in Florida, interested supporters can gather at the Miami Springs Veterans Memorial. In Georgia, it’s the National Infantry Museum that’s the meeting point. And in Idaho, it’s the Idaho Veterans Memorial Park.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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