Veterans storm WWII memorial!

[shireen]

Love love love them!

The Washington Post reported earlier Tuesday that despite the closure of the World War II Memorial, a group of elderly veterans -- some in wheelchairs and using canes -- stormed the barricades and entered anyway.

An unidentified U.S. Park Police officer told the Post "I'm not going to enforce the 'no stopping or standing' sign for a group of 90 World War II veterans. I'm a veteran myself."

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/10/veterans-storm-the-gates-of-closed-wwii-memorial.html

And also covered in WaPo.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/visiting-veterans-storm-closed-wwii-memorial/2013/10/01/0fc2a376-2ab4-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html

[Uncle Joe]

1. Perhaps all the other national parks should be stormed as well?

Thanks for the thread, shireen.

[B Calm]

2. They had a little help with a couple grand standing republican congress members!

[shireen]

3. i don't care about the grandstanders

what those vets did was wonderful, whatever their political leanings.

[B Calm]

5. Those vets didn't do it on their own!

[shireen]

8. Some things transcend politics, this was one of those moments

this trip had been scheduled in advance, an Honor Flight tour. Just because a bunch of congress critters helped get them past the barricades doesn't change the fact that it was a touching moment.

[B Calm]

9. Helped them get pass the gates they ordered closed. . . . . .

[FarPoint]

28. You are not getting to the truth!

Repukes are covering their bases.

[meanit]

6. It was a set up

by the GOP congress people who snuck them in so they could use them as props.

[Uncle Joe]

10. That's precisely the way, the Republican Party views them.

It was a set up

by the GOP congress people who snuck them in so they could use them as props.

[Uncle Joe]

11. Their poltical leanings are the same leanings that closed the gates in the first place.

From the CBS link.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said he believed the Park Service opened the gates. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) said the congressmen did it. Rep. Steven M. Palazzo (R-Miss.)said the barricades just seemed to part.

I didn't bold Wicker's name because he's not in the House.

This seems like a nice gesture but as is posted downthread, they're just using the veterans as political props.

[rl6214]

19. I thought I read that was the vets that showed up yesterday

[kelly1mm]

32. Senator Clair McCaskill is a republican now? When did she switch? nt

[bunnies]

4. And batshit Backmann was there to greet them and open the gate.

what a coincidence.

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. I hope they policed up their trash

In the future, they can perform routine and special maintenance, maintain the grounds, trim those pesky surrounding trees, take care of the bathrooms, etc.

Michelle Bachmann can help with the bathrooms part.

[Tx4obama]

12. It was staged by the GOP to get into the news and for photo-ops. Also an UPDATE below

See here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014608134

Here: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/witness-mississippi-congressman-opened-the-barricade-to-closed-wwii-memorial

Here: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/report-veterans-storm-closed-wwii-memorial

And Michele Bachmann was there too.

UPDATE: Police have cleared out the WWII memorial and forced the veterans who illegally accessed the site to disperse.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/wwii-vets-tear-down-barriers-surrounding-war-memorial/#0

[7962]

13. Actually the stage was set by the Administration, whether we like it or not. Ridiculous.

The Memorial is OUTSIDE. Like many memorials in DC, You dont need people to go look at it. Its just THERE. Its handled by the Park Police, who were told to put up barricades. And apparently the Park Police arent affected by the shutdown. As word gets out about this, it will not make the Admin. look good
It would be different if it were inside a building. This is just grandstanding to make the GOP look worse. Just let them do it on theor own, they usually do a good enough job.

[pinboy3niner]

14. Park Police can't take up the slack for the furloughed NPS employees who operate the memorial

The idea that outdoor memorials can continue to operate without National Park Service staffing that handles maintenance, cleanup, safety, and other duties is a Darrell Issa RW talking point.

Asshole Issa launching investigation into closure of WW2 memorial
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023770095

[Nuclear Unicorn]

15. The fundung for the memorial is private

The National World War II Memorial was funded almost entirely by private contributions, as specified in Public Law 103-32. The campaign received more than $197 million in cash and pledges. Support came from hundreds of thousands of individual Americans, hundreds of corporations and foundations, veterans groups, dozens of civic, fraternal and professional organizations, states and one territory, and students in 1,200 schools across the country.

Donated and pledged funds were used to cover the total project costs of approximately $182 million. These costs include site selection and design, construction and sculpture, a National Park Service maintenance fee required by the Commemorative Works Act, groundbreaking and dedication ceremonies, fund raising, and the 11-year administrative costs of the project from its inception in 1993 through completion in 2004.

Remaining funds are held on deposit with the U.S. Treasury in a National WWII Memorial Trust Fund. The funds will be used by the American Battle Monuments Commission solely to benefit the World War II Memorial.

http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=funding.asp&subpage=intro

[pinboy3niner]

16. That doesn't affect NPS staffing paid by appropriated funds

The federal government shutdown that began at midnight did not exempt the National Park Service. The National Mall and Memorial's 330 employees are furloughed. Only three employees are exempt: the chief of maintenance, the deputy superintendent and the project manager who is overseeing the repairs to the Washington Monument.... ....

http://www.wbir.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/01/mississippi-veterans-defy-shutdown-to-visit-wwii-monument/2903193/

[Nuclear Unicorn]

17. And what services do they provide for the memorial that it can't be left to the people?

[7962]

18. None. And normally the memorial is "open" 24 hrs a day with little supervision.

Thats why this is such a sham. I'm glad to see others here agree. Its sad to stoop to stuff like this just to make the other side look bad. Eventually people figure it out.

[pinboy3niner]

20. BS

The memorial is staffed by NPS employees, which counts as "little supervision" only to those who would devalue their work. In addition, the Park Police patrols all of the Mall's memorials.

De-legitimizing the services performed by public employees is an RW tactic.

The only sham is the one being perpetrated by Republicans in Congress who refuse to keep the government open.

[7962]

21. "Little supervision" means "not many people". I've been there; it's an open monument.

Especially at night it's hard to find someone. Park Police are STILL there now. Its a joke to block off access to it. Are they barricading the entire area between Constitution Ave and Independence Ave? No.

[pinboy3niner]

23. Why do you think they have less staffing at night?

Could it be because of lower visitation levels overnight?

And the barricades at that memorial were there on the first day only. Since then, the NPS has treated the vet visitors as a public demonstration and has allowed access. Those barricade stories are now old news.

Of course the Park Police are there. They remain on the job, providing security for all of the Mall's attractions. They're doing their security job, NOT doing the safety, maintenance, and other duties performed by other NPS staff.

[7962]

41. My whole point is that its a "show" just to make things look worse. Its not needed.

There's more proof of this elsewhere. Thye're trying to close Mt Vernon, which is privately owned and run. They've closed parks in Va. that are run by volunteers and use no govt money. It's ridiculous. This is all to make things look bad to the public eye. I don't like my side stooping to the level of playing games like this. They should be above such nonsense, but apparently they're just like the gop when it comes to this crap. No different than Cantor's stupid picture of a row of empty chairs.

[7962]

44. Here's another example of what I'm talking about

http://www.argusleader.com/article/20131004/UPDATES/310040047/Rushmore-blockage-stirs-anger-in-S-D-?gcheck=1

We may disagree on the necessity of closing an open air memorial, but this one is ridiculous. The President and administration better not take it for granted that people blame the GOP for the shutdown because if stories like this continue to get attention, the blame now focused on the GOP will start to turn. Because people will see it for what it is; a stunt.

[pinboy3niner]

24. If "the people" did it, they wouldn't need hundreds of staff to do it for the Mall

In the immediate case, maybe some conscientious visitors will pick up trash at the memorial--which still won't cover all of the the services provided by NPS.

When this is over, NPS staff will be catching up on the work not done during the shutdown.

[lynne]

22. Love this! Good for them!

They waited too long for that memorial and a lot of them - including my own father - died before it was completed. Not a lot you can do to intimidate a WWII vet, most of whom are in their late 80's, early 90's at this time. The police will need paddy-wagons equipped with wheelchair lifts if they intend on bringing in this rowdy bunch.

Glad they lived to see the memorial and "storming the gates" was probably the most fun they've had in years!

[Liberal_in_LA]

25. love this story

[malletgirl02]

26. I hope they pick up their trash.

[Niceguy1]

27. good for them

No need to close an outdoor memorial.

[pinboy3niner]

29. Outdoor memorials require staff for safety, maintenance and other reasons

They are not self-operating, even if they are outdoors. They are able to operate only because of the dedicated work of the (now furloughed) public employees who work there.

[Niceguy1]

37. very little is needed

As others have noted. Its politics, which is par for the course.

[7962]

42. Agreed.

[mwrguy]

30. GOP stunt

That's all it is.

[kelly1mm]

33. Then why was Senator McCaskill there? nt

[B Calm]

34. She was there to see Bachmann and her cohorts open the locked gate that

they ordered closed.

[Cha]

31. Thank you shireen! Thank you Veterans! It was Shutdown because of the GOP..

I hope the Vets understand that.

[pinboy3niner]

35. Those vets probably are all over the map, politically

Some did the photo-op hugs with Bachmann, some didn't.

The poiticization of this is laughable.

[Cha]

36. yeah, I didn't even see anything with bachmann.

It just seemed a good thing to me to bring attention to just one aspect of what the government shutdown is causing.

[pinboy3niner]

38. I saw her kissing one of the WWII vets in a cable news clip

Imagine my reaction...

[Cha]

39. It would be just like that raving crack head to insert herself

in some Orwellian nightmare that she caused.. kissing up to those who will be suffering because of her and her sociopathic asshole teabaggists.

[pinboy3niner]

40. Exactly! nt

[7962]

43. And thats the purpose of this show. See my post 41.

The shutdown shouldnt be causing any of this but its a good photo-op for making the gop look bad. I would prefer letting them do it on their own. They usually dont disappoint when left on their own in the wild.

[adavid]

45. A GOP planned/staged camers-ready photo-op....

To see Michele-"Batshit"-Bachman hunching over a WWII Vet, with her witch finger pointing at the memorial
is enough to make me vomit.