VETERANS ARRESTED IN WATERVILLE, ME
By WV Republican Posted in User Blogs — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
from the Maine Morning Sentinel >>
Eyewitness accounts at the bottom of article
Vets want removal of white flags in park
WATERVILLE -- Outraged veterans are calling for the removal of 2,000 white flags that members of a local peace group planted to commemorate America's war dead in Iraq.
Calling the flags' and signs' presence in Veterans Memorial Park "a disgrace" and "illegal," one veteran asked the city to revoke the group's permit. Wayne H. Elkins, who served for one year in Vietnam and serves as station commander of Waterville's VFW Post 1285, said that he had heard rumors that if the city did not order Waterville Area Bridges for Peace and Justice to remove the flags before Veterans Day, veterans might take on the task themselves.
Update [2005-11-10 21:49:24 by Nick Danger]: Copyrighted article excerpted. Complete article here.
This is a post from an eyewitness to the protest tonight >>>
what a sad night.... Vets were banned from the park for a week.... I went to the PD with them and then gave them a ride back to their vehicles after it was all said and done........ court is set for Jan 11th... I am so going to be there. Thanks for all of your support... Had I known this was only going to be a misdemeanor charge I would have gone down with them... I feel guilty for not joining but when push came to shove I got scared....... it was very intimidating... cops were staged and ready to go and that was not what I had envisioned at all... they threatened to arrest me and I said FREEDOM OF SPEECH is not just for them as I pointed to the hippies.... I guess I really lost it and went off... I barely remember.. I just know I saw those brave men get cuffed and then one of the fckin peaceniks said " happy veterans day"
When I went to the Veterans park tonight and the news crews were already there.. The place was lit up like a Christmas tree, the cops were there all staged and ready to go, the hippies were all standing in a little corner doing their usual; looking stupid. The Veterans showed up and started plucking the flags and I stood there and watched them get arrested...it broke my heart, I was absolutely bawling.... people... they arrested a WWII Veteran... The cops were so condescending to us it wasnt even funny.... they talked to me like I was insane and showed no compassion... Anyways.. I got pissed and like I said screamed at the hippies and then went down to the PD and drove the Vets home.... I hope some other people can go down and do something about this....... call the right people or something... the left won, but we didnt go without a fight... the Vets made their stand, I am so proud of them. Tomorrow me and a lady I met tonight named Beth are going to go and put more flags in the park... we can at least do that..
A couple of notes that I don't understand, not knowing the area:
Who owns the park? Veterans memorial sounds like a public park, possibly owned by city or state, despite the note to the contrary. Protest in a public place has a long tradition in the US. No matter whether we agree with the speech or not.
With proper permits bridges for peace can make any kind of statement they wish.
Bridges for Peace has constantly disrupted the memory of veterans this past year
Don't know what that's all about, but still you can't go tearing down other people's protest.
Each of the veterans served (as I did) to give "Bridges for Peace" that right. Organizing a counter protest is the right response, tearing down other's protest isn't.
From what I understand, the park is public land with a memorial to vets who have given the ultimate sacrifice. This peacenik display was 2000 little white flags with two signs in front of them saying "100,000 Dead Iraqi's, how many more" and "2,000 dead soldiers, how many more" Can you imagine the same display during WWII of "XXXXXX Dead Germans/Japanese, how many more"???? It so deeply offended the vets, who were to hold services there tomorrow to commerate those who have given their lives that they were going to remove this display. They were willing to pay the price and were arrested for it.
It's amusing (in a sad twisted way) that the Bridges for Peace group claims their white flags at the veterans memorial "are in honor of the soldiers who have died." If their purpose really is to honor our fallen soldiers, rather than political propaganda, why do they explicitly choose to only "honor" those who died in Iraq? Don't they believe that American soldiers who have died, and continue to die, in Afghanistan are equally deserving to be honored?
I understand your outrage on behalf of the veterans. Have care, however, when you make comments that might be understood as applying to the civillian population of Iraq. During WWII, we were fighting against governments that had initiated hostilities with the willing support of their civillian populations. The situation in Iraq is different in some important ways.
Just what are you implying? Our troops are not targeting Iraqi civilians!
that we were trying to defeat Germany and Japan, while we are trying to liberate Iraq. The Iraqi people, last I checked, were not our enemy in this war, and I see nothing wrong with mourning their deaths.
Unlike WWII, the conflict in Iraq requires us to egngage in asymmetrical warfare. In such a conflict, part of the way we win the war is by winning hearts and minds. This is why I attempted to call your attention to the possibility that your comments could be misconstrued.
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/2132651.shtml