November 6, 2013 1:20 pm by EJ Montini Veterans For Peace earned right to march Veterans can be irritating. At least to the people running the local Veterans Day parade. And perhaps to Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton. One group of vets, the local chapter of Veterans for Peace, apparently is so annoying they’re not being allowed to march in this year’s parade in Phoenix. (Although they’ve marched numerous times before.) “Do I think it is a disgrace? Yes,” said Richard Smith, spokesperson for the Winter Soldier Chapter of Veterans for Peace. “We were hoping to appeal to Mayor Stanton’s sense of fair play but instead the city turned over control to a private group and is trying to act like an innocent bystander. We are veterans. We are just like everybody else participating.” They’re veterans, yes. But not like everyone else. Smith’s group has a mission statement that begins, “Members of Veterans for Peace use their military experience to testify to the brutal consequences of war and seek peaceful and effective alternatives…” They are peace activists. They have carried flag-draped coffins in honor of fallen comrades. They speak out on issues like suicide among veterans. Not everyone likes that. “The organization running the parade (Honoring Arizona’s Veterans) doesn’t appreciate our point of view,” Smith said. “They think that gives them the right to exclude us.” Organizers say there are other reasons. They say Veterans for Peace hasn’t complied with all the parade rules or completed the paperwork required of participants, among other things. Then again, the group has marched in the past. I’ve heard from several members of Veterans for Peace. For example, Paul Cox, who describes himself as “a Vietnam veteran, USMC grunt 1968-1972, and a proud member of Veterans for Peace.” He sent a note to parade organizers and to the city that reads in part, “Most combat veterans I know, no matter what their political persuasion or position on the current wars, tell me that every veteran longs for peace. Those of us in Veterans for Peace have come to the conclusion that longing for peace is not enough; you have to talk about it and work for it. … But HAV (Honoring Arizona’s Veterans) seems to have determined that talking about peace violates some kind of taboo… “ I also heard from retired Lt. Colonel John Henry, another member of the group, who wrote, “I served for 28 years, in combat, received five Bronze Stars, one for valor, Army Commendations, one for valor among other citations and awards. Everyone I know in the Veterans for Peace served bravely, with distinction and with honor.” A number of dignitaries are participating in the parade, including Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton. I’ve asked the mayor’s office if Stanton believes Veterans for Peace should be included in the parade and if he would participate if they are not. His office sent me this statement from the mayor: “The Phoenix Veterans Day Parade is possible due to the efforts of Honoring Arizona’s Veterans, a private nonprofit organization, and I am honored that they have asked me to serve as one of this year’s parade Grand Marshals. As the sponsor, HAV decides how the parade will be run, just like every other private organization that presents parades in our city. Were it up to me, I would have included the Veterans for Peace among the parade entries, and I was hopeful that that would happen. But that is neither my nor the City’s decision to make.” Not his decision? Not technically, I suppose. But the mayor could have taken a stronger stand. He could have told parade organizers, for instance, that if Veterans for Peace are excluded then he would not participate either. Or is the Phoenix parade only open to certain types of veterans? “I wonder sometimes if people in our country understand how many people fought in wars to preserve their right to think as individuals,” Smith said. Veterans for Peace have some nerve, don’t they? They seem to believe that serving their country gives them the right to deviate from the norm. They seem to believe that Americans in uniform have died defending our natural born inclination to disagree … on just about everything. Except maybe this: Veterans deserve respect. They deserve equal treatment. They deserve to march. (Column for Nov. 7, 2013, Arizona Republic
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 18:20:16 +0000
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