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| Visiting WWII veterans were confronted with barricades at the WWII Memorial...but not for long. |
There's plenty of room for debate on the merits of this government shutdown, but I'm glad to see that reasonable people are agreeing that our active duty military and veterans shouldn't be harmed. The House unanimously passed a bill to protect military pay that President Obama signed yesterday, Veterans Administration health care functions will continue, among other measures.
Then there's this delightful story...
A group of WWII veterans from Mississippi visiting the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. as part of an Honor Flight trip decided they were going to visit their memorial, government shutdown or no. From the Twitter feed of Stars and Stripes reporter Leo Shane:
Honor flight vets just knocked over the barriers at the WWII memorial to get inside, #shutdown or no. pic.twitter.com/T4bx8kvFYj
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
Tons of applause as the WWII vets from Miss. storm their memorial. Park police on the way. #shutdown pic.twitter.com/31UGU7MRry
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
No sign of folks leaving. The vets have control of the memorial. #shutdown pic.twitter.com/eGj4kmFEiP
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
This is where the Mississippi WWII vets wanted to get -- their tower. #shutdown pic.twitter.com/VeKMGHURKr
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
The scene at the WWII memorial right now. #shutdown https://t.co/2ragZgVXLi
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
Credit where due -- I watched Rep Steve King distract a park police officer while vets and staffers knocked down the fences here. #shutdown
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
Iowa vets (yellow shirts) now coming into WWII memorial with congressional security guard. #shutdown pic.twitter.com/Bd5kk7oP7z
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
And victory...the veterans who fought for freedom over half a century ago now won another little slice of freedom today...
So, the WWII memorial is open today... Park police letting everyone by right now. #shutdown
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
No attempt to stop any WWII visitors right now. Maybe after the congressmen leave ... #shutdown pic.twitter.com/SZmxBfh2cr
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
Official word from Park Police on the WWII memorial: "We're seeking guidance on how to respond." No effort to block any vets. #shutdown
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
God bless our military and especially these wonderful veterans.
UPDATE: Check out Leo Shane's story at Stars and Stripes about today's events, including a photo gallery:
...The four bus loads of veterans — visiting from Mississippi as part of a once-in-a-lifetime Honor Flight tour — ignored National Park Police instructions not to enter the site as lawmakers and tourists cheered them on.
“We didn’t come this far not to get in,” one veteran proclaimed.
The scene was both emotional and comical at once.UPDATE II: Post by Free Beacon, including photos by Lachlan Markay, who was also down at the WWII Memorial today.
Follow me on Twitter at @rumpfshaker
More on the story: the Park Police were told to set up the barricades and keep people out. Doesn't make sense for an open air memorial that's normally open 24-7 http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/park-service-prepped-to-close-memorials-to-aging-veterans.html
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