By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZThe Paz Files
SAN BENITO, Texas - It's been yet another wild and wooly week for Rio Grande Valley military veterans. In nearby Harlingen, out blared the 17th verse of a musical cry for a hospital that would serve veterans exclusively. Here, in the hometown of frizzy-haired rock balladeer Freddy Fender, local veterans want their memorial to stand for anything but free speech.
They have banded and asked city leaders to ban protests and other congregations at the San Benito War Veterans Memorial, shown in photo above. It likely will not pass muster.
Military service is a strange undertaking in the home of the brave and the land of the free. Too many have died since the country's birth, some for noble reasons, but most for political ones. We won't debate the import of such action, but suffice it to say that war is Hell - during and apparently after. RGV vets are not shy abut seeking post-service benefits. Many, many of them apply for - and receive - every benefit authorized by the federal Veterans Administration, from medical care and drug prescriptions to pensions. It is not something to scoff at; veterans do extremely well these days.
Still, they find the spotlight, continuing to ask the state and Congress for a hospital that would presumably be painted in red, white & blue and avail a symphony of military marches within its wards and hallways. It would be nice, yet why is it that veterans elsewhere in Texas do not come across as being as greedy as Valley vets? There are VA clinics in most cities, and there are full-service hospitals in the metro areas, accessible to all vets. In most cases, the VA will pay gas mileage to vets who have to travel longer distances. And in the case of emergencies, the VA will authorize use of general hospitals for documentable illnesses, such as kidney problems. It's a fine time to be a veteran in this country.
Those who came before this wave, and we include veterans of the Vietnam Conflict, weren't as lucky. They served in combat and later came home without as much as a shot at college. VA clinics? They are a modern luxury. And, yes, it's true that many vets suffer tremendous illnesses during their later years, but so did those who came before them, and they did it without going to the news media and without coming across as whiners. Memorials? Trust me, there are enough across the land already.
Valley veterans would be wise to tone down their incessant need to be helped. Everybody is suffering in this sluggish economy now playing across the national map. A hospital in the RGV is not an urgent need. It simply is not.
As for the fight in San Benito, well, these same vets who want their memorial to stand for unanimous reverence must also know that the very protests they disdain are the essence of the freedom they fought to defend. City resident Joe Rodriguez, a former candidate for the city commission here, put it nicely when he said, "You can’t restrict political demonstrations in a public setting. It’s hallowed and sacred, but you can’t stop someone from protesting the war in Afghanistan. That’s free speech."
Precisely.
Seeking a city ordinance to stomp on free speech is laughable. It is a lawsuit in the making for the City of San Benito, one that will bring bad publicity and make laughingstocks of the city and the veterans involved.
A suggestion for these veterans: Undertake some benevolent work that will place you in a better light. Muster the troops and help the elderly with their lawns and roofs and vehicles. Gather up a squad and spend a morning cleaning trash along US 83, from Rio Grande City to Brownsville. Organize food drives for the poor, for invalid veterans especially.
In other words, do something...
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9 comments:
Considering how many soldiers the RGV has lost in the Iraq/Afghanistan wars, veterans should be looking after those widows, orphans and elderly parents that bear the burden of that missing family member. And I don't think a stone and metal memorial is going to bring them much comfort. How about visits and home maintainence and homework mentoring?
Blogger M is right. i agree that these vets need t do before they beg. Enough is enough
these veterans don't do any god around here from what I can see. But they're in the newspaer every day asking for their hospital. Get a life guys!!!
Paz-Martinez, you and I don't agree on ANYTHING, but you are right on this issue.
That Fred Rendon/Treto Garza, are two of the biggest cry babies, to think they were in a war is scary.
Give me, give me, give me, instead of getting of their lard ass and start doing something, besides drinking at the VFW/American Legion, or writing dumb letters to the editorial dept. As if anyone really care about their cause.
Get a life and quit feeling sorry for yourself's.
And before anyone begins to critizice me, I am married to a Veteran who works and provides for his family. I say enough, is enough. (Good article, thank you)
Olivia Levier Richardson
All:...My story does not in any way denigrate the service of the larger majority of veterans who served the military and returned to their homes in search of productive lives. There are many of those, as well. This particular issue - the VA hospital dream - tends to isolate these veterans in a very negative light. Perhaps they should re-frame their effort. Military service is the highest contribution citizens make to their flag. All servicemen and servicewomen should be honored - once. That is enough of a "Thank you," for we know that the next generation will also throw its heroes into harm's way... - Editor
Jerry McHale is making a believer out of me, he sure is hitting hard elected officials.
Unlike the two Harlingen blogs, that tippy toe around issues.
I am Fred Rendon Jr I do not have a lard ass and Treto Garza barley has an ass at all. It is easy for people to critize without knowing too much about their subject. People that know me know that I have been helping veterans for well over a decade. I have taken them to San Antonio to the Hospital and I have taken about four to a program in Dallas in my pick up mostly with my own money because the veterans are broke. I take them to McAllen Mission and I give them money when I can afford it. I go to their homes to help them with their paper work and I do what I can to help veterans. I have gotten paper work filled for veterans for restoration of bathrooms to make the doors wider for wheel chairs. In other words I do what I can.
I write in the newpaper because those of you who do not frequent the clinic do not understand the problems we have. We have day clinics,for the valley the entire Valley has day clinics. If you go to VBMC and the VA doesnot deem it an emergency they wil not pay. I have been in touch with a VA represenative who is high on the scale and we are working together to find a way to curtail PTSD and there by cutting back on suicide and family dysfunction after veterans return from war. Those of you who had family members in war and they returned fine be thankful to God. If you look up the amount of money paid for Veterans employees and then see how much goes to veterans you will maybe see things more clear.
Any of you want to try me out and see if I will help get in touch with me and you will see. Thank you for your time.
Mr. Rendon:...You make a relevant point. The VA, like most government bureaucracies, whether local, state or federal, is fat with personnel. That is a separate story, however, although one that interests me, as does the behavior of these VA employees toward veterans who do need help. Thank you for your note... - Editor
I applaud the service and dedication of all our military personnel and veterans. Many have made great sacrifices and for some the ultimate sacrifice of laying down their lives. These men and women have our honor and respect. The government needs to care for those with service related disabilities before it sees to the needs of those who have not served, or sacrificed, or suffered. There are many on Medicare and Medicade that have not contributed to the defense of this country and many that have not paid anything into those programs. Active military and veterans should be placed at the head of the line.
Having said that, I will now address the local veteran’s plans for the San Benito Veterans Memorial, every veteran at one time swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. Now, we find a group wanting to deny others the constitutional rights of free speech and assembly. I understand their desire for the memorial to be a place of peaceful reverence for those who have served and sacrificed honorably, but it a public place on public land. Yes, certain restrictions can be place on the public’s use of the site but not to the extent they are requesting. I suggest strongly they listen to, and take the advice, of legal counsel. If they continue to pursue their present course of action they will only bring discredit on themselves but all veterans by association.
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