Ignoring Victory

On a blustery, but sunny St. Patrick's Day, tens of thousands of veterans and their supporters gathered on the Mall in Washington, D.C. They had come from nearly every state in the union and by nearly every vehicular conveyance to stand together in defense of the war memorials. International A.N.S.W.E.R., a coalition of far left organizations, had two months earlier sponsored an anti-war rally at the Navy Memorial in D.C., after which the steps of the Capitol building had been spray painted. So, when this self-same organization announced plans to stage a protest march on the Pentagon out of the Constitution Gardens, with the Vietnam Wall as a backdrop, veterans of all ages were understandably worried. Posts on Indy media sites referenced spray paint and the Vietnam Wall, as a means to call attention to the anti-war movement. Fast and furious emails between individual veterans became the Gathering of Eagles, and a movement was born. As A.N.S.W.E.R.'s supporters trickled into the Mall they were greeted not only by Washington, D.C. and federal police, but also Park Service and metal detectors. Most surprisingly to the anti-war crowd were the number of veterans ringing not only the Vietnam Wall, but all the war memorials.

I began my day with a security detachment at the World War II Memorial. Code Pink's supporters were rallying on the hill adjacent to the memorial before joining the protest march on the Pentagon. As their supporters trickled into the memorial we shadowed them about the perimeter. We never barred their way and we did not attempt to intimidate them into leaving the area before they were ready, but we did make our presence known. We engaged in no dialogue with them. Our very high-profile presence said all we needed to say. After several hours of that Code Pink moved off to Constitution Avenue and we moved down to the Lincoln Memorial.

My duty at the WWII Memorial, while completely worthy and necessary, had sort of made me feel like it was 1968 and I was stationed in Okinawa, champing to get into the action. Well, as we moved into the Lincoln Memorial area we found the action we had desired. My Marshall unit was placed along the street in between the veterans/supporters and the A.N.S.W.E.R. march. Our job was not to protect the veterans from A.N.S.W.E.R., but rather to prevent our guys from getting to close to them. From the beginning our mission had been described as non-confrontational. To be sure, we would have defended ourselves and the memorials from any aggression, but even these miscreants apparently had more sense than to challenge us physically.

Unfortunately, while in the presence of all manner of law enforcement the marchers showed their true feelings for us. Statements such as, "You guys don't look like America we look like America," and "Why don't you enlist if you support the troops so much? We support the troops, not you," rained down on us. Of course our responses of "Support the troops? We are the troops," fell on deaf ears. To be told that those of us dressed in various combinations of military gear were not representative of America, and that we did not support the troops stung, but the anti-war/peace rally crowd was just getting started.

"MURDERERS!! BABY-KILLERS!! and various hateful, expletive filled rants erupted from the advocates of peace as they slowly walked by. They referred to us as fascists, compared us to Nazis and informed us repeatedly that we were the problem for the country, not the answer. I have to say that I never thought I would hear words like this from my fellow countrymen. It angered me, and saddened me all at the same time. Our side responded to their hate-filled rants, giving as good as we got. Nothing could have prepared me for the appearance of the A.N.S.W.E.R. marchers carrying an upside-down American flag. Veterans howled and the crowd prepared to surge. Truthfully, had anyone moved to grab the flag from further desecration, I would have abdicated my responsibilities and joined the mass. The police moved in-between us and them and, of course, we allowed the rabble to exercise a foul representation of free speech. As the flag moved out of site I watched a wheelchair bound WWII Purple Heart recipient cry soundlessly. Rage welled up in me, and still we let the peace march walk by unmolested.

Eventually, the marchers had all moved off and we were able to visit amongst ourselves. I had organized a bus from Philadelphia and South Jersey, but had not met most of the riders. While waiting for the bus to return from its parking place I took the opportunity to visit with them. It was at this point that the only physical confrontation nearly occurred. A 40-something, goateed, L.L. Bean wearing "radical" and his wife passed immediately in front of us; on their way to their to a Volvo station wagon festooned with "Free Tibet" and "Ben and Jerry" stickers no doubt. Anyway, he began to philosophize about war in general. Having had enough I told him an expletive enhanced statement to move along and be quiet. When he continued his monologue I charged him, and with a heavy-handed chest bump I told him, "Get out of here now before I hand you your ass. These Vietnam veterans have suffered enough of your bullshit." For his wife anyway, discretion was the better part of valor because, as my Vietnam guys ushered me one way, the rabble's partner ushered him in the other. As the bus arrived I stood at the door and hugged each vet as they climbed aboard. Tears welled up in my eyes and I have never felt more a part of anything.

That day and the next found various accolades coming my way. Different units presented me with cards, coins and patches. The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Society made me an associate member, which means more to me than a Silver Star. The most moving thing though was not a physical expression. It was a statement. I was asked if I knew why nobody moved to stop me from challenging the protester who dared denigrate my Vietnam vets. My response was something on the lines of I moved too fast, blah, blah, blah. "No," I was told. "It was because nobody ever defended us before. It has always been us, taking our side, while everyone else either attacked us or ignored us. Nobody stopped you because we all think of you as one of us now." I have always considered the Vietnam warriors as the Gold Standard. When I joined the Army they were my senior NCOs. To be considered among their number is, to me, the greatest award I could attain. Brothers, I will always defend you. That I promise. The media ignored our victory that day, but we know we out-numbered the other side. We know we did our duty as we always have, and I will always do mine by you.