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LOCAL News :: Peace

Vietnam Veterans Against the War Veterans Day Event

Vietnam Veterans against the War will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony at Wacker and Wabash, at 11 AM on November 11, Veterans Day. Veterans and their supporters will call for an end to the Iraq War, for decent benefits for all veterans, and for restoring the historic Vietnam Memorial Fountain at upper Wacker Drive and Wabash Avenue.
VVAWcircle.jpg
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
National Office: P.O. Box 408594
Chicago, IL 60640 (773) 276-4189
www.vvaw.org

For Immediate Release
November 4, 2004

Press Contacts:
Bill Davis, 708-386-1413; Cell, 708-574-5447
Hannah Frisch, 773-924-5057; Cell, 773-425-9780
Barry Romo, 773 276-4189


On Veterans Day Vets Call for an End to the Iraq War, Decent Benefits for All Vets, and for Restoring the Historic Vietnam Memorial Fountain

Vietnam Veterans against the War will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony at Wacker and Wabash, at 11 AM on November 11, Veterans Day. Veterans and their supporters will call for an end to the Iraq War, for decent benefits for all veterans, and for restoring the historic Vietnam Memorial Fountain at upper Wacker Drive and Wabash Avenue.

Speakers include Iraq veterans Dave Adams and Cody Camacho.

"The U.S. presence in Iraq is making things worse not better. U.S. military personnel are endangered not only by roadside bombs but by exposure to depleted uranium. When they are ordered to torture detainees, the enlisted personnel are the ones that are court marshaled and left with lifelong nightmares. Meanwhile we are neglecting serious problems at home, including the problems of returning veterans. The Bush Administration says it values veterans but shows its hypocrisy in its actual policies: closing VA hospitals, trying to cut the VA budget and keeping sick and wounded soldiers waiting for months to see doctors," said Bill Davis, a VVAW National Coordinator.

A second National Coordinator, Barry Romo, explained why the historic fountain is still an issue, even though Mayor Daley is inaugurating a new Vietnam Memorial. “The original fountain was located here on Upper Wacker Drive, in the center of the intersection where it was visible. It is fine to have another Vietnam memorial down on the river level, it’s fine to have a Vietnam memorial on every corner as far as we are concerned, but we want our historic, visible fountain back.”

The original fountain was dedicated in 1982 by Mayor Jane Byrne and contains a time capsule containing the names of Chicago-area soldiers who had died in the war and a letter from President Reagan commending the city for remembering the vets. It was removed in 2001 for the Wacker reconstruction project, but never reinstalled. “Somehow the city has “lost” our fountain, said Romo, and we want them to find it or to rebuild in its original location. There is no reason for the only Vietnam memorial to be down by the river out of sight.”

A Columbia College student has made a DVD about the “lost fountain” that will be playing before and during the Veterans Day ceremony.

Vietnam Veterans Against the War was founded to voice returning service-men's and -women's growing opposition to the Vietnam war and grew to include more than 30,000 members. The group started the first rap groups to deal with the war's traumatic aftereffects on GI's, helped make known negative health effects of exposure to chemical defoliants, and exposed Veteran's Administration attempts to cover up Agent Orange induced illnesses. Membership in the organization has rebounded dramatically since the lead up to the war in Iraq. Its Web site is www.vvaw.org.
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