Shays Supports Resolution for Respecting the Memory of Veterans
VETERANS
The Norwalk Hour
Kelly Carroll
Boston University Washington News Service
9/27/2007
WASHINGTON – Rep. Chris Shays (R-4th) has joined supporters of a congressional resolution in response to an act of vandalism at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial earlier this month. The resolution, which already has more than 100 supporters, would express the House’s anger over acts of vandalism against those who have fought and died for the United States.
“Those who have their name etched on that memorial gave their life for their country,” Shays said in a statement Thursday. “Their families should not have to deal with the pain of finding their loved one’s name defaced.”
On Sept. 7, a thin, light, oily substance was reported to be smeared on the memorial and its walkway. At first, it was not clear if the substance was there accidentally, but U.S. Park Police recently determined that the act was not accidental. Numerous chemical analyses of what the substance could be have been inconclusive, and the Park Police are continuing their investigation.
Members of the House are seeking action through their resolution condemning the act of vandalism, which damaged at least 14 of the 140 inscribed panels of the memorial. The resolution states that the House “condemns all attacks upon the memory of veterans and their service to the United States.”
“I was a [prisoner of war] in Vietnam for seven years and I find this vandalism unconscionable and un-American,” Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) said in a press conference attended by Shays and other members of Congress on Thursday. “I hope that the authorities find the criminal responsible for this and that they lock him or her up for a very, very long time.”
Parts of the memorial still appear to be stained, according to Bill Line, spokesman for the National Park Service. However, the memorial has remained open to visitors.
“Quickness is the enemy of the proper removal of this substance,” Line said, adding that the Park Service is more concerned about preserving the memorial and remains confident that it will be able to remove all of the substance.
In addition to the resolution, AMVETS, a veterans’ organization, is offering a $5,000 reward to help in finding those responsible for the vandalism of the memorial.
“From media reports, I gather this may have been seen by the perpetrators as a protest against the government and current military operations,” AMVETS National Commander John P. Brown III said at the press conference. “If that is the case, these criminals are as uneducated as they are unpatriotic. This wall belongs to the people, not the government.”
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