[End of Update]
We can no longer stand idly by as people hide behind the First Amendment to commit crimes or acts of sedition.
Vandalism is a crime, it is not an expression of free speech. WUA has pointed out time and time again examples of how the anti-war left have committed crimes against patriotic expression.
Enough is enough.
The following is just the latests in a long line of attacks on our veterans and their families.
No more.
Veterans' Day Vandals Touch a Nerve
Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007 By DAVID VON DREHLE/KANSAS CITYBroken flags await sorting and repair in front of the Bender residence in Kansas City, Missouri - Chuck France
Almost as soon as Ann and Don Bender marked the 4th of July by planting a field of more than 3,500 flags — one for each of the American troops killed in Iraq— the elements began to take a toll. The baking sun and sudden storms of a Great Plains summer left the little flagsticks warped and broken and the fabric bleached and torn.
But that was nothing compared to the damage done in the dark hours of Sunday morning by vandals who kicked down thousands of the flags and left behind a cardboard sign with a single word splattered in red spray paint: "MURDERERS."
"You'll have to excuse me, sir, for crying," said a big bear of a man named Andy Enders as he stood by the remains of what had been "the most beautiful memorial ever created by private citizens, in my opinion."
Other veterans and passersby were busy picking up fallen flags, piling up Old Glorys by the hundreds, smoothing the flags, stacking the stomped sticks and wondering what will be salvaged of the display that has moved and intrigued this town for months.
Its power lay in its simplicity. The Benders live on six tree-shaded acres along one of Kansas City's main thoroughfares, called State Line Road because it marks the boundary between Missouri and Kansas. Thousands of drivers pass their home each day. In the long stretch of grass between the road and their white rail fence, they placed flags to mark the rising toll of the war, with a hand-printed sign at each end of the field displaying the total. On Sunday, the signs said 3,860.
If you wish to protest the war, that's fine, that's your right and your perrogative. We, the veterans of this nation, actually served in our nations armed forces so that you HAD that right. We may disagree with you, but YOU ARE ASSURED THAT RIGHT because of veterans.
When protest breaks down into acts of vandalism, that's another story. You've become criminals.
I call for ALL veterans in this nation to stand vigil, and when you know acts of vandalism have taken place in your home towns, come together and demand justice.
We were trained to operate as units and teams.
That training doesn't go away just because we take off our uniforms and hang our Class A's in the closet.
To the cowards who kicked over the flags here: Justice will find you out.
Once and Always, a VERY HIGHLY PISSED OFF American Fighting Man
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