The Board Says "No" to

 

 Sun City's Veterans

 

 

Las Vegas Veterans Day

     Parade Logo, 2005

America has set aside a special day to give thanks for peace and to honor veterans of all U.S. wars. That day is November 11th and is recognized now as Veterans Day, a name adopted in 1954.[1] Originally called Armistice Day, this day was initially intended to commemorate the cessation of hostilities in 1918 between the Allied nations and Germany.[2]

This week Sun City Anthem will be holding their traditional Veterans Day ceremonies on Friday the 11th. While many of our residents will fill the auditorium to join together in honoring our veterans, the unknown question concerning this event is whether Sun City’s own veterans will be there in full complement, as they had in past ceremonies. While some veterans will be in attendance, unknown to our broader community and possibly even to some Board members as well is the fact that there has been an active campaign to encourage Sun City veterans to boycott this year’s event, and indirectly, to show their considerable disdain for the Board of Director’s decision to refuse their request for some assistance.

So just what assistance were our veterans seeking? The assistance being sought was in connection with their desire to march in this year's Las Vegas Veterans Day parade.[3] According to Sun City spokesperson Colonel Herbert Blum, USA (Ret.) in a letter to the Board of Directors, they were seeking two things: 

·        A one-time place to meet for the purpose of gathering information and forming a marching group for up to 100 or so participants;

·        Some monetary assistance in securing bus transporting for their group and loved ones to and from the parade site.

As I understand the Association's response, Colonel Blum was apparently not entitled to a personal response from Board. In fact, it seems they were not entitled to any response at all since (after waiting several months) Colonel Blum had to search out and eventually elicit a long-overdue response. When that turn-down response finally came, it came not from the Board directly, but from Community Manager Wendy Linow. No wonder Colonel Blum and his fellow veterans were left to ponder their future relationship with the Board and the community in which they reside.  

Whether the Board had good reason for their decision to turn down the veteran's request is less the point than their apparent failure to timely respond and to possibly reach some mutual accommodation that would have met the needs of all concerned. Some believe our veterans were entitled to something more than a deaf ear from the Board.

Ron Johnson

November 9, 2005

[2] In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, the Allied powers a signed a cease-fire agreement (an armistice) with Germany at Rethondes, France on November 11, 1918, bringing World War I to a close. The "war to end all wars" was over. That war was officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France.  The United States Senate refused to ratify the treaty, and the United States merely declared the war with Germany at an end in 1921. The treaty led to the formation of the League of Nations, the predecessor to the founding of the United Nations in 1945. 

[3] Las Vegas has had an annual Veterans Day Parade for the past 34 years. Last year, the parade had 110 entries marching up Fourth Street and was hosted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1753. This year's parade theme is "Operation Welcome Home." This is a national theme giving the Vietnam Veterans the parade they never got on returning home. For this year’s parade information, see http://lvvetparade.org/