Why? "The World War II memorial … the Vietnam Veterans Memorial … the Korean War Veterans Memorial – Obama has shut them all down to force his will" - See more at: http://vetmarch.com/#sthash.TgQJTg7q.dpuf http://vetmarch.com/
And, if you can't make it to Washington DC, there are other rallies at other locations: https://vetmarch.com/donate/rally-locations
Since the shutdown started, the Executive Branch of government, i.e. the President, has ordered the closure of anything that might be painful to the public. Included in that was the erection of barricades to the War Memorials on the Mall, including the cemetary at Normandy, the Viet Nam Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the World War II Memorial. It has prevented the payments to the families of the Fallen. It is threatening to end payments to Veterans, for injuries incurred during their service to the Nation.
Last week, the first group of World War II Veterans encountered the original erection of barriers to their monument. The monument built with private donations, spearheaded by Senator Bob Dole, a decorated hero of WWII, who was injured during that war. Honor Flight and some members of Congress had called the White House, to ensure that these 80 and 90 year olds would be allowed to view their monument. The White House did not just say "no," but kept the barriers up. The 90 year old WWII Veterans "stormed" the barricades and accomplished their mission, anyway, with the escort of a few members of Congress.
A few days later, the barricades had been put back up, and this time wired together. Another group of Veterans was en route. This time, a group of bikers arrived ahead of the Veterans and disassembled the barricades.
While, it appears that the White House may have backed down from keeping WWII Veterans out of their memorial, it has re-doubled efforts at the Viet Nam memorial. Viet Nam Veterans are being forcibly removed from viewing their memorial.
Keep in mind, it costs more money to barricade these monuments, than to allow them to be open. There is no gate to man during normal operations. The Park Rangers that are being used as the implement will still be paid, whether they simply roam the grounds, or they are massed to assemble barricades. As far as I can determine, this is an unprecedented move, during ANY shutdown of the government. I find no record of Clinton, Bush, or Reagan ordering the expenditure of more money to close "The Mall" than to just allow it to continue without service. And to re-inforce the culpability of the Executive Branch (along with his enforcer, Harry Reid), the House has specifically passed legislation to keep "The Mall" and monuments open.
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