Who Is Caring For Closed Memorials? No One! Man Tries And Is Asked To Leave.

Man Mowing Grass At Lincoln Memorial Reminds Us That America Is Elbow Grease, Not Bureaucracy And Handouts… Feds Tell Him To Get Lost

October 9, 2013 by Sam Rolley 

Early Wednesday an unidentified man took his lawnmower and a few tools to the Lincoln Memorial to provide free groundskeeping work to the closed Federal monument. Multiple Park Police officers promptly asked him to leave.

Via Twitter:

The Weekly Standard reports:

It’s unclear how much of the expansive lawn behind the memorial was mowed, but Park Police were alerted and three cruisers with multiple officers showed up.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD watched the officers observing the mystery mower from a distance, as he appeared to be packing it up for the day, carefully placing his blue South Carolina flag in a tube attached to his tool-toting dolly.

According to Park Police public information officer Sergeant Paul Brooks, there was no arrest made. “He was asked to leave, and he complied,” said Brooks.

The lawnmower-wielding patriot was later identified as South Carolina native Chris Cox, who said that he decided to clean up the National Mall not for political reasons, but out of respect for veterans preparing to descend on the Nation’s capital for this weekend’s Million Vet March.

“These are our memorials. Do they think that we’re just going to let them go to hell? No,” Cox told All-News 99.1 reporter John Domen. “If they shut down our memorials, we’re still going to take the trash out, we’re going to clean the windows, we’re going to cut the grass, we’re going to pull the weeds, we’re going to do the tree work.”

Armed with a push mower and a chainsaw, Cox set about clearing a branch which had fallen onto a path near the reflecting pool and mowing the lawn around the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday. He said that he hoped more volunteers would join in what he dubbed the Memorial Militia.

Park Police reportedly initially left the bastion of citizenship alone– but he was later asked to stop providing the Federal government with free landscaping services for “liability reasons.”

He said, however, that he will do the best he can to clean up the area between the Lincoln and World War II memorials before veterans arrive Sunday.

Representative Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), upon learning of Cox’s endeavor, said Cox should be honored for his effort.

“Chris embodies what it means to be not just a South Carolinian, but an American,” said Sanford. “He saw a job that wasn’t getting done and decided to take care of it.”

Below is a video of Cox being interviewed:

While the man’s mowing is a small gesture, do you think more acts of similar civil disobedience by Americans throughout the Nation could send a powerful message to the Federal government?

The Government Shutdown Picture Will Always Be Remembered By The WWII Vets Going To Their Memorial Against Administration Orders! Bully!

What’s A Metal Barrier To A WWII Vet?

October 2, 2013 by Bob Livingston 

As part of the government shutdown, national parks and Federal buildings were closed down Tuesday. But the metal barricades that blocked access to the World War II Memorial proved of little consequence to a group of WWII veterans from Mississippi on an Honor Flight tour.

“We didn’t come this far not to get in,” one veteran told Stars and Stripes.

So, aided by a few Congressmen and their staffs — including Representative Steve King (R-Iowa) who distracted a Park Police representative — the vets simply pushed the barriers aside and went in, ignoring Park Police instructions not to enter.

As the veterans walked or rolled their wheelchairs around the memorial, Park Police stood by and watched and onlookers cheered and clapped.

It’s a case of civil disobedience at its finest.

Update: The Obama Administration knew in advance the veterans were visiting the memorial and denied their request to open it.

The veterans plan to storm the closed Lincoln Memorial today.

Another Honor Flight scheduled for next week is being told that veterans will be arrested if they violate barriers to access closed memorials.

Government Closes Open Air Memorials, Parks While Employing Guards To Protect And Fencing Off Buildings--Some Shortage of Money

Feds Back Down to Allow Vets Access to World War II Memorial

Wednesday, 02 Oct 2013 03:32 PM

By Andrea Billups

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(AP)

Hours after a feud looked certain to blow up over access to Washington's World War II Memorial, the federal government backed down and said veterans would be allowed in.

The news came in a Twitter message from Carol Johnson, the National Mall's public information officer.



The climbdown was the result of a groundswell of complaints joined by a growing contingent of lawmakers who met the vets at the memorial site Wednesday morning to ensure a dignified visit. There, the scene was emotional as one veteran played Taps and most stood in rapt attention, BuzzFeed's Benny Johnson tweeted

Hundreds of veterans are due to fly to Washington to visit the memorial, which was barricaded Tuesday because of the government shutdown. About 90 veterans who turned up Tuesday got access only after Republican Rep. Steven Palazzo of Mississippi helped to cut police tape and move concrete barriers.

The scene was expected to be repeated Wednesday, before the Park Service climbdown.

Palazzo, a Gulf War Marine veteran, had planned to sponsor legislation that would have allowed access during the shutdown, saying the Obama administration was using politics against men who deserve to be honored, not pushed aside.

"At first I thought it was a huge bureaucratic oversight, but having talked with officials, I can't help but think it was politically motivated," Palazzo told the Daily Caller.

"Honor Flights, which bring WWII veterans to the nation's memorials, are planned a year in advance and can cost anywhere between $80,000 to $100,000. How low can you get with playing politics over our nation's veterans?"

Palazzo added, "This is an open-air memorial that the public has 24-7 access to under normal circumstances – even when Park Service personnel are present. It actually requires more effort and expense to shut out these veterans from their memorial than it would to simply let them through. My office has been in touch with NPS officials and the administration to try to resolve this issue."

Reps. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri and Mike Pompeo of Kansas were among a growing contingent of lawmakers on site at the memorial Wednesday morning. Pompeo put his thoughts on Twitter.



Honor Flight's board Chairman Jim McLaughlin told Newsmax on Tuesday that about 3,500 vets are slated to take free flights to Washington in October alone, creating scheduling concerns as lawmakers seek compromise to end a government shutdown that has shuttered national parks nationwide.

For many, he said, the trips mark their last chance to see the monuments, and they deserve proper dignity on their trips.

The Lincoln Memorial is also closed to public visitors, even as some have argued that it costs the Park Service more to close it than to keep it open, given that it is an open-air monument and not a site to be toured, legalinsurrection.com reports.






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