Meet me in D.C. on D-Day
Thousands of veterans and supporters will rally on the National Mall to protest the cuts to the VA and demand preservation of the earned benefits millions of us were promised and sacrificed to earn!
LET’S GO!
Just a week ago I stood in the pouring rain with over 2,000 of my friends and neighbors in St. Louis county as we gathered to tell the Trump Administration to keep their hands off of a host of important programs and benefits. We were part of millions who stepped out across the country.
On June 6th we will go to Washington D.C. to demand the Administration and Congress stop their assault on veterans, our benefits, and the promise our nation made to the nearly 16 million living veterans of a lifetime of care and support. In just three months this Administration has fired thousands of veterans from their Federal jobs, cut key programs that support veterans, and announced plans to drastically dismantle the Department of Veterans Affairs.
We want them to know we are not going to sit quietly and let them do it. Veterans of the nation have a long history of having to go to Washington to fight for the benefits they were promised. From Revolutionary War veterans demanding their promised pensions and land grants; to WWI veterans forming the Bonus Army in 1932; to Vietnam Veterans battling for recognition of their unique health issues with Agent Orange and more; to Global War on Terror veterans demanding a real G.I. Bill and healthcare for the mysterious illnesses stemming from toxic exposure.
Time and time again when the country finds itself in financial constraint, or moving on from a war, they turn their back on our nation’s veterans. Today, Donald Trump, the draft dodger, and Elon Musk, who has never served anything but himself, are leading an all out assault on the earned benefits, and the agencies, that support our veterans in ways unheard of and often while lying to the public about their true intentions.
Secretary Doug Collins announced he would cut an additional 83,000 employees from the Department of Veterans Affairs and then said they would examine who that would be causing fear and worry throughout the workforce. He has frozen hiring of new employees leaving even brand new clinics understaffed and unable to support veterans while lying to the media and even Congress that they were fully functional.
He has demanded all employees return to work in a facility by April 15th knowing full well there is not enough room for the thousands that were hired specifically to work remotely. This is leading to stories of therapists being forced to work in cubicle farms with no privacy to conduct mental health counseling sessions and leaving thousands of veterans without urgent help when they need it.
Just today Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries discussed these attacks on VA during the Democratic Steering Committee. He lays out some of the egregious actions we have already seen.
We are already hearing horrifying stories of a spike of suicides among veterans. My friend Kris Goldsmith told the story of a VA hospital with three suicide attempts in one day, and all three men saying they attempted to take their lives for fear of becoming burdens on their families when their VA healthcare, benefits, and Social Security are cut by this Administration.
He also shares the gutting story of his own battles with his mental health and how VA and DOGE’s efforts will kill our fellow veterans.
This is the reality we face and by June it will only be much worse. The impacts of these cuts will begin to be felt my millions. Doug Collins and Trump believe that since so many veterans reportedly voted for him that they have free reign to dismantle the VA and attack the services and benefits of millions of Americans.
We are not going to let politics divide our community when it comes to taking care of our sisters and brothers. Everyone who has served has lost someone to illness or the scourge of suicide. We all know that the VA is far from perfect but dismantling it and sending our veterans out into the already over burdened civilian healthcare system is not the answer.
Millions live in rural areas where hospitals have been closing. Millions more live in urban areas with an overtaxed healthcare system already. None of those civilian caregivers understand the unique needs of those who have served and their needs.
We won’t sit quietly by and let it happen.
Veterans aren’t the usual suspects when it comes to protesting our government. But if we do not stand united and use our First Amendment rights to petition our government peacefully we will wake up with more than our healthcare and benefits gone.
Unite with Veterans. Unite for America.
Join us in Washington D.C. on June 6th on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial. We were already planning our effort when Donald Trump announced his plans for a lavish military parade in honor of his 79th birthday the following week.
We will let him know what we really think of his attacks on the millions who have served our nation.
I am proud to be part of the organizing committee of the Unite for Veterans Coalition putting together this new march on Washington. This is a non-profit effort and the rally is nonpartisan and veteran-led, focused not on politics but on protecting jobs, rights, benefits, and the Constitution itself.
We will have nationally known speakers, veterans organizations, and a focused conversation on the issues and dangers to our veterans community.
We have defined several key goals for the rally:
Reinforcing American values: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction,” President Ronald Reagan once said. Rally organizers say today’s veterans have a responsibility to defend the Constitution, the rule of law, and long-standing American norms and principles.
Defending veteran jobs: Participants will protest the administration’s layoffs of veterans working across federal agencies, particularly the VA.
Protecting the Department of Veterans Affairs: Organizers oppose efforts to privatize or weaken the VA, calling for a strong and effective public system to care for veterans’ physical and mental health needs. “America should never outsource the responsibility to care for those who have borne the heaviest burdens of war,” organizers said.
We are actively recruiting groups and leaders to join us. Veteran leaders and organizations—labor unions and allies are being asked to stand in solidarity. Veteran groups and organizations interested in joining the coalition should contact us at: info@unite4vets.org
JOIN US!
Veterans can learn more about how they can support this effort at our website: www.unite4veterans.org and by following Unite for Veterans, Unite for America on Twitter/X and BlueSky.
I would encourage you to go to the website and sign up for updates. We want to show just how many of us are ready to come to Washington.
If any media are interested in learning more you can contact our Press Contact at info@unite4vets.org.
I will be there with hundreds of my friends to make sure that those who want to tear us apart know we won’t fall for it. I hope to see you there and will keep you up to date on our progress!
Thank you Fred. Just donated to the unite4veterans group. This cause is dear to me. I had an uncle who landed at Normandy as part of D-Day, a dad who left home and lied about his age when he was 17 in 1944 to join the Navy and fight for freedom, as well as many other family members who have served our country in the military to preserve our rights. We stand with you.
We do not celebrate draft dodgers with military parades and especially not private bone spurs even if he's commander in Cheat. If you can't even stop cheating at golf long enough to honor 4 soldiers who lost their lives training to defend your rights then you deserve nothing celebrating your disservice to the constitution that you fail to defend daily.