Mississippi WWII Vets Break Through Memorial Barriers

The United States government shut down at the strike of midnight on October 1st. Along with the government shutdown came the closing of all federal landmarks in the United States. But that didn’t stop some upset World War II veterans of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight Veterans from storming the World War II Memorial in Washington DC on Tuesday. The group apparently felt the shutdown shouldn’t interfere with their right to visit the memorial built to honor them and their fallen comrades.

On Tuesday the United States government shut down for the first time in nearly 18 years. This shutdown is the first of it’s kind since 1996 when President Bill Clinton was in office. That disruption lasted 21 days, from Dec. 15, 1995-Jan. 6, 1996.

The shutdown has also closed national parks and monuments around the country, including Mississippi parks like Sardis Lake Federal Park and the Natchez Trace.

But it was the World War II Memorial closure in Washington DC that motivated 92 World War II veterans of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight who expressed their frustration by baking through memorial barriers. The Honor Flight was established in 2011 to help Mississippi World War II veterans fly to Washington and tour the memorial built in their honor — all free of charge.

The World War II Memorial is open to the veterans today but it is scheduled to re-close this afternoon.

Some politicians have spoken up in outrage that veterans will not be able to visit the various veterans memorials and federal monument.

Nobody knows how long the government shutdown will last or if the voices of citizens are being heard by our leaders. But today, the 92 World War II veterans let their voices be heard in a very strong way.

—Justin Taylor, Associate Editor, HottyToddy.com

—You can email Justin at justin.taylor@hottytoddy.com