Veterans symbolically discard service medals at anti-NATO rally

Veterans symbolically discard service medals at anti-NATO rally

news.yahoo.com

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Nearly 50 U.S. military veterans at an anti-NATO rally in Chicago threw their service medals into the street on Sunday, an action they said symbolized their rejection of the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(visit the link for the full news article)

The medals are supposed to be for acts of heroism. I don't feel like a hero. I don't feel like I deserve them," said Zach LaPorte, who served in Iraq in 2005 and 2006.

A veteran from New York who only gave his name as Jerry said: "I don't want any part of this anymore. I chose human life over war, militarism and imperialism."


news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by leosnake


I was literally crying as I watched that. I was so proud as I watched them throw those worthless medals away. Those men and women showed more HONOR than their commanders, who continue to obey illegal orders from the Globalist puppet that has usurped the role of Commander-in-Chief. If the Joint Chiefs had any honor, or balls, they would follow suit; then arrest that scumbag and put him on trial for Treason - at Gitmo where he belongs, sharing a cell with George Bush and Dick Cheney.

For the sake of objectivity and recording all the facts, it appears that at least one of the protesters has been shown to have either lied about his service or, at the very least, embellished his record:

thisainthell.us...

Originally posted by Kolya
For the sake of objectivity and recording all the facts, it appears that at least one of the protesters has been shown to have either lied about his service or, at the very least, embellished his record:

thisainthell.us...

Or, at least so one guy claims on his blog...

hardly 'proof'.

Previously posted on ATS here

Yea It was on MSN but they are trying to bury it quick:

usnews.msnbc.msn.com...

The Link is no longer visible on the main page. They are posting tanning mom on the front page now to distract...

Since we're fighting for medals and honors....let's have a world wide.....military olympics! The country with the most medals, at the end of competition, gets the country of their choosing. No one dies, no one gets hurt. How's THAT for an idea? It could be just like the summer/winter olympics...with the grand finale being a LIVE war game...using PAINT BALLS.

reply to post by stanguilles7


A credible milblog whose accusations (because you're right, we can't see the proof so it's not fact yet) CAN be checked, making it very dangerous to be stating this if it could be so easily disproven. I'm not in the US, never mind involved with the military, so while I'd run the checks myself I'm not able to.

It should also be said that several other vocal IVAW/anti-war vets have been credibly proven to have lied about their record, some even of being vets at all. Not that it means the above guy is automatically guilty, I'm stating that solely for the record.

Originally posted by THE_PROFESSIONAL
Yea It was on MSN but they are trying to bury it quick:

usnews.msnbc.msn.com...

The Link is no longer visible on the main page. They are posting tanning mom on the front page now to distract...

edit on 113131p://5America/ChicagoMon, 21 May 2012 11:55:08 -0500 by THE_PROFESSIONAL because: (no reason given)

And soon also this thread, sheeple learn but never get anything from it. We must have a paradigm shift to even equal those soldier. They dump the medals, they perform what they preach, do we ?

reply to post by leosnake

"I don't want any part of this anymore. I chose human life over war, militarism and imperialism."

WOW!!! That's the only word that comes to my head right now...

"I chose human life over war".... that guy has my supreme respect...


reply to post by Blackmarketeer

Originally posted by Blackmarketeer
Previously posted on ATS here

Actually, that seems to be an article which was announcing the upcoming rally. This thread is about the rally actually taking place, sourced from a totally different news website, along with video footage from the rally.

"It's not for you and it's not for the people, it for the state" - protestor

So let me get something straight here, because I'm a bit confused and the video wasn't exactly clear about it...

Those protestors who were hiding their faces were protesting the anti-NATO rally... correct?

I assume that is the case judging by what that protestor said, which was basically "screw the people, the state is supreme"... or am I getting this all wrong?

Those military veterans throwing away their medals are American Heroes!

Seems like it wasn't important as FOX news didnt mention it.
I don't think somebody at the top liked it.

Though I suspect they wouldn't want to show anything anti-american.
well, except for the police beating the protesters

The badly outnumbered officers fought back with truncheons, and people on both sides threw punches. As police reinforcements moved in, the pack of violent protesters fled. Read more: www.foxnews.com...

Yeah right. "badly outnumbered" is a lie and the protesters didnt exactly "flee"

At one point, dozens of protesters in black clothing surged toward a much smaller group of police, throwing objects at them Read more: www.foxnews.com...

Wonder if those unidentifiable people were plants by the cops. After all it gave them a reason to push the peaceful protest out.

Funny. No mention of medal throwing protest. hmm.

reply to post by MeesterB

Wonder if those unidentifiable people were plants by the cops. After all it gave them a reason to push the peaceful protest out.

This is what I'm trying to establish. Were the "unidentifiable people" part of the anti-NATO rally or were they protesting the rally? It seems to me, judging by what one of them said in the video, that they were against the rally and that they were only there to stir up trouble... this whole thing reeks so much it's not even funny. My nostril hairs are burning up.

reply to post by ChaoticOrder


I watched a few streams and the ones dressed in black didn't come in until the veterans were almost done.
Then the police started forming lines, reinforcements were coming in(i think bike cops switching to riot cops), and then a handful started pushing against the police lines and seemed to be hitting with sticks. Bam, protest forced out of the area and ordered to disperse.

Just seems so likely that a few plants can start trouble and give the police an excuse to order them to disperse. After all they werent going to go billy clubbing a peaceful protest full of veterans, and you can't let them be in sight of the NATO conference for too long.

I'm proud of them. Like many said. They weren't disrespecting their brothers and sisters overseas right now, they are mad at the lies and the government that caused the war.
I've been listening to a song lately, I love it. I've been around military people a LOT and they've Always opened up to me about stuff. So this song, I feel, describes how a lot of them feel, especially the ones that threw away their medals. (I'm nt claiming I KNOW how they feel, I've never been through it, but I think this describes the pain they go through.)

It's a really sad song, basically about the disillusionment of a soldier throughout his training and deployment.

In the beginning he gets recruited and thinks.
"a hero of war. Yeah that's what I'll be.
And when I come home
They'll be damn proud of me.
I'll carry this flag to the grave if I must.
Cause it's a flag that I love
A flag that I trust."

He ends up shooting a woman with a white flag of surrender in her hand and he comes to realization that the cause of the war has been glorified and he feels like a monster, that people should not think of him as a "hero."
Remember, right after 9/11, many were deeply affected by an attack on US soil. It's practically unheard of (except for pearl harbor.) they fought to protect the PEOPLE and the COUNTRY that they so dearly love.
Many were in the dark about the truth of the war and the lies that were told.
He says.

"a hero of war, is that what they see?
Just medals and scars.
So damn proud of me.
And I brought home that flag, now it gathers dust.
But it's a flag that I love, it's the only flag I trust."

It's honestly a heartbreaking song. Especially since so many soldiers that I know have told me that they have felt this way. (I'm not saying that all do, nor am I saying that they SHOULD, this is just what te symbolic throwing of the medals reminded me of.)
I for one will support the soldiers no matter what, I may not agree with the WAR sometimes, but I will ALWAYS support the men and women fighting for me, every other US citizen, and our country.

This was a very moving ceremony! I remember my dad use to be up late some nights sitting in the basement crying because he was drinking and rehashing his 8 month time in Vietnam, He always told me it just was not worth it! He is now a recluse and has not spoken to any of our family in over 20 yrs. His 8 months of horror and killing of innocent people ruined any chance of him having a "normal" life when he returned to the USA. He was used by our government and discarded when they were through with him.

reply to post by trig_grl


I'm so sorry. I've talked I Vietnam vets. They usually don't like talking about it. It's not fair that those who served were treated like absolute s# when they came home. When I learned about that in high school (that they were ridiculed and spat on) I was so sad. It broke my heart.

In Texas (I believe) they are going to give a REAL homecoming ceremony (it will be exactly like the ones that we have now for our Afghanistan and Iraq soldiers) to Vietnam veterans. when I heard that, I was so happy.
So many of them were drafted in Vietnam too! It's not like they chose that! The went through hell and we're scarred and changed for LIFE. Drastically. Like your post says.
But I'm so glad that they're doing that for them. They deserve it, and much more.

I am so proud of these veterans who are now Awake and Aware. My eyes welled up in tears when I heard these brave men and women.