ORANGE — A rally and short march was held Friday, June 6 as part of a veterans “Call to Action” national rally held to coincide with the anniversary of the D-Day invasion of France during World War II.
The rally was held in Monte Irvin Park in front of the statue of Irvin, which is about a block away from the East Orange Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The event was held to draw attention to cuts being made in the Veterans Affairs system.
The event included speeches by Ted Glick of the Bloomfield Sustainability Network, South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum and disabled Vietnam veteran Jan Barry. The speeches were often drowned out by passing cars honking in support of the veterans.
“We are standing in solidarity now,” Collum said. “Keep your hands off the V.A.”
Barry, who came back from Vietnam and advocated against the war, said he is very concerned about the cuts. He said his own health had been good until recently when the effects of Agent Orange used in Vietnam caught up with him but he was able to get assistance through the V.A.
He said he was against “cutting benefits to veterans to provide tax cuts to billionaires.”
The cuts made by the federal government have already had an impact, Barry said.
“This slash and burn approach led to 2,000 x-rays not being read in a V.A. hospital in Florida,” Barry said. “I urge everyone to reach out to friends, family and elected officials and tell them to stop these cuts by the golf course guy, casino owner and bankrupter of businesses.”
After the speeches, the Solidarity Singers performed two original songs for the roughly 50 people in attendance before the group walked to the hospital where they stood at the street entrance with signs while passing vehicles honked.
Rally calls attention to cuts at V.A. added by Joe Ungaro on
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