A legal dispute has arisen between Veterans and the county, highlighting critical issues regarding veterans' rights and the county's responsibilities towards them. This is their story and incidents alleged to have taken place...
I am sharing this story as told and reported by numerous veterans who lived through this experience. I use the word alleged because I was not witness to any of these incidents. I am not dismissing the truth of their story in any way.
Scroll down to view the historical data: Reports to city officials and communications between Veteran members
THE ELEVEN YEAR BATTLE AT HOME
The
VFW has been in a state of homelessness for the last 10 years. After an
exhausting 12 month fight of our attempts to have the Veterans of Foreign Wars
(VFW) obtain an authorized building, that is afforded to them by law,
the VFW closed its doors in the city of Merced forever.
For
over a decade these war veterans fought to keep their residency at the
Veterans Memorial Building. Asking for support from the Merced
County Board of Supervisors, the police department and the district
attorney. All notifications and requests for assistance were ignored.
The
local newspaper depicted this as a battle between the VFW and the American
Legion. Giving added permission for all agencies to ignore the violence against
these war veterans; who are elders, and many who have since passed. For
over a decade these letters reporting abuse and violence were filed and dismissed
by city and county officials that could have changed this scenario. Dialog of
occurrences and reporting records are posted on this blog.
The
story was told to me as follows:
In
2012 a new lease was signed by members of the American Legion with the
Merced County Board of Supervisors. This is when things took a turn between the
two organizations. The new leaders of the American Legion brought into
effect a part of their group called "Sons of the Legion Riders".
Prior to this new lease the two organizations peacefully shared space at
the Veterans Memorial Building. Many were members of both organizations.
This
new group of bikers (not all veterans) brought a change of energy to the long-term residency
between the groups. These bikers came in inciting violence, racism against
veterans of color and women veterans. Some of them had their lives and
families threatened. Numerous members from both organizations left in order to
keep themselves and their families safe.
These
Veterans have survived alleged assaults (all reported), physical force and
intimidation by the use of weapons. It was also shared with me that the riders
parked their bikes inside the building and carried fire arms; disrespecting
the building and its members.
The
board assisted the American Legion by casting out the VFW and condemning the
building they called the shack (a historical part of the building). This
building was next to the hall where the VFW met and had their meetings.
Although
the American Legion received millions of dollars to repair the building,
they refused to give the VFW the newly added office, and refused them any space
to store their files and/or have an office to assist veterans with their
claims. The shack also required electrical repairs and a disability entry
way, which Merced County was unwilling to repair. The Commander of the VFW was
an engineer for the military and saw this act as a means to boot them out
instead of help them. Still, they should have been offered a space indoors
and they were not.
Last
year, I became a member of the VFW and shortly thereafter found out about this
situation, so I decided to address the Board of Supervisors about it.
After attending a meeting with the board, two senior non-commissioned officers
also retired Veterans, joined me in this fight. Through our efforts, we
managed to stop the renewal of an expired 3yr lease. We were simply asking
for assistance to be included as it once was, but were denied. We then
asked for another space to accommodate the VFW, and it was also denied.
A
hoax of a mediation meeting was attempted by the board when we asked for what
we wanted. They then asked the American Legion what they would accept.
They
accepted nothing.
The
meeting was a facade to appear supportive of the VFW's needs.
After
this disingenuous meeting, Mr. Pedrozo held a town hall meeting at the Veterans
Memorial Hall. We did not attend due to these safety concerns. He knew
very well that many of us did not feel safe at the hall; he intentionally
violated our ability to attend this town hall meeting.
Following
this incident, we attempted to ask questions at the next annual town
hall meeting in person, and we were again denied the ability to ask
questions. Strategically turning a town hall meeting into a
regular meeting for those who were attending in person, seeking answers to
their questions. Only community members who called in or asked a question
online were allowed to take part in public dialogue. This was one of three
clear violations of The Brown Act committed by this board.
When
a new lease was proposed, the American Legion showed up in mass at the next Board
of Supervisors’ meeting; outraged and angry, bullying the Board for
claiming ownership of the building. In the same breath, they claimed that
the Board was responsible for the building's upkeep, even after
the millions of dollars were given to them for repairs.
The
American Legion sign at the front of the Veterans Memorial Hall confirms
their claim, all while the Board of Supervisors claimed that the Veterans
Memorial building is a county building. If it was in fact a Veteran’s Memorial
Hall building, it should have been titled as such, and not excluding the emblems
of all Merced County Veterans organizations.
The
board's continued inaction allows the American Legion to claim authority
of the building and it continues to be demonstrated as such. The question
is why they have allowed this, and what do members of the Board stand to
gain by keeping it the status quo?
The
VFW could not grow its membership due to a lack of procuring any facilities to
run the organization. The American Legion continued to claim there was a
space for them, only in words. Still, they knew it was highly unlikely
that the VFW would show up there after the unaddressed violence that
has taken place over the years; causing many VFW members to feel
unsafe.
I
scheduled a VFW meeting at the Veterans Memorial Hall and it was very
uncomfortable. As a new member not having experienced these violent acts, I
witnessed a deep level of anxiety coming from both sides. The VFW members stated
that their signs and wall memorabilia had been torn down and broken. Nothing
remains that shows they were ever there; destroying years of historical data. During
this meeting, the current Commander of the American Legion was filming the
VFW Commander as though he was going to do or say something wrong. That
act of intimidation was uncalled for.
We
scheduled the next monthly meeting, but when we arrived the building was
closed. There was no person to contact to have them open the door, leaving
us out in the cold.
Earlier
this year, a veteran who is a member of both organizations attempted to attend
an American Legion meeting at the hall. He was physically tossed out the door by
people from the “Sons of the Legion Riders”, landing face down on the ground.
This member is small in stature and not fit to defend himself. He is also
an elder. This is elder abuse, a reportable offense and clearly against the
law. This member reported the incident to the American Legion District
office, and to our knowledge no action has been taken -yet again.
Not
only has the American Legion participated in these acts of violence and
discrimination, but they have also failed to report their taxes to the IRS for
a few years now. And when a report was requested by a member at large they
actively threatened this member, stating how they were being harassed for
making such a request, and threatening legal action towards them. This member was merely exercising
their rights. Why the Board of Supervisors have allowed this failure to
report their tax information is also in question.
How
is a new lease going to occur when this criteria is not being met?
We
question why an organization of war veterans did not have precedence in a place
to reside, especially since we have been informed that the current
commander of the American Legion only spent one day in the military. Veterans
who have served in war find this appalling. His position brings into question
the real number of Veterans who completed their service.
The
American Legion claimed 600 members at the last board meeting. The last
count posted showed they had three hundred Veteran members. This begs the
question of how many of those members are still alive? As most are lifetime
members and many have now passed away and are still listed on the roster.
Along
with our most recent requests, we have also asked a safety clause to be
included into the new lease, and to no surprise we did not receive a response. Again,
overlooking Veterans’ safety at this building that has a historical legacy of
violence.
Because
of all these injustices taking place, I will be posting the emails both
sent and received to the Board of Supervisors. In the last email sent
to Mr. Pedrozo and Mr. Mark Hendrickson we asked a few questions in order
to gain clarity on the matter. Again, we never received a response.
We
are disgusted and saddened that the board would force this decades long
organization to close due to their own negligence or gain, after the VFW has
done so much for our community.
This
county is one of the largest veteran communities in California, and to force
closure of this great organization is a travesty. I hope that those who are running for office next year are
reminded by this community of this substantial failure on their part.
We
continue to stand with these veterans who are dismissed and ignored by both the
county office of Veterans and the Board of Supervisors, who hold no shame.
It is our vision to start a nonprofit that will uncover and address the
failures of this county. This county who shows no remorse for their actions.
In
our view and through the eyes of the law, a great number of civil right
violations took place and not one person did anything about it.
The veterans, all mostly in their late 70’s and 80’s, were just too tired,
too old and too ill to keep this unethical fight going.
The
moral injury that this county has inflicted on these veterans is beyond
shameful and incredibly disrespectful to those who fought in war for
everyone’s liberty.
Many
Vietnam veterans who were spat on when they came home are now spat on
again by the people in their own community. The VFW was forced to silently
close their doors and no one noticed. Mr. Pedrozo should be ashamed that
he allowed this to go on in his district, as he did nothing to stop this
tragedy from occurring; especially since he claims to honor Veterans in his
family’s legacy.
Finally,
we would like to thank Supervisor Espinoza who opened the door for us by
stopping the vote for the new lease last year so that these issues might
be addressed. No one else stood with us.
If you would like to assist us in building this non-profit please write to us via the contact form on the left hand side of the page. Thank you.
Below is a link to a PDF retaining historical data, reports to city officials and communications between Veteran members:
We are not authorized to post the contents of the police reports, however, we are sharing a link to a document listing the dates police reports have been made (that we know of):
More information:
Merced County Times - News Article
Additional links:
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