Due to the government shutdown , all national parks, memorials and museums have been closed. But don’t tell that to this group of World War 2 veterans. Well, actually, go and tell them. Because these WWII vets just don’t care.
The veterans forced open the memorial today to pay their respects to the men and women that lost their lives during the second world war.
According to the Huffington Post , a group of veterans traveled to the National Mall this week to pay their respects at the WWII Memorial. Unfortunately, the government shutdown forced the memorial to close before their visit.
Of course, that didn’t stop the veterans.
Led by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight, the WWII vets ignored the signs, moved the barriers, and stormed the memorial.
Leo Shane III, a reporter for Stars and Stripes , was on hand to take some photos of the incident.
Shane writes on Twitter: “Honor flight vets just knocked over the barriers at the WWII memorial to get inside, #shutdown or no.”
Shane even gives some credits to the politicians. Well, some of them. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) for instance, reportedly “distracted one of the U.S. Park Police” officers to allow the vets to knock down a couple of fences.
Credit where due — I watched Rep Steve King distract a park police officer while vets and staffers knocked down the fences here. #shutdown
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
Honor flight vets just knocked over the barriers at the WWII memorial to get inside, #shutdown or no. pic.twitter.com/T4bx8kvFYj
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
Tons of applause as the WWII vets from Miss. storm their memorial. Park police on the way. #shutdown pic.twitter.com/31UGU7MRry
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
No sign of folks leaving. The vets have control of the memorial. #shutdown pic.twitter.com/eGj4kmFEiP
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
This is where the Mississippi WWII vets wanted to get — their tower. #shutdown pic.twitter.com/VeKMGHURKr
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
The only information about the WWII vets protest at the memorial at the moment is from Leo Shane’s Twitter feed. Thankfully, the Stars and Stripes reporter will be writing an article about the experience later today.
So, full story on the Honor Flight veterans storming the WWII Memorial in 15 minutes. Awesome day.
— Leo Shane III (@LeoShane) October 1, 2013
