Snubbing the Veterans?
Today’s Journal Sentinel featured a rather disconcerting article about St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy’s change of heart about marching in Milwaukee’s Veterans Parade. Apparently the Academy had committed to doing the parade, but then backed out because of a scheduling issue - they are marching in Milwaukee’s Christmas parade the following week. Sound like a case of mixed up priorities? It is according to the Journal Sentinel, which claims that the school decided that it would get more exposure at the Christmas Parade which is traditionally more well-attended than the Veterans Parade. Journal Sentinel’s opinion on the school aside, of all of this I think I’m more saddened by the fact that the parade honoring Santa has better attendance than the parade honoring our Veterans.
So many people claim to support our troops - those omnipresent little yellow car ribbons say so, don’t they? How is it that the Christmas parade is so much more well attended? Santa doesn’t need our support. Parents, take your kids to the Veterans Parade. Save Santa for Christmastime and let the Vets have November.
This year’s parade posters are surprisingly edgy and make that point clear:
For you good folks who want to go:
Milwaukee’s Veterans Day Parade takes place on Saturday, November 10, 2007. The parade starts at 11:00 a.m. Fred Broussard, a World War II POW, is the parade’s Grand Marshall this year.
Due to the ubiquitous construction downtown, the parade route this year will be as follows:
* 4th and Kilbourn east to Plankinton
* Plankinton south to Wells
* East on Wells to Prospect
* South on Prospect to the Mason Street Bridge
* Mason Street Bridge past the War Memorial and into Veterans Park
Visit the Parade Website for all of the details.
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:15 pm
I’m new to Wisconsin, a transplant from California where cell phones and plastic surgery are the reality.
When coming to the mid west I thought I was coming to the real America, the Andy Griffith Show kind of life where consideration and conscience are first.
Where a family goes together to the park and dinner is a meal all share. real apple pie ideals…… then I read todays paper about Veterans day!
It’s seems that the local Military academy has decided to back out of marching! Why cause some Santa Claus day parade is more important???
My family has served in every campaign the US has chosen to take. My grandfather jumped on June 5th 1944 and my dad server in Korea. My great grandfather was in Cuba with old TR! I have letters from my Great Great Grandfather who served with 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry. My uncle Stan served in Vietnam and I myself joined the Marines in 1991, and also my cousin who joined in 2001 and served in the Marines up until last year. As well as my son who is currently stationed at Camp Pendelton will be on his way over to Iraq soon. My family has shed blood for this great nation and everyone of use are part of what makes the fabric of this great nation.
So the reason for this letter is shame on you! Shame on all of you who fly your flags plaster your cars with I support the troups and wont be there showing your support for those that have do and will server this Nation for YOU!!!
It’s a sad day when a fictitious Santa Clause outranks those that give you your freedom!
Sleep well at night cause this nation is safe because of those you don’t have the time to honor have given you that choice to not care!
Never forget!
October 25th, 2007 at 8:21 am
[...] long the gentleman’s lady companion joined the conversation and put in her two cents on St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy’s decision not to march in Milwaukee’s Ve…. What was supposed to be a brief stop for doughnuts turned into a very nice exchange between [...]
October 25th, 2007 at 10:46 am
Jennifer, you and the Milwaukee Sentinel owe St. John’s Northwestern an apology. You have taken an honest mistake and blown it way out proportion. I am a father of a student at St. John’s Northwestern.
The school did not pick the Christmas parade over the Veterans parade. We were planning to attend both. The date of the veterans parade was incorrect on the schedule.
Once the error was detected, it was discovered the parade fell on a previously published “open weekend”. On these weekends parents are allowed to take their boys off campus. We plan our lives around these scheduled weekends. It is impossible to change this schedule.
The Christmas parade has nothing to do with the Veterans parade and never did.
St John’s has marched in the veterans parade AND the Christmas parade for years. One has nothing to do with the other.
You and the Sentinal have taken upon yourselves to hurt these boys and their reputation. You make it sound as if their was a decision to do one parade over the other.
You should be ashamed of yourselves. These are high school students you are slandering!
October 25th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Let me say further. I challenge you to find a high school which is more supportive of veterans than St. John’s Northwestern. Many of the faculty and staff are either retired or current military. We parents are sending our boys to a MILITARY school.
We have our own veterans day celebration on campus every year.(I don’t believe you’ve ever attended)
To go even further we do not honor our veterans only one day a year. We do it continuously.
October 25th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Response to Lou Boers: Thank you for your comment on “Snubbing the Veterans.” I appreciate that there are two sides to every story, and part of the reason that I posted what I did was to drum up some conversation on the topic - the Journal Sentinel article was surprisingly silent on the students’ and families’ points of view and I was hoping that I could find a family or two that would like to be heard on this. For that reason, I thank you for your comment.
I wouldn’t normally post such a direct response to a comment, but I want it to be clear that I made absolutely no commentary on the students attending the military academy - I only spoke of the school itself. Never in my post did I suggest that the students themselves made the decision to choose one parade over another. In fact, if I had to speculate, I believe that but for the scheduling conflict the vast majority of the students would rather march in the Veterans Parade over the Christmas Parade. As a father of a student attending that school, do you agree with that assessment?
Further, the Journal Sentinel article suggests that it was Lt. Col. James Kebisek, the school’s director of military affairs, who cited the higher exposure at the Christmas Parade as the school’s reason for choosing it over the Veterans Parade.
In any event, please do not take offense where none was even implied: in no way do I fault the students for this sad mix-up, and my post does not come close to suggesting that.
October 25th, 2007 at 11:43 am
If you look at the original article in the Sentinel, you will see they stated at the bottom St. John’s stated it was ascheduling conflict, however the user is LEAD to believe the conflict was between the 2 parades. this is not the case and is not St. John’s statement. This is all sensationalism obscurring the facts.
Our students are the only ones who will suffer.