Group Fights to Save VA Facility for Injured Soldiers

"It is hallowed grounds, it is a beautiful place for the veterans. Now they want to take these grounds and commercialize them." - Veteran Advocate John Lewandowski

Courtesy: voiceoftheveterans.org

(MILWAUKEE, Wisc.) - Veterans in Milwaukee are steaming over the proposed parceling of the buildings and grounds of the VA's Milwaukee Regional Medical Center. A group of them have banded together to try and put a halt to the VA's attempts to sell the property off to a commercial developer.

John Lewandowski is one of the military veterans heading the effort to save the place intended to serve as a healing location for veterans of war. He told Salem-News.com, "This is hallowed ground, and they want to make a buck off of it, it is wrong."

The problem began in the early 1990's when Congress passed a law called the EUL or "Enhanced Use Lease" program. This allows is the VA to Sell Off any part of land or buildings that they deem "excessive" on any VA Property in the Country.

Veterans like Lewandowski who are worried about the well being of returning vets, say the problems brought about by this federal program are taking a toll on American veterans and the communities they come from. He says it might better be described as a crisis, as the VA sets out to dispose of property originally intended only for the well being of those who served in the military.

"The VA has already done so in some States and will be looking to do it in others if the American people aren't told about what is happening," Lewakdowski said. "This land and these buildings should be used for the treatment of our soldiers, not to line the pockets of politicians and developers. In many cases we are told the land is being given away for pennies instead of what it is really worth."

While Lewandowski cites the growing number of veterans returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as the root of his concern, he says what is happening to them is nothing new. Instead, it is a repeat of what happened to the troops who served in Vietnam. "You know just under 60,000 were killed in Vietnam, did you know that over 100,000 have committed suicide since the war's end?" he asked.

This historic VA facility in Milwaukee dates back to a period just after the Civil War. It was designated as a place for combat weary soldiers to convalesce when it was built. Nearby is the national cemetery, the third oldest in the nation. "But we can't bury people there anymore, they have closed it down to new burials excepts for a few cases." Lewandoski said. The next closest veterans cemetery is more than 30 miles away.

Over the years, the buildings at Milwaukee's VA Center were left in disrepair. Any funds received by the VA were used on the medical facility, not on the historic buildings that fell apart as the years passed.

John Lewandowski says the city of Milwaukee became involved at one point, but then it was discovered that according to federal rules, if any government money was spent on refurbishing the buildings, they could not be occupied exclusively by veterans, anyone could live there.

This sent the advocates back to the drawing board. If the government funds meant no exclusivity for veterans, then it defeated the overall plan. But Lewandowski says they have more ideas, and they believe that they can win this battle if they remain committed.

He believes that the best thing that could happen at this historic VA facility would be the addition of a Fisher House, where veteran's families are allowed to live for free during the recovery process.

"The Fisher House should have been built or asked for many years ago. The last director didn't even put us on the list. We are on the list finally, and the first chance of getting one is 2012, that is a long way away." He says it needs to happen sooner.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin is not the first VA facility to go on the VA's chopping block. The facility in West Los Angeles narrowly survived a similar fate, which was avoided by the political maneuvering of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Jim DeMint, a Republican from South Carolina, tried in early September to strip language from a Senate Bill Feinstein submitted prohibiting the Department of Veterans Affairs from allowing commercial development of its West Los Angeles Medical Center site.

The Senate rejected DeMint's amendment on a vote of 66 to 25. Feinstein won her victory with a sizable margin.

"The Senate resisted attempts to commercialize this site, which could have ended up with high-rises on it," Senator Feinstein said. "The Senate today spoke in a clear voice, and rejected an amendment that could have opened up the site to major development and commercialization."

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) also spoke against the amendment. “I am so proud to stand with Senator Feinstein to stop this land grab, which would hurt our veterans, who deserve so much more from us,” Senator Boxer said.

The future of Milwaukee's VA Medical Center and the adjacent cemetery remain uncertain. Lewandowski says a moratorium is in place for now, but that ends in January. In the meanwhile, veterans and injured soldiers are hoping that a new source of funding will become available so the hospital can be saved for future generations.

This veteran says the EUL program is the finishing touch of what the VA wants to do. "They're moving on this, they want to remove facilities and make them all private." He says he believes the privatization of such care would be another disaster.

"They are selling this off for pennies on the dollar. It is hallowed grounds, it is a beautiful place for the veterans. Now they want to take these grounds and commercialize them."

Lewandowski hopes that anyone interested in helping these veterans threatened by the federal government with the loss of their hospital will visit voiceoftheveterans.org and become involved in any way possible.

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Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with almost twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist and reporter. Today, in addition to his role as a war correspondent in Afghanistan where he spent the winter of 2006/07, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated only with Google News. You can send email to Tim at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com