Tuesday Evening, November 28, 2023 | |
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CHRISTIAN BIBLES WILL BE REPLACED
BY BLANK JOURNALS ON POW/MIA TABLES
AT ALL LEXINGTON, KY, VA FACILITIES
AFTER DEMAND FROM MRFF
Last week, a VA medical center in the Lexington, Kentucky, VA Health Care System petulantly removed its entire POW/MIA, or “missing man,” table display from its lobby rather than simply removing the Gideons “New Testament — Psalms and Proverbs” from the table, which was all that a group of twelve veteran MRFF clients wanted the facility to do.
But after MRFF's public exposing of this outrageous and vindictive action on the part of that one facility, the executive director of the Lexington VA Health Care System has made the right call, writing in a letter to Mikey Weinstein that Bibles will no longer be a part of of the POW/MIA table displays in ANY of the system's facilities.
From the Lexington VA Health Care System
executive director's Nov. 28 letter to Mikey Weinstein:
“All table displays within VA Lexington Health Care System
will contain the following: small table, white tablecloth, single rose, vase, yellow ribbon, slice of lemon, salt, bread plate, glass, candle, empty chair, and a journal.”
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POW/MIA table at the Lexington VA Health Care System's Troy Bowling Campus prior to the removal of the exclusively Christian Gideons “New Testament — Psalms and Proverbs” | |
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MRFF OP-ED
ON DAILY KOS
Trending story on Daily Kos
MRFF victory! Bible to be replaced by journal on POW/MIA tables at ALL Lexington, KY, VA facilities
By: MRFF Senior Research Director Chris Rodda
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
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As I wrote last week, in a post titled “VA medical center petulantly removes ENTIRE ‘missing man’ table rather than remove Bible from it!,” a VA medical center in Kentucky had removed its entire POW/MIA, or “missing man,” table display from its lobby rather than simply removing the Gideons “New Testament — Psalms and Proverbs” from the table, which was all that a group of twelve veterans wanted the facility to do.
Those veterans had come to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), and, on their behalf, MRFF’s Mikey Weinstein fired off an email to Russell Armstead, the executive director of the Lexington, Kentucky VA Health Care System, in which he demanded that this exclusively Christian book be removed from the table, citing the VA’s own regulations that prohibit the display of items promoting one religion. Such permanent displays of items promoting one religion aren’t even allowed in VA facility chapels, let alone a VA medical center’s lobby.
The next thing MRFF heard, and saw in the photos sent by one of the veterans, was that rather than just removing the exclusively Christian Gideons book from the table, which, as I wrote in my previous post, would apparently have been too much for their Christian nationalist sensibilities to bear, the facility’s staff removed the ENTIRE table display!
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This was NOT what the veterans wanted! As one of them wrote in an email to MRFF: | |
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“… we wanted to stop the government from proselytizing, not to stop the government from honoring those who remain missing in action and those who have fallen. It is too easy to remove material from a solemn memorial that suggests those who practice Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, non-faith traditions, other monotheist or polytheist beliefs, and even several forms of Christianity (e.g., Catholicism, Latter Day Saints, Christian Scientists, etc) are unacceptable members of the Veteran community who are undeserving and unworthy of remembrance. The ‘leadership’, however, made their position clear. They value proselytizing above and beyond all else, including honoring those who came before and those still yet to come.”
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As we usually do here at MRFF, after I wrote my post about the whole table being removed, we sent it out in an email blast to MRFF’s mailing list. We also, of course, sent that email blast to the executive director of the Lexington, Kentucky VA Healthcare System, Russell Armstead, and, lo and behold, today Mr. Armstead replied to it, and in the best possible way. In a letter attached to his reply, he wrote (emphasis added): | |
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“In consultation with the Office of General Counsel, Office of Resolution Management, Diversity, and Inclusion Southeast District Field Office, Chaplains Service and in accordance with VA Directive 0022-Religious Symbols in VA Facilities, Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination, Religious Exercise in the Workplace, the New Testament Book has been removed from the table. We are standardizing the Missing Man Table displays across the Lexington Health Care System to ensure consistency and rendering of honor. All table displays within VA Lexington Health Care System will contain the following: small table, white tablecloth, single rose, vase, yellow ribbon, slice of lemon, salt, bread plate, glass, candle, empty chair, and a journal.”
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You can read Mr. Armstead’s whole letter here.
Mr. Armstead also took the time to respond with a similar letter to an email written to him by a former AD and evangelical Christian Reserve Army chaplain, current DoD-approved ecclesiastical endorsing agent, and MRFF supporter, who wrote in his email that he “was stunned that you have removed a very meaningful display honoring POW/MIA service-members at the VAMC Lexington (Troy Bowling Campus) merely because conscientious veterans have asked that a New Testament not be displayed to serve as representing the faiths of all service-members.”
MRFF commends Mr. Armstead for his decision to do the right thing and honor ALL veterans in the VA medical facilities under his control. It is much appreciated by the group of veterans represented by MRFF, as it will surely also be by many other veterans who receive care at the other facilities in the Lexington VA Health Care System!
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Previous story from last week when MRFF's veteran clients informed us that the Troy Bowling VA facility had outrageously removed the entire POW/MIA table display rather than remove the Gideons New Testament from it | |
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MRFF OP-ED
ON DAILY KOS
#1 Trending story on Daily Kos
VA medical center petulantly removes
ENTIRE “missing man” table rather
than remove Bible from it!
By: MRFF Senior Research Director Chris Rodda
Friday, November 24, 2023
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In what can best be described as an “I’m gonna take my marbles and go home” move, a VA medical center in Kentucky has removed the entire POW/MIA table display from its lobby rather than simply removing the Gideons “New Testament - Psalms and Proverbs” from the table, which was all that a group of twelve veterans wanted the facility to do.
As one of the veterans wrote to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF):
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“I formally request assistance from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation regarding a blatant violation of the First Amendment at VAMC Lexington (Troy Bowling Campus, 1101 Veterans Dr., Lexington, KY 40502-2235). Additionally, I apologize for the length of the message but want to provide as much detail as I believe is warranted - as well as some opining of my own which should be clear - to allow MRFF to quickly and easily reconcile this issue with VHA once and for all. Like other VAMC locations around the US, VAMC Lexington chooses to display a missing man table, a great and powerful symbol of sacrifices made by others and our terminal nature as humans; I am aware of some of the presumed origins related to those declared POW/MIA, but since at least 2007 the ‘missing man’ table has also served to represent fallen comrades. To be clear, I wholeheartedly support the proper display of the missing man table and believe it should be displayed at VAMC locations. However, I can no longer bear the sight of this table due to its proselytizing message, particularly when endorsed by VAMC leadership, who have sworn an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution. The resolution I am seeking is the removal of any and all religious and anti-religious material from the Missing Man/Fallen Comrade table.”
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It seems that this VA medical facility, which used to have a large Bible on the table, had recently made its display even more exclusively Christian by replacing the Bible with a copy of the Gideons “New Testament Psalms and Proverbs.”
The facility’s POW/MIA table, as you can see in the photo below, sat below a large sign explaining the significance of each item on the table.
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“The table is round,” said the sign above the square table, “to represent the everlasting concern the survivors have for the missing.”
“A Bible represents the spiritual strength and faith to sustain the lost,” said the sign’s completely historically inaccurate list of symbolisms, a list concocted more than three decades after the POW/MIA table tradition was begun by a group of Vietnam War pilots, which DID NOT include a Bible among the table’s items. Bibles didn’t begin to be added to these tables until after the VFW Ladies Auxiliary published a script for the setting of the POW/MIA table in a 1999 issue of its magazine, erroneously adding a Bible to the table’s items.
On behalf of the group of veterans, MRFF’s Mikey Weinstein fired off an email to Russell Armstead, the executive director of the Lexington, Kentucky VA Healthcare System, in which he demanded that the Gideons “New Testament Psalms and Proverbs” be removed from the table, citing the VA’s own regulations that prohibit the display of items promoting one religion. Such permanent displays aren’t even allowed in VA facility chapels, let alone a VA medical center’s lobby.
The response of Executive Director Armstead and the Lexington, Kentucky VA’s Troy Bowling Campus to this demand to remove the exclusively Christian religious book? Well, they petulantly removed the whole damn table rather than have a display that didn’t promote their preferred religion of Christianity! Apparently, having a non-proselytizing display that honors all POWs and MIAs and not just the Christian ones was just too much for their Christian nationalist sensibilities to bear.
The following email from one of MRFF’s veteran clients summed up the motivation for this VA facility’s completely undue action in this one sentence: “They value proselytizing above and beyond all else, including honoring those who came before and those still yet to come.”
Here is the entire email from that veteran:
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Hello and Happy Thanksgiving Mr Weinstein,
We are following up with you regarding a new development at VAMC Lexington's Bowling Campus. Some of us heard that the VAMC removed the entire missing man/fallen comrade table display and were able to verify that it is no longer displayed (see attached photos). First and foremost, we thank you for continuing to support and defend the Constitution by securing this victory against government proselytization for and with us.
That said, we are deeply disappointed in the lack of leadership at VAMC Lexington. As we noted previously, and as you conveyed to Director Armstead, we wanted to stop the government from proselytizing, not to stop the government from honoring those who remain missing in action and those who have fallen. It is too easy to remove material from a solemn memorial that suggests those who practice Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, non-faith traditions, other monotheist or polytheist beliefs, and even several forms of Christianity (e.g., Catholicism, Latter Day Saints, Christian Scientists, etc) are unacceptable members of the Veteran community who are undeserving and unworthy of remembrance. The "leadership", however, made their position clear. They value proselytizing above and beyond all else, including honoring those who came before and those still yet to come.
Director Armstead and his "leadership" team seem incapable of recognizing that every Service Member and Veteran, symbolically represented by the missing man/fallen comrade table, put on the uniform and swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. They fail to understand that the Oath of Enlistment (10 USC §502(a)) is not an oath for the duration of an enlistment contract, obligated period of service, or even a Service Member's career. We made a lifetime commitment when we raised our hands and solemnly swore (or affirmed) that we would support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We believe that the Service Members and Veterans represented by that table would be proud to know that we and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation refused to allow the VAMC Lexington "leadership" to sully their honor and sacrifice by disrespecting and disregarding the Constitution we all swore a lifetime to protect and defend, even if it means the "leadership" chooses to honor them no longer.
Again, Mr Weinstein, we are incredibly thankful for your and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation's efforts to help us stop this egregious act of disrespect and dishonor by the leadership of this VAMC and achieve victory for the rights of all Veterans, Service Members, and civilians. As our oath requires, we will remain vigilant to any additional efforts to defile, desecrate, or dishonor the memories and sacrifices of those who are gone, missing, or yet to come. We will reach out to you immediately if it ever occurs, and again, we will be victorious in our defense of the Constitution.
Thank you again for all of your help and assistance.
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Yes … as this veteran said, and as MRFF has seen time and again from Christian nationalist VA personnel: | |
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“They value proselytizing above and beyond all else, including honoring those who came before and those still yet to come.”
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