Posted on 09/16/2014 2:29:21 PM PDT by jazusamo
President Barack Obama has declined to attend a dedication ceremony in October for a new memorial honoring American veterans who have been disabled fighting for their country in wars, according to sources close to the event.
The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial (AVDLM), the first such memorial of its kind, is set to be dedicated during a ceremony on Oct. 5 near the National Mall in downtown Washington, D.C.
However, Obama, who was first invited to attend the event in January, will not be among those in attendance, according to a veteran’s advocate familiar with the situation. This would be among the first national memorials in recent history not to be formally accepted in person by a sitting U.S. president.
Organizers of the event were caught off guard when informed by the White House of the president’s decision this week and are hoping to receive an explanation from the White House as to why Obama will not be attending the ceremony, according to the source, who is close to the memorial and was informed of the decision this week.
U.S. presidents have historically been on hand during dedication ceremonies for major memorials in D.C., including the Air Force memorial, the World War II memorial, the Vietnam War memorial, the Korean War memorial, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, which Obama attended and spoke at .
The White House declined to comment when asked by the Washington Free Beacon to confirm if Obama would be unavailable to attend the ceremony.
“It’s disappointing that the president is unable to celebrate the dedication of this historic memorial with the heroes that it honors—our nation’s disabled veterans,” said the source.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell is currently scheduled to attend the ceremony, as is Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald.
The AVDLM memorial, construction of which recently finished, will honor the millions of disabled U.S. veterans who have fought in wars over the decades, including those with physical and mental injuries.
“The memorial will serve as a constant reminder of the cost of human conflict,” the memorial’s organizers wrote in a recent press release sent to reporters.
The idea for the memorial originated in 1998 and led to the formation of the Disabled Veterans’ Life Memorial Foundation, which first approached Congress to initiate the lengthy authorization process before beginning to raise funds for the memorial.
It now stands completed on a 2.4-acre sight near the National Mall, just south of the U.S. Botanic Garden.
Who invited him?
Obama being anywhere near anything honoring veterans of past wars or current members of the military is like seeing sh!t on a wedding dress.
He’s not one for photo ops. < /sarc >
Former president Bush should be invited, if so I believe he’d attend. That’d fry 0bama’s oysters.
Who wants him there, anyways? It’ll just turn into an event about him.
Hole-in one guaranteed.
It IS all about him, you know .... if he appeared, it wouldn’t be to honor Vets and the thing is, they’re on to him and he knows it. It won’t be a ‘friendly’ crowd .... might get another very cool reception like he got at the last speech he gave in front of Vets. He doesn’t want to be pausing for applause and there isn’t any. Being the narcissist he is, I’m sure that pissed him off.
Does Bush still greet returning troops at DFW airport as a private citizen ?
He holds events for Wounded Warriors at his ranch.
He may be the “Smartest Guy on the Planet” who can’t trifle with such menial tasks, but re Veterans’ affairs Obama don’t know $#!t from Shinseki…
This organization should be celebrating the fact that Obama is not going. Why would anyone in attendance want to have to see and listen to this guy. It would seem to me that the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs should be in attendance, hopefully along with the other members of the Joint Chiefs.
Does he even have a heart?
Maybe it was intended for Lois Lerner and got put in the wrong envelope?
I don’t think we should be so quick to jump to conclusions.
I mean, perhaps he has a fatal decease and he already knows that he won’t be around by October.
Heck, this would explain why he leads from behind, because he knows that someone else will need to finish the job and he doesn’t want to screw things up for the next crew. By golly, I think Obama is just being thoughtful and very considerate, and he is taking a broad view on all things.
We could argue this point endlessly.
Excellent question...Not in my view, at least for anything except to pump blood.
Clown Prince nobama, his racist “wife”, mooch-elle the Worst Lady) and his purported “family” will probably be flying in style around the world on their latest junket. Vacay all the way!!!!! However, it is an honor to the disabled that Clown Prince nobama won’t soil their site.
You wishful thinker you, I second your thoughts.
Good. He doesn’t give a damn about them anyway.
He ought to stay far far away from honorable events.
It’ll be interesting to see what he actually does that day.
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