FLASHBACK: NEW YORK PAYS HOMAGE TO VIETNAM VETERANS (Trump consistently pro-veteran)
NY Times ^ | May 7, 1985 | Jane Gross
Posted on March 28, 2016 10:40:10 AM EDT by 20yearsofinternet
The centerpiece of the commission’s effort is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a glass-block wall, 70 feet long and 16 feet high, which is etched with excerpts from 83 letters - including Sergeant Calamia’s - that were written by or to the soldiers who served in America’s most unpopular war.
‘’It’s not just brick and mortar,’’ said Donald Trump, the real-estate executive who donated $1 million of the $2.5 million raised by the commission, which is also charged with financing programs for unemployed local veterans. ‘’It’s very much a living monument.’’
‘’I was a very strong opponent of the Vietnam War,’’ he said, ‘’but I also recognized that the people who went to fight were great Americans. I always thought they got a bad shake in life and never got their just recognition.’’
Last night these veterans basked in that new-found recognition. ‘’We answered the call of our country, and when we came back home we were kicked back into society almost like criminals,’’ said Bob Moore of West Volusia, Fla., a member of the Air Force security police in Vietnam from 1967 to 1969. ‘’A phenomenal change has happened over the last few years. You got a whole bunch of people here coming out of the closet, so to speak.’’
‘’To see a city take it upon itself to do this!’’ said Mike Milne of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., who has been confined to a wheelchair since his Army tour in Vietnam and Cambodia. ‘’And in downtown Manhattan. It’s unreal. They really pulled a coup.’’
Very nice find.