This bit goes under the heading of "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished."
In my Memorial Day column I wrote about Army Sgt. Caleb Barrieau, an Iraq war veteran, who has spent one weekend day for the past three months polishing the brass service emblems at the base of the flagpole at the Vietnam Memorial.
Barrieau, who served with the Maine National Guard in Iraq before opting to become an Army regular, is a real hooah kind of guy who shines the brass out of respect for the fallen, who are commemorated at the Vietnam Memorial. He also does it because any good soldier hates the sight of tarnished brass.
He's not sought publicity for this selfless task. I found out about him from my friend Joe Mancinik, a post-9/11 Navy veteran I'm mentoring while he attends The George Washington University.
Joe encountered Barrieau shining the brass last month and decided to join the ad-hoc-brass-shining task.
But all that came to a halt on May 30 at the direction of a National Park Service ranger and police officer.
Mancinik called me Saturday afternoon from the memorial and told me that the ranger and police officer (mounted on a horse) had told them that brass shining at the Vietnam Memorial flagpole was forbidden as a matter of policy. And we all know Washington has a policy that covers every imaginable human activity, including, it seems, memorial brass polishing.
This antishine stance perplexes Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Memorial Fund, who told me that troops from all the services have shined the flagpole brass over the years and he considers it an act of respect. "People feel part of the Vietnam Memorial, especially active duty [troops] and veterans," Scruggs told me.
The care and attention to the memorial by veterans like Barrieau and Mancinik stand out in stark contrast to other national parks, which are victims of neglect, he said.
For sure, some regular polishing will eventually wear away the brass - sometime by the year 2100, Scruggs estimated. But, he said, the Vietnam Memorial Fund -- which built the Wall and the flagpole with contributions, not taxpayer dollars -- has enough money in its kitty to replace the flagpole base (and brass) when and if it needs it -- some 91 years from now.
I sent an e-mail to a National Park Service spokeswoman this morning asking her to provide me with the relevant law, regulation or statute that bans polishing and shining at the Vietnam Memorial. I have yet to hear back.
I'm hopeful that no such policy exists, so Barrieau, Mancinik and other vets and active duty troops can continue, as Barrieau puts it, "We will have a chance to continue to shine onward honoring all those before us."
COMMENTS
this is a joke right? I mean really? somebody acctually found time in the day to site a regulation about this to somebody? who was that? must need some aditional duties assigned to them, because it sounds like they don't have much to do...
Jean Perpich 06/08/09 07:54 am ET
I certainly agree with the previous commenter that it's a sad day when an act of respect becomes suspect. I thought the Park Service might cite some relevent environmental concern related to the use of brass polish (which, I believe is classified as a solvent and or corrosive under RCRA), but nevertheless - it'd likely take til the year 2100 to accumulate any significant harmful level of polish in the environment from just this action alone. In any case, without any reasonable, rational, legally based response from the Park Service, if I were Caleb, I'd keep on polishing until forced to stop.
P Miller 06/03/09 01:56 pm ET
It's a sad commentary on our society when even the most honorable action is suspected of being harmful or devious. I can only echo the sentiments of others who have expressed their outrage at the Park Service for this horrendous exclusion of good men doing good deeds. Every time I visit the “Wall,” I polish my brother’s name with my tears, finger tips, and lips. Am I one day to be prohibited from even touching those deep black panels which are so precious and meaningful to us all? Please, we do not need to be protected from ourselves, only the ones who carelessly send young citizens to unjust wars.
Leah Smith Angers, Gold Star Sister of William David Smith – Panel 04W Line 074
Leah Smith Angers 06/03/09 09:01 am ET
Caleb is a great man. He was literally sitting in the recruiters office signing papers when the planes struck the twin towers on September 11, 2001. His recruiter offered to let him back out of his commitment because of the implications of the attack. Caleb signed and did his duty. I have told his father more than once that I hope my son grows up to be just like Caleb.
Tony Bessey 06/02/09 06:43 pm ET
DEFEND THE WALL - we commend those who cherish and honor the sacrifice of our fallen remembered on the "Wall" and come to make its site a place of pride and respect. That glimering flag base is a great symbol of the continuous care for those whom we have lost in battle and giving the flag for which they died the respect that it deserves. If they have a policy about not being able to polish the base, then it should be revised to allow it with some guidance as to materials and method.
As we attempt to keep alive the memory of those honored on the "Wall" let us be aware of what is being proposed and built around it and that will negatively impact and influence the experience, dignity and uniqueness of this special place and at this momument. Please visit www.equalhonor.org and click on Defend the Wall.
Also read at the Equal Honor For All website about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund attempt to highjack our rights to participate in our government process and in how the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center is to come about.
Ray Saikus VietVet 68-69 173rd Abn Brigade 06/02/09 03:25 pm ET
"Shine On" good & faithful soldiers, sailors, & airman until 2100 and beyond! What a beautiful show of respect from members of this generation to an older generation of veterans. Allow them to continue healing their own wounds of war by connecting with the fallen from Vietnam. The highest honor comes from young soldiers looking up to old soldiers. As an Army nurse who served in Vietnam I would like to personally thank them for their service and thank them for giving their precious time to honoring my brothers and sisters of that war.
Diane Carlson Evans
Diane Carlson Evans 06/02/09 12:17 pm ET
Shame on the Park Service Rangers! I am sure there must be a misunderstanding on their part !
The whole world is "ON FIRE"!! While we have thousands looking for work , tough economic conditions, men and women fighting a war, many folks losing their homes,children going to bed hungry, the elderly who cannot afford medicine and health care, people shooting each other and their families......floods, forest fires , drugs , child abuse, spouse abuse, just to name a few, and paid Park Rangers have time to seek out and object to willing volunteers polishing the brass at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial...I do not know what the rules are and I do not care...That is a sacred place to me and over 58,000 other families throughout the United States of America.
So long as individuals respect and improve the site, I see no harm in what they do..What about the volunteers who have washed the Wall for years. ?..God Bless you all.
Mother of Rex M. Sherman --Panel 16W-Line 96
Ann Y. Sherman Wolcott,Gold Star Mother 06/02/09 10:49 am ET
Is this not where civil disobedience comes into play? Force the issue. Let the Park Service defend their actions in an open courtroom. Veterans have fought for this kind of freedom. At what point do you stand up for your rights? Rolling over and letting the Park Service tell you that you can't shine service emblems at a memorial designed to honor dead veterans is utterly senseless. Caving into the demands of one park ranger means those men and women died to protect policy -- not American freedom.
Greg Gerber 06/02/09 09:58 am ET
THAT HAS TO BE THE MOST INSANE ACT EVER
PERPETRATED BY ANY AND ALL IDIOTS IN THE
U.S.GOVERNMENT.
JOHN PITNEY 06/02/09 09:20 am ET
I sincerely hope that this so called "policy" will be corrected in favor of the spirit for which the Vietnam Memorial was erected: To honor and pay respect for the ultimate sacrifice these brave soldiers made in serving their country. Maintenance of the brass is a tradition of both pride in your service and the country which it defends.
Bruce Desoe 06/02/09 09:19 am ET
I'm not surprised, but I don't blame the ranger. For all he knew, our friend was putting sulphuric acid or some other harmful substance on the pole. In a place where every possible incident is treated as a deliberate failure, or is otherwise exploited for "points", the ranger's reaction is completely predictable. If there's not a policy now, there will need to be one that covers the pole-polishers, their chemicals, and the proper deployment and redeployment procedures.
We need a combined DoD / EPA / OSHA / DHS contract to (1) establish the proper chemical composition of the polish, and the construction and abrasiveness of the rags (since the word "rags" might be in some context discriminatory, we should substitute the phrase, "polish-delivery implement (PDI)), (2) establish the proper hand motion to be used to ensure maximum effectiveness while minimizing the potential for repetitive-stress injuries, (3) establish the proper environmental procedures to be followed to dispose of used PDIs and empty polish cans, and to deal with any spilled polish, and (4) establish the proper identification and credentialing of pole-polishers and pole-polish suppliers. The contract should (of course) follow appropriate Federal regulations. I firmly believe that all necessary work to prepare the pole-polishers to resume their duties in an "efficient and effective" fashion (side note: when is effective NOT efficient???) should be completed by no later than 3Q19, at a budgetary ROM cost of approximately $18 million dollars. This small economic investment in our long-term prosperity represents good value for the taxpayers, and will ensure that our poles will be properly polished to stimulate the economy and advance the cause of freedom around the globe.
Sigh.
arclight 06/02/09 08:13 am ET
Acts like those described above are precisely the kind of respect and tradition that keeps you going when there are more reasons to quit. When I was a Marine recruit at MCRD San Diego, I wasn't all "Gungy" and shining the large Eagle, Globe, and Anchor was not a favorite task of mine. But when I was finished and stepped back to check my work, it felt good to be part of the organization and for a job well done. If the Park Service really cared, they would get anodized brass.
Lane Narrows 06/02/09 08:09 am ET
Soldiers helping Americas flag are in trouble with the Police? Shame on the Police!! Burn a flag and they protect you! America wake up!!! Thank you Brewmiester.
Jim OToole 06/01/09 07:43 pm ET