A few days old now this took place last night, October 7, on the 12th anniversary of the American war campaign against Afghanistan. I missed it, so I know others must have as well. I feel it important to share. American Vietnam veterans and various supporters stood around the 70-foot wall of granite, reading the names of men killed in battle during our Countries stint in Vietnam.

As they read the names from the wall, police, at random, began to arrest its attendees. I also would like to mention that many of them, while senior citizens, were herded into the paddy wagon. It sounds horrible. I feel for the men arrested. They paid their debt to this society 10x over.

On the other side of the coin, the veterans had no right to be there as there was a curfew at 10pm and they were warned to leave, I am sure multiple times. Who’s right and who’s wrong?

You can be the judge but the men and women at the vigil were ONLYcalling for an end to the ongoing wars we are currently engaged in. I am sure it was peaceful, their cause just and if nothing else they earned the right to be at their own memorial, curfew or not. While the police were simply following orders I can think of a hundred bigger fish to fry on a Monday night in NYC. A bad choice all around by the NYPD.

The NYC Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Photo at the top of this page credit (Source: vietnamveteransplaza.com)

Also posted below is a video uploaded by Nicholas Isabella of Youtube.