Legionnaire Spokesperson Slanders Old Veterans Guard

By Robert Rosebrock

American Legionnaire Lawrence Van Kuran recently declared: “There is one (1), and only one (1) recognized American Legion spokesperson regarding issues at both Sepulveda and W. Los Angeles VA issues – myself, as Vice Cmdr, Los Angeles County Council.

Mr. Van Kuran made his indisputable claim in a written comment to “VT.”

Clearly, Mr. Van Kuran is the appointed authority above all other Legionnaires as the sole spokesperson for the American Legion regarding VA issues at the Los Angeles National Veterans Home, aka VA Greater West Los Angeles Healthcare System.

Mr. Van Kuran further declared: “The American Legion does now, and always has voiced and acted in full support of homeless Veterans, both in the GLA-VA area and nationwide; this is a clear matter of public record.”

Au contraire, Mr. Van Kuran. What is a clear matter of public record regarding the Los Angeles VA is a letter dated July 26, 2007 from the American Legion to James Nicholson, then Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, including copies to more than 25 members of the U.S. Senate and Congress.

In this infamous letter,the Legion boldly declares: “In closing, we urge you and your colleagues to continue your endorsement of the events and activities which presently occur on the West Los Angeles Campus.”

The “events and activities” that the American Legion “strongly endorses support of” on Veterans property, include a two-acre $1-a-year public dog park, a playground /athletic field for one of the wealthiest private schools in the nation, a wealthy kids’ soccer field, UCLA baseball diamond, Enterprise car storage lot, Sodexo Marriott Hotel laundry services, a Hollywood entertainment group’s control of two Veteran theaters, private celebrity carnival fundraisers, 25,000 LA Marathon runners charging through the VA, a public golf course, a public botanical garden, , etc., etc.

Meanwhile, disabled and disadvantaged homeless Veterans have been exiled and dispossessed because of the aforementioned events and activities that have been shamelessly endorsed by the American Legion.

All of this misappropriation of Veterans’ land seriously violates the 1887 Act of Congress and the Legal Deed of 1888 that specifically declares this sacred land is “to be permanently maintained as a National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.”

The American Legion’s letter is so blatant and contrary to supporting the Deed and helping homeless Veterans that the Legion refers to the Veterans’ sacred Home as a “Campus.”

As a subsequent result of the American Legion’s endorsement of the VA’s misappropriation of Veterans property, Los Angeles has become the nation’s capital for homeless Veterans with more than 20,000 of our fellow Veterans living homeless and hungry on the dangerous streets of Los Angeles.

Since the Veterans Revolution started on March 9, 2008, the Old Veterans Guard has held 171 consecutive Sunday Rallies to “Save Our Veterans Land,” and to “Bring Our Homeless Veterans HOME.”

The Old Guard is made up of a loyal band of Veteran brothers in their 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s who peacefully protest the VA’s malfeasance and misappropriation of Veterans land. The Rallies are held outside the locked front gates of the largest VA Home in the nation where there are 11 vacant buildings, in addition to an endless array of disruptive non-Veteran events and activities.

Mr. Van Kuran, who is clearly the American Legion’s sole leader for the issues at the Los Angeles VA, has never attended one (1) Sunday Rally.

Nonetheless, instead, of supporting our noble and gallant cause in protest of the VA’s land policies, Mr. Van Kuran tries to deflect the American Legion’s endorsement of the dastardly events and activities by maliciously slandering our good name when he recently declared in his widely distributed e-mail:

“The Legion has intentionally chosen not to participate as an organized VSO in protest rallies held on Sunday afternoons outside the gates of the W. Los Angeles VA facility, rallies organized and managed by a specific group of Veterans, one of whom resigned his Legion membership because the Legion declined to participate in his rallies (i.e., you’re either with me or against me). This decision was made because those rallies have typically been characterized as highly argumentative and emotional; some of those attending the rallies have been arrested.”

Mr. Van Kuran falsely and viciously assails our Sunday Rallies by intentionally mischaracterizing our group, Mission, and why I refused to renew my membership with the American Legion.

Mr. Van Kuran incredulously claims that “some who have attended the rallies have been arrested.” That is not only a blatant lie, but is a cheap scare tactic to keep others from joining our peaceful Sunday Rallies.

The only person ever arrested at our Sunday Rallies has been me, and those six arrests were false arrests ordered by the VA bureaucrats and all six were dismissed in U.S. Federal Court, thanks to the ACLU.

Mr. Van Kuran further lies about my Legion membership. I refused to renew my membership because I was ostracized by so-called leaders of the American Legion when I hung the American Flag in “Distress” on the front gates of Veterans Home.

This “Distress” message was our own official “public record” declaring that the lives of 20,000 homeless Veterans were in extreme danger, as was the Veterans’ property where they belonged.

If the American Legion had not supported the VA’s misappropriation of Veterans’ land, we would not be protesting for more than three years, or hanging the Flag in “Distress,” which is in full compliance with the U.S. Flag Code.

Correspondingly, hanging the American Flag with the Union down is not “desecration,” as the VA bureaucrats and Legion “leaders” fatuously proclaimed. However, this unification of false belief between the American Legion and VA bureaucrats underscores that the Legion is still in full support and endorsement of the VA’s land misappropriation policy, otherwise they would’ve supported our rightful message of “Distress” and protested the VA’s false arrest charges against me.

In spite of the July 26, 2007 Legion letter and Mr. Van Kuran’s slanderous verbal assault, it has been the Old Veterans Guard of the Veterans Revolution that has made unparalleled progress toward forcing the VA to uphold and honor the Deed of 1888.

Through our tireless and dedicated efforts, the Old Veterans Guard has achieved significant victories over the opponent, i.e., the bureaucrats running the largest VA in the nation, wealthy special interest groups, and corrupt politicians that have collectively perpetrated the greatest land fraud scam in American history.

These victories include winning a recent judgment in U.S. Federal Court against VA executive director Donna Beiter and her chief of police, Ronald Mathis. Both were defendants in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Southern California, and were adjudicated, as a matter of law, by Federal Judge S. James Ortero for violating the Constitutional Rights of an individual, which is a federal crime.

This victory led to another lawsuit recently filed by the ACLU of Southern California against the largest VA in the nation for misusing Veterans land and mistreating Veterans in need of care.

The defendants in this new lawsuit are General Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and once again … Donna Beiter, the executive director of the VA West Los Angeles Healthcare System.

Certain members of the American Legion like to quote an impotent, dust-collecting “resolution” that supposedly opposes any misuse of Veterans property, while they’ve done absolutely nothing to even suggest that the Legion is openly opposing the illegal events and activities on Veterans property.

Instead, the American Legion is intentionally opposed to participating in the only bonafide protest against the VA’s malfeasance and land misappropriation.

The only Document that fully protects and preserves the Land Grand Deed of 1888 and the Los Angeles National Veterans Home is not a “resolution,” but an iron-clad, no-nonsense “Declaration of Enforcement” that Mr. Van Kuran and his fellow Legion leaders refuse to endorse.

Just a few months ago, the American Legion’s National Commander, Jimmie Foster, visited Los Angeles and met with West LA VA executive director Donna Beiter.

The Old Veterans Guard respectfully requested to meet with Mr. Foster but he refused to respond to our overture that would’ve indoctrinated him on the truth.

Bit like VA Secretary Shinseki, Commander Foster chose to meet with the enemy of the Veterans, instead of with Veterans. Since their separate meetings, Donna Beiter has been adjudicated by a Federal Judge for violating a Veteran’s Constitutional Rights, which is a federal crime.

Instead of Mr. Van Kuran slandering the Old Veterans Guard, he should be praising its members and working with us to “Bring Our Homeless Veterans HOME,” because we are the ones who are relentlessly defending this sacred land against the domestic enemy, i.e., the VA bureaucrats, a wealthy neighborhood group, and complicit politicians,

There are 10,000 members of the American Legion in Los Angeles County and 20,000 homeless Veterans in Los Angeles County. Outnumbered 2-to-1, the American Legion still chooses to side with VA land policies that keep our homeless and disadvantaged Veterans from living in their rightful and legal “Home.”

The foregoing notwithstanding, the Old Veterans Guard is very proud to have a few individual members of the American Legion participate in our Sunday Rallies.

They independently volunteer this duty in spite of Mr. Van Kuran’s dictatorial demand that the American Legion opposes this noble protest against the greatest land fraud scam in American history.

“To remain silent when they should protest makes cowards of men.” – Thomas Jefferson

God Bless America and the Veterans Revolution!

Robert Rosebrock

U.S. Army, 1965-67, Schofield Barracks, Hqs., U.S Army, Hawaii. Director, The Veterans Revolution, Captain, the Old Veterans Guard, and Director, We the Veterans.