They Served the Nation. Now, These Veterans Say They're Protesting to Save It.
Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post
Participants at a 'Protect Our Veterans' rally in Huntsville, Alabama, in March.
As soon as he was old enough to enlist, there was little doubt in Reed Radcliffe's mind that he would serve his country. His father was in the Navy. His grandfather, too.
Now, decades later, as he watches President Donald Trump's administration rapidly overhaul the federal workforce and propose deep cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs, he said there was little doubt in his mind that he wanted to voice his disapproval.
'A lot of the people I served with are 100 percent disabled,' said Radcliffe, 68, who spent two decades in the Navy. 'What if they lose their care? What if they served the country but can now no longer make ends meet?'
So this week he drove from St. Louis to D.C. to be among the thousands of veterans from across the country expected to pour onto the National Mall for a rally Friday afternoon that organizers say is a grassroots push 'to defend our American values, protect civil servants and restore dignity to public service.'
Veteran-led protests will occur at hundreds of locations across dozens of states to protest the Trump administration's VA cuts. Veterans, who make up a disproportionate share of the federal workforce, are feeling the brunt of the rapid push to shrink the federal workforce, stirring ire in a reliable political base for Republicans.
'I didn't think I'd be doing this at my age, but I can't stand by,' said Radcliffe, who said the Unite for Veterans rally will be the first time he has protested in the nation's capital. He made a sign for the occasion: 'In America we shouldn't have to defend democracy from the president.'
Organizers are expecting 10,000 to 20,000 participants and say speakers will include Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), a combat-wounded Iraq War veteran; former congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois), an Air National Guard veteran; and former congressman Conor Lamb (D-Pennsylvania), a Marine Corps veteran. Massachusetts punk rock band Dropkick Murphys is also scheduled to perform.
Friday marks 81 years since D-Day, when allied forces landed on the beach in Normandy and invaded northern France during World War II.
Next week, the National Mall will host a multimillion-dollar celebration honoring the Army's 250th birthday, including a day-long festival, fireworks and a parachute jump. Dozens of tanks will roll, and thousands of soldiers from across the country will march in a parade at a time when the service is cutting some programs to fund Trump's priorities. The celebration will occur on Trump's 79th birthday.
Christopher Purdy, one of the rally's organizers, considers the parade to be a waste of money, but he said it is not the focus of Friday's action.
'This is not about the parade. This is about the veteran community and honoring the sacrifices of veterans,' said Purdy, who served for eight years in the National Guard and deployed to Iraq in 2011.
Morale is plummeting inside VA as tens of thousands of employees prepare for deep staffing cuts, raising alarms among staffers, veterans and advocates who fear the reductions would severely damage care and benefits for millions of the nation's former service members. VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins has signaled plans to shrink the agency's workforce by 15 percent, or about 83,000 employees.
Thousands of employees across VA's health and benefits systems have opted for early retirement, The Washington Post previously reported after reviewing internal data. Many of these employees said they are opting to leave out of fear that they would be laid off.
Marine veteran Stephanie Schroeder, 42, said that in recent months, she has found herself having to console VA employees tasked with taking care of her because they fear losing their jobs.
'One of them even broke down in tears saying she knew she was next and she didn't know how she would be able to pay her bills,' she said. 'It's absolutely horrible that these employees who make sacrifices to work at VA caring for veterans are being treated like this.'
She comes from a family of veterans and is proud to be the first woman in her family to join the military. Schroeder is the chair of the women's veterans caucus at Common Defense, a veteran-led organization, and is traveling from North Carolina to attend the rally in the hope of shining a light on the diminishing quality of care.
'Under President Biden, we were finally making progress,' she said. 'Now Trump is blowing the whole system up.'
Rayven Greer, who served a year in the Navy and is 'sixth-generation military,' said she is carpooling from Pittsburgh to attend the D.C. rally. She uses a cane to walk, but said she didn't want that to stop her from marching. The stakes feel too high.
'As an LGBTQ veteran myself, I've already had care taken away,' said Greer, 30. She said she recently lost her therapist and is struggling to find another.
'Cuts aren't just going to affect me; they are going to affect my parents, my siblings, my family,' she said. 'Their lifeline, essentially, in the middle of rural Pennsylvania is the VA.'
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