Veterans Call for Cancellation of Planned Middleton High School
Paratrooper Parachute Drop into Student Pep Assembly
Veterans for Peace (VFP) is calling upon the Middleton school board and school superintendent to cancel the planned U.S. Army paratrooper parachute drop onto the high school athletic field during the upcoming student pep assembly Wednesday afternoon.
VFP member Buzz Davis of Stoughton said, “Schools are required by federal law to allow military recruiters recruit in the schools. But this is going too far. The parachute drop Wednesday is designed to impress students with soldiers’ braveness and toughness. It is unfair that the students, who believe we should work harder to create peace than we do to fight wars, will be forced to sit through a pro-military display of power designed to encourage youth to join the military. Citizens should call the school district and demand the jump be canceled.”
Davis, a Vietnam era veteran trained as an infantry officer who served in South Korea in 1969-70, explained, “War and military service should not be glorified for our nation’s youth. Vietnam was and Iraq and Afghanistan are illegal wars of aggression under the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, United Nations Charter and the Geneva Conventions. School districts should obey the law but they must not place themselves in the situation of encouraging youth to enlist. Middleton has stepped over the line and should cancel the paratrooper jump.”
Middleton High School will have an all school pep assembly Wednesday, June 2nd at 2 PM at the athletic field behind the high school. The public is invited to attend. Army paratroopers will jump from a plane into the field during the pep assembly.
Davis stated the statistics are shocking. He said, “About 22 % of the returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD – post traumatic stress disorder. The suicide rate for veterans is high. Approximately 6,000 veterans commit suicide per year. More soldiers and veterans kill themselves each year than have died in Afghanistan and Iraq over the last 8.5 years. Added to this we have the epidemic of traumatic brain injuries soldiers are receiving. War is hell and schools must not glorify it. The Middleton school board should cancel the paratrooper drop immediately.”
There will be a press conference today Tuesday, June 1, 2010 12 PM noon, in front of Middleton High School, 2100 Bristol St., Middleton, WI. The event is organized by: Veterans for Peace, Clarence Kailin Chapter 25, Madison, WI and Truth and Alternatives to Militarism in Education (T.A.M.E.).
