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Peace at any cost is a prelude to war!
AGING VETERAN FINDS OUT JUSTICE IS FOR FEDS ONLY
Arizona Republic - 09/14/99
PHOENIX, AZ - Recently, after listening to a prosecutor and a defense
attorney argue about evidence and disclosure for about 20 minutes,
U.S. Magistrate Morton Silver suddenly decided the trial scheduled to begin
that morning would be postponed until October. Silver then
picked up his gave and adjourned the court, his mallet landing
squarely between the shoulders of Bob DeHeer. Or so
it seemed.
The old veteran slumped forward in his chair, leaning on the cane
he held with his hands, his hand shaking slowly from side to side.
"All rise," declared the clerk as Judge Silver strode from the
courtroom. DeHeer pushed hard on the walking stick, wearily
lifting himself from a chair at the defense table. He is
77 years old and suffers from arthritis, bad hearing and other
maladies of an aging warrior.
Standing up would be a lot easier for him he didn't have the full
weight of the U.S. Department of Justice on his back. In May,
DeHeer drove to the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Phoenix to have his hearing aids adjusted. When he
got there, DeHeer says he couldn't find an available
handicapped parking space nearby, so he decided to park in
one of the several vacant spots marked temporarily with
"VIP" signs.
Federal inspectors were visiting the hospital that day,
and VA administrators apparently believed the convenience
of bureaucrats was more important than the
convenience of World War II vets like DeHeer. One of the
federal officers patrolling the parking lot told DeHeer that he
couldn't park in a VIP spot because he wasn't a VIP.
This didn't sit well with DeHeer, and after an angry
exchange, the elderly man was hauled off in handcuffs and
locked in a cell.
A couple of hours later, he was released, but not before being
issued two citations, a $50 disorderly conduct charge and a
$25 ticket for failing to comply with a federal officer. DeHeer
could have paid the fines and walked away and that would
have been the end of it. But he chose to fight. A long time ago,
when his country asked him to stand and fight rather than turn
and walk away, DeHeer stood his ground and fought.
Old habits are hard to break.
The one-time machine-gunner with a Bronze Star and a
Purple Heart and bad hearing and arthritis refused to pay
the fines and demanded his day in court.
The government could have backed off. Even better, the
government could have recognized that Bob DeHeer and
every veteran like him has earned the title VIP,
qualifying him to park in a space reserved for such individuals.
The case could have - and should have - been dropped.
Instead, the U.S. attorney's office decided to drag DeHeer
into court. Recently, DeHeer found himself in the federal
courthouse in Phoenix watching attorneys argue complicated
legal issues until his case was postponed. "This
has been very hard on Bob," said his attorney, Michael
Rooney. "I believe it's tragic for a fellow of his age and
background to have to go through this."
Tragic, and confusing. You can see it on Bob DeHeer's face.
Not the anger he felt that day in the parking lot. Not the outrage
he felt over having been fined. Just - bewilderment. And who
could blame him? A man like DeHeer, a soldier, a patriot,
an old-fashioned idealist, never dreamed he'd one day do
battle against the country for which he'd help win a war.
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