Local Vet Spearheading Effort To Get Memorial For Veterans Of War On Terror
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The country has honored its veterans in Washington DC with memorials to those who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
But as the global War on Terror enters its 15th year, there is no such memorial to the veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq.
As an assistant wrestling coach at Central Catholic, Andrew Brennan teaches the basic of hand-to-hand combat, but as a former U.S. Army captain and veteran of the war in Afghanistan, he's seen the real thing. And he wants the sacrifice of those who have served in the War on Terror to be honored.
"General Washington said something along the lines of, 'Nations will be forgotten who forget their warriors,' and ultimately, I don't want to see that happen to my era," said Brennan.
Since returning stateside, Brennan has found an example in the Vietnam-era vets who successfully lobbied to build the wall -- the Vietnam Veteran Memorial in Washington DC.
So, Brennan has founded the Global War On Terror Memorial Foundation.
His aim is to build a new memorial on the National Mall in the nation's capital to honor the sacrifice of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and other vets who have served since 9/11.
"My era's warrior and the county as a whole has a chance to heal and we have a tangible place on the Mall to do that at, much like the Vietnam era did with the wall," Brennan said.
The foundation is looking to come up with a fundraising plan and lobby to change current law which requires that a conflict be over for 10 years before a memorial can be built.
Brennan argues for repeal, saying that the U.S. has already waged a war on terror for 14 years and that's likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
"I don't think that passes the common sense test anymore, so the foundation that I started is spearheading eventually getting that legislation amended, and were also going to do the fundraising required to see that we get a War on Terror memorial built on the Mall in DC," Brennan said.
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