Vets Denied to March in Boston Parade

By Alex Yoh — 03/19/11
Pat Scanlon is the coordinator of the Smedley Butler Brigade for Veterans for Peace. It is based in Boston. The group is determined to march behind the traditional Southie St. Patrick’s Day parade tomorrow.
Scanlon said the Veterans for Peace applied to march in the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in South Boston which is tomorrow on March 20, but that the group has been denied entry. Scanlon said he was both surprised and “bewildered” by the decision to disallow the Veterans for Peace, which has 150 chapters across the country.
According to Scanlon, parade officials told him they did not want the word “peace” associated with the word “veteran.” Scanlon response was “What? What are we fighting for?”
The Veterans for Peace instead applied for and was granted a permit by the City of Boston to march in its own parade. That one will follow the traditional one which begins at 1p.m. His organization is calling the second parade “the alternative people’s parade for peace and justice.”
Veterans for Peace is a non-profit organization of war veterans. Its goal is to educate the public about the costs of war.