Culture & Society

American Legion Post to permanently close after official booted for muting veteran’s mic during Memorial Day speech

June 5, 2021 | | Print Article

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The Hudson, Ohio branch of the American Legion veterans nonprofit group has been effectively suspended and a top official booted for having muted a veteran’s microphone during a Memorial Day speech days earlier.

Jim Garrison, who’d served as the adjutant of the Hudson Lee-Bishop American Legion Post 464, stepped down Friday after the group’s state organization demanded his resignation, according to a press release from the organization.

“Department Commander, Roger Friend, has suspended Hudson Lee-Bishop American Legion Post 464 Charter pending permanent closure. Upon demand, Jim Garrison has also resigned as a Post Officer and we have since demanded that he resign his membership altogether,” the press release reads.

During a Memorial Day speech four days earlier, retired Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter was purposefully censored while detailing one of Memorial Day’s origin stories.

Citing a historian, he noted that one of the earliest Memorial Day celebrations was held by an organized group of black slaves less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. But as he was recounting the story, his microphone was cut.

In its press release, the American Legion Department of Ohio accused both Garrison and Hudson Lee-Bishop American Legion Post 464 president Cindy Suchan of being responsible for Kemter’s microphone being cut.

“We discovered that the censoring that occurred … was pre-meditated and planned by Jim Garrison and Cindy Suchan. They knew exactly when to turn the volume down and when to turn it back up,” the release states.

“Prior to the event, a copy of the speech was given to Cindy Suchan by Lt. Col., Barnard Kemter, US ARMY (Ret.), of which she then asked him to remove a specific part of the speech,” the release continues.

That part of the speech was the story about Memorial Day’s history — a story that, according to the History channel, is correct.

In a report published two years ago, long before the debacle in Ohio occurred, the History channel described the exact Memorial Day celebration cited by Kemter and noted that it was “one of the earliest Memorial Day ceremonies” in American history.

To be clear, it’s not the only Memorial Day origin history. Historians have been unable to pinpoint the first-ever official Memorial Day celebration. What’s known for certain is that it didn’t become an official federal holiday til 1971.

Despite Kemter’s story being accurate, Suchan reportedly told him she and Garrison wanted it removed from his speech because it was irrelevant to honoring Hudson veterans. The group’s state-level organization seems to vehemently disagree.

“The American Legion Department of Ohio does not hold space for members, veterans, or families of veterans who believe that censoring black history is acceptable behavior. … These actions of Post 464, through its authorized representatives or officers in attempting to censor or suppress that portion of LTC Kemters’ speech and effectively doing so by reducing the speaker system volume, constitutes a violation of the ideals and purposes of the American Legion,” the press release continues.

The state-level organization chose to suspend Post 464’s charter, meaning the Hudson group is no longer operational.

The press release concludes with a vow to better promote so-called “diversity.”

“We are deeply saddened by this and stand in unity and solidarity with the black community and all peoples of race, color, religion, sex, and gender, so that those who are exclusive of such persons will know that this behavior is not acceptable in The American Legion, in our homes, our hearts, our communities, in private, public, or anywhere. We will continue to educate the value of diversity. Being different amongst each other is what makes us better – together,” it reads.

Despite all the identity politics, there appears to be broad agreement on Twitter that the group did the right thing. Censoring anybody is bad enough. But censoring somebody for simply recounting history — particularly on Memorial Day — is unacceptable.

Do note though that for some inexplicable reason, it seems like every single Twitter user who’s voiced his or her thanks to the group’s state organization has been a far-leftist who hates President Donald Trump, thinks Republicans are fascists, supports Black Lives Matter, likes Rep. Liz Cheney and absolutely adores the Lincoln Project.

It’s assumed that the racial nature of what happened in Ohio is what inspired all of these leftists to crawl out from under a rock. Leftists in general have a history of not really caring about veterans.

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Vivek Saxena
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