For several years, there’s been speculation about the forthcoming “Master Plan†at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System on federal property, adjacent to the community of Brentwood.
What some people fail to understand and accept is that there’s been a Master Plan in effect for nearly 123 years. It’s called the Deed of 1888 and it specifically declares that the benevolent land gift from Senator John P. Jones and Arcadia Bandini de Baker to the U.S. Government is “to be permanently maintained as a National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.†In 1887, an Act of Congress pre-mandated the clause of perpetuity that appears no less than six times in the Deed.
But instead of honoring the Deed and permanently maintaining the Home as a quiet sanctuary for disabled Veterans to heal from the ravages of war, this sacred land has been turned into a private school playground, a public recreation park, an off-leash dog park, a kids soccer field, a public entertainment center, a public golf course, public botanic gardens, celebrity carnivals, marathons, and bike races, used-car and bus storage lots, public parking lots, a major hotel laundry facility, and other sullying misappropriation of this treasured gift.
Incredulously, this has all been done at the painful expense of disabled and disadvantaged Veterans who require proper shelter and care. The net result is that in spite of having the largest VA Home in the nation, Los Angeles has become the homeless Veteran capital of the nation because Veterans have been exiled from their very own Home.
This national disgrace is a black-eye for Brentwood and West Los Angeles. Nonetheless, Veterans are respectfully appealing for neighboring residents to unify through an “Act of Community†to support their “Grand Plan†that will replace scores of 80-year old obsolete and dysfunctional buildings (many that are empty) with a fully modern 21st Century “Grand Veterans Home†to include new resident towers, dining halls, healthcare and rehabilitation facilities, administrative services, a Veterans College, Veterans Village, lush and tranquil therapy gardens, and other amenities for fellow Veterans to help each other battle their stressful, long-term war injuries.
As we know, our government has spent hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars bailing out mismanaged banks, insurance companies and auto manufacturers. Surely there’s a drop or two left in the ole stimulus bucket to restore and rebuild our mismanaged National Veterans Home.
Please support this responsible and noble cause.
