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Veterans and concerned citizens on Thursday rallied outside of the Freeborn County Government Center to protest staff cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

This came in response to the VA facing a cut of 83,000 staff which would result in cuts to veterans health care, forcing them to face longer waits and poor care, according to a press release.

According to Mary Hinnenkamp, a member of the Freeborn County DFL and one of the organizers of the protest, the idea for the event started at the last Freeborn County DFL breakfast. Usually about a dozen people show up, she said. However, this time there were about 50 people. Citizens were concerned about what has been going on lately at the federal level and wanted a way to take action.

For Jim Margadant, another member of the Freeborn County DFL and a member of one of the committees with Hinnenkamp, staff cuts to the VA are personal for him.

“It came home to our house this week. My brother-in-law is a Vietnam vet,” he said. “He had a heart attack and a stroke … And he’ll have to get rehab through the VA, and right now his wife is spending a good chunk of her afternoon trying to get through to the VA to get appointments scheduled. What’s going to happen when they take 80,000 support staff out of the office? It’s going to put her working into midnight. It really affects veterans right now.”

It was then, Margadant said, he had the idea to hold a peaceful protest. 

“This country made them a promise,” he said. “You can’t go back on it.”

The event began at the Union Soldiers and Sailors Monument outside the courthouse. Many people carried signs expressing their support of veterans and the need to protect veterans health care. Several veterans also spoke at the protest.

One person was Earl Thompson, a World War II veteran. 

“I’m really nervous about how our government is failing to support veterans in all their programs,” he said. “Waste should be removed with a scalpel, not a chainsaw.” 

Wayne Thorson, another veteran, spoke as well. 

“Trump has got a ‘Trump spur’ that kept him out of the service, and I put in 20 years in the military, and he’s trying to take away my benefits. And that’s not right,” he said. He also spoke on cutting waste during the Clinton administration, saying it was done without hurting innocent people. 

“Trump picks up a whole bunch of people in one crack, and a lot of them are innocent, and they did nothing wrong and yet, he doesn’t care. It doesn’t bother him. He’s a bully,” Thorson said.

Tim Donahue spoke about his experience being exposed to toxic chemicals while serving in Vietnam. He said he was about to have his fourth skin cancer surgery and felt lucky that he does not face additional health problems. Reducing VA staff, he said, will cause harm to veterans.

“You wait three months for a doctor’s appointment, it gives cancer a pretty good jump,” he said. “And that’s not what we were promised.” 

It was also announced at the rally that an informational meeting would be held for women veterans at 5:30 p.m. April 15 at the Freeborn County Government Center. Topics discussed will include VA benefits for women veterans, potential cuts, eligibility and more.

Following speeches, attendees lined the sidewalk outside the courthouse and chanted, “When veterans’ rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up and fight back!”

Hinnenkamp encouraged everyone present to contact 1st District House Rep. Brad Finstad either by phone or in writing and tell him their concerns about VA cuts and other actions being taken at the federal level. 

Pete Kasperowicz, VA press secretary, issued the following statement in response to the rally:

“VA will run through a deliberative process and find ways to improve care and benefits for veterans without cutting care and benefits for veterans.

“We’re not talking about reducing medical staff or claims processors, we’re talking about reducing bureaucracy and inefficiencies that are getting in the way of customer convenience and service to veterans.

“Meanwhile, all VA mission-critical positions are exempt from cuts, and hiring continues for more than 300,000 essential positions.”