One Week After Politician Promises, No Help For The Army Family Struggling To Bury A War Hero
Master Sgt. Joseph W. Velasquez's widow, children, grandchild and parents just want to attend his funeral. New Mexico politicians are ignoring their request.
By Christopher Bedford
June 20, 2020
Five weeks after he was killed in a hit and run, and one week after D.C. politicians promised to help, the family of Master Sgt. Joseph W. Velasquez are still not able to lay the man — a brother, a father, a grandfather, a husband and a son — to rest in Santa Fe National Cemetery. Despite Joseph’s 20 years of service to the United States Army, and despite his brother Phillip’s 20 years, and despite his father’s 20 years — despite 11 tours of combat between the three of them — both Washington and Santa Fe politicians have remained on the sidelines.
At issue is a directive the cemetery’s director, Cindy M. Van Bibber, has enforced for funerals: Only six family members will be permitted to attend the burial, which will be held in a tent. The restrictions, Bibber says, are based on the governor’s guidelines, though those guidelines have allowed for restaurant dining rooms to open at 50 percent capacity.
https://thefederalist.com/2020/06/20/one-week-after-politician-promises-no-help-for-the-army-family-struggling-to-bury-a-war-hero/
