Point Blank: What Happened To The Audacity Of St. Croix?

Virgin Islands Veterans Are Memorialized On The Mainland And In Puerto Rico. Why Not Here?

By Winston Nugent 

Winston Nugent

“Where have all the soldiers gone?” 

The lyrics of this song have been a question in the minds of quite a few Virgin Islands Veterans and their families for approximately ten years. And it is becoming an obsession for some due the fact that the executive branch, the legislature, and the local veteran’s administration, were informed that the exploits and deeds of American War Veterans have been memorialized through the erection of monuments, such as the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. and the Veterans Memorial Wall in Puerto Rico. 

At several meetings and gatherings, St. Croix’s veterans were lectured on the fact that many of their brothers and sisters have given their lives for the protection of peace, liberty and democracy, and there is no memorial in honor of the over 3,000 of them in the Territory. Until this day, the powers that might be, have not seen the need to preserve, memorialize, and promote their heroic deeds. 

What total disrespect! 

It is not my fault that I am a pessimist. If you live on the island of St. Croix long enough, you will realize that when it comes to St. Croix, to get anything worthy of making it stand out, you first must practice the art of begging with a sense of servitude, then go through the feeling of being dependent or feel like an abused stepchild by a bureaucracy deeply rooted in the grounds of hypocrisy.  

Why has it taken so long for this government to provide the avenue for the building of the long overdue Military Museum and Veterans Complex on St. Croix? The law was passed 10 years ago! Is it because, in truth and in fact, there is a conspiracy to make St. Croix a stagnated society? 

The disgust of the veterans on St. Croix is that the law stated very clearly that: whomsoever the governor of the Virgin Islands is, he shall select a parcel of land from existing government-owned property for the allowance of construction of this complex.

I was flabbergasted to know that five possible areas were identified for this development to take place: Estate Old Bethlehem Works, Estate Negro Bay, Estate Downings, Estate Body Slob, Estate Concordia, and Estate Diamond. Why then one has not yet been chosen? 

I cannot help but face the reality that in these islands one has to look deeply into the realm of its social psychology. That is, the study of nature and causes of human social behavior and mental processes with an emphasis on how we think of each other. 

What a disgrace, when you think of the fact that we are part of the African Diaspora, and at the same time, a Territory of the United States of America, a Caribbean Island with the given opportunity of self-determination. 

I, for the love of pride, can’t understand why we in these Virgin Islands specialized in the belittling of ourselves with the determined pathology to suppress one another; coupled with the acquired slave mentality to use and abuse each other; and down-right bury our dignity. I wonder sometimes if, “we” in this small little place, aren’t by nature, self-destructive or masochistic. 

I found it interesting that when we chose leadership, we often did so in a way that ended up leading to disappointments, failures, or mismanagement; even when better options are clearly available. What is so ironic is that, in this realm, it is the island of St. Croix who often gets the end of the shaft. 

Where is the audacity of St. Croix? 

Here it is we have a law called, “The Virgin Islands Military Museum and Veterans Memorial Act of 2001,” mandating that a complex be built on the island of St. Croix, and what do we get, people who are exerting shrewd or devious influences, politically, not to have this project come to fruition. 

Why would anybody wants to hold back the building of a place that would (a) exhibit and preserve the exploits, achievements and heroism of Virgin Islanders who served in the Armed Forces; (b) maintain a permanent registry of the names of patriotic Virgin Islanders; (c) a Military Museum and Veterans Memorial consisting of a wall honoring Virgin Islands soldiers; and (d) a veterans medical clinic, veterans administration offices, a theater, cafeteria, and classroom? 

Now, having asked the above questions, I had to laugh. You see, I know, and it is sad to know, that there are some people among us who only do things to assume an exaggerated pose. However, as the wise would say, “you can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time!”

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