Fred Hill Is The 2014 Winner Of My April Fool Award

The requisite disclaimer:  The opinions expressed here are my own, and do not represent Patch, the Vietnam Veterans of America, or any other group or organization.  This is an opinion piece, and the opinions given, are mine and mine alone.

Today is April Fools day, and instead of playing a really funny April Fools joke, I find myself in a position to highlight a man who I am going to call this year's April Fool. This man is Fred Hill, and he is an organizer of the Plymouth Community Fourth of July Parade.

Mr. Hill, who owns Fred Hill Real Estate in Plymouth, is the man who determines the order of the folks who march in this popular parade. To the best of my knowledge, he is the man you have to ask if you want a particular spot. He also has a group called the Fred Hill Briefcase Drill Team. They have marched in the Macy's Parade, and march in the Plymouth parade as well. Maybe that is why he got the job as organizer of the Plymouth Parade. I don't have the answer to that question.

What I do know, is that last year, Mr. Hill slotted the Plymouth Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America the 51st slot in his parade. Our veterans, were given the 51st slot in a Fourth of July parade, which celebrates the founding of our nation, and in my mind, honors those who fought for our independence, as well as those who continued to stand in harms way for our great nation.

It saddened me to find out last week that Mr. Hill chose not to honor a request from the VVA Color Guard to slot them somewhere in the first 10 positions. They had a very compelling reason to ask for this slot. We are fast approaching the 50 year anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam War, and these folks are getting up in age, and are facing real physical challenges just marching in this wonderful parade. To have them standing around all morning waiting for their chance to represent our nation's veterans, is to me, not only a health concern, but it's also a slap in the face.

These men have not only served our country, but they have supported the parade in the past, and they support our community as well. Off the top of my head, I know that the folks at the VFW Post support the Boy Scouts, they go into schools and speak with students, they have a fishing derby planned for the kids this summer, an Easter Egg hunt, blood drives, and the list goes on, as far as their community involvement is concerned.

To their credit though, they did not complain last year. They simply learned from the experience that they just could not physically deal with the slot at the back of the parade. They very much want to be a part of our nation's celebration, they just need a simple accommodation, to relieve some of the physical strain that this event poses.

Mr. Ron King, is the President of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 528 here in Plymouth. He served with the 38th Air Rescue And Recovery Squadron, and he made this statement, “Considering last year’s decision to slot our organization at the back end of the parade (considered by some an insult), we approached the parade organizer this year and requested we be placed in the first 10 positions. His response, was in essence, take our position in the rear of the parade or do not participate – period.”

These are good men, and they served our country when asked. I've come to know a few vets in my life, and I can tell you, they do not ask for credit, and they never have. While they graciously accept them, they do not seek "Thank You's" for their service. They do not seek notoriety, or walk around with a sense of entitlement. Nobody asked me to write about this issue. I only found out about this by reading a letter to the editor at the Plymouth Observer.

These men simply want to represent those who served, at this parade, and if they can't do it because Mr. Hill is unwilling to give them a slot that makes it physically less stressful, then they will no longer be able to march in our Fourth of July Parade. Unfortunately, Mr. Hill seems to be just fine with that, and to me, his decision flies in the face of what a Fourth of July parade should be about.

I actually called Mr. Hill at his office just to see if an arrangement had been made that I didn't know about. Seeing as how it had been a few days since I had read the letter in the paper, I guess I was just hopeful that the man had maybe come to his senses. I found out that not only had he refused to let common sense prevail, but he was actually kind of rude when I asked him about this whole mess.

The conversation got a bit tense, and he got a bit condescending, informing me that he will not comment on the matter because, "the VVA had not submitted an application yet." What a crock. According to the letter, they already approached him asking for some help, and he refused to give it to them. Pure and simple. Why on Earth would they bother with an application when he flat out shut them down on their simple request?

In the end, I believe that our nation's veterans deserve to march front and center in any Fourth of July parade that they are gracious enough to participate in. That is my opinion as a very proud American. I have never served our nation in the military, I have never stood in harms way, and I have a healthy respect for those who have. I think most folks do. I think most folks would love to see the Color Guard of the Plymouth-Canton VVA march right up front in the Plymouth Fourth of July Parade.

Mr. Hill is being foolish for making men who are in their 60's stand around and wait, to march in a very long parade, and he is being incredibly foolish for disrespecting our nation's veterans on the Fourth of July. Heck, from a PR standpoint alone, this is a huge blunder. Here he is, a fancy real estate broker, with an office downtown, and he is gonna turn his back on a bunch of our nation's veterans? Not a bright move. I know that I'd never buy a house from a guy like that.

Mr. Hill may be a some kind of a big shot with his fancy briefcase drill team, but he just lost a real drill team. He threw away a real drill team that marched through the jungles of Vietnam, instead of a Macy's parade. That is a huge difference Mr. Hill. A very huge difference.

So, for all of the reasons stated above, I am declaring Mr. Fred Hill, of Plymouth, Michigan, the 2014 winner of my very first April Fool Award.

Congratulations Mr. Hill, you are a very deserving winner...