BACKROOM BRIEFING: APPOMATTOX FOR CONFEDERATE VETERANS?
By BRANDON LARRABEE, JIM TURNER AND TOM URBAN
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
Former Confederate soldiers might not be admitted to the state Veterans’ Hall of Fame anytime soon — but if there’s anything that their supporters are familiar with, it’s fighting for a lost cause.
Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet decided this week to pass over three men who donned gray uniforms during the Civil War, instead voting to induct into the hall of fame five former soldiers for the United States military. But Scott and the Cabinet left open the possibility of reconsidering Confederate soldier David Lang, who is credited as being the father of the Florida National Guard, given his later service to that force.
The issue with the rebel nominees is what, precisely, constitutes a veteran eligible for the hall. The state Department of Veterans’ Affairs said the three Confederate nominees, submitted by an advisory council, were ineligible because they served in the Confederate military and the agency interprets state law to allow only people discharged honorably from the U.S. military to be inducted.
Others disagree. Graham Smith, of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, told the Cabinet that the “legislative intent is unquestionable” — that Scott, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam should vet all eight nominees themselves, instead of leaving it to the agency.
“By scrubbing this list, the director at FDVA (the department) performed your jobs,” Smith said.
The NAACP opposed the induction of the three Johnny Rebs, who also include former Gov. Edward Perry and former U.S. Sen. Samuel Pasco, namesake of the Florida county. Dale Landry, of the Florida branch of the NAACP, didn’t dispute that the men had great achievements later in life.
“In these capacities, they have already left their legacies — proud ones,” Landry said. “But by inducting these men into (the) Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame, there’s a bad message being sent, a message that the behavior and beliefs they fought for are not only accepted but honored. And that’s just plain wrong.”
Scott and the Cabinet have called for the advisory council to review its rules and, if necessary, ask the Legislature for clarification on whether Confederates are eligible for the hall. But as the 2015 legislative session nears the halfway point, no bills have been filed. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, asked if the issue was on his radar, said it was news to him.
“It’s the first I’ve heard of it, so it is now on the radar,” said Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island. “No, I have not been contacted by anybody on that.”
The case of Lang has also caused a new round of questions. Officials with the department suggested at the Cabinet meeting that even Lang’s National Guard service might not be enough, since he was never called up to active duty.
But Atwater seemed puzzled that National Guard members might be excluded, especially if they “gave everything they had given and lost their life in a catastrophic event while they were helping save the lives of fellow Floridians.”
Lang’s situation could be reviewed at the next Cabinet meeting. As far as the fates of Confederate service members, there’s no telling when or whether the issue might rise again.