Vietnam Veterans Sue President Donald Trump’s Administration to Block ‘Disrespectful’ Arch Project

A group of Vietnam War veterans is suing President Donald Trump’s administration to stop construction on his proposed arch outside of the nation’s capital.

Trump, 79, is hoping to build a 250-foot arch across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial in front of Arlington National Cemetery, where nearly 430,000 United States veterans and their eligible family members are buried.

According to CBS News, Shaun Byrnes, 83 — who served two tours in Vietnam and later worked as a U.S. diplomat in Kosovo, Ukraine and the Soviet Union — is joined by fellow Vietnam War veterans and retired diplomats Jon Gundersen, 81, and Michael Lemmon, as well as an architectural historian and the ethics group Public Citizen in suing the Trump administration to stop what they call a “disrespectful” construction project.

The group believes that erecting a massive, grandiose monument — which Trump has previously said was to be built to honor him personally — would overshadow and run in contrast to the solemnity of Arlington National Cemetery.

“It’s more about the duty I feel towards my colleagues and friends who did not come home to stand up against this project, regardless of who’s in charge,” Byrnes told CBS News. “I think it’s just disrespectful to those that I served with who didn’t come back, and then, of course, to all those who are lying in Arlington National Cemetery.”

The veteran even went as far as to say the construction of the arch is making him reconsider being buried at Arlington when he passes. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to forge ahead, recently balking at a federal commission’s request to remove a massive golden angel and two golden eagles to reduce the size of the arch as it seeks FAA approval, per The New York Times.

Construction on what Trump has called the “triumphal arch” has not yet begun. Although it has passed some key approval processes, the veterans argue in their lawsuit that the arch is illegal because it has not been given congressional approval. The New York Times reports that the Commission of Fine Arts, which is made up of Trump appointees, approved the plans on Thursday, May 21. The National Capital Planning Commission, which is also made up of Trump appointees, will take up consideration of the arch plans next month.