"The National Son"

In recent years there has been significant controversy surrounding the continued public display of memorials to "famous" persons in the USA ranging from Christopher Columbus to 20th century Presidents. This is especially true for Confederate memorials of any sort and anyone who was a slave holder. It has also been noted that "uninformed" members of the public have confused "The Hiker" with Civil War era statues. The following resolutions were adopted by the SSAWV in national convention:

"Whereas, the Sons of Spanish American War Veterans (SSAWV) is a fraternal order dedicated to perpetuating the memory of veterans who served as soldiers, sailors, and marines in the Spanish American War, the Philippine Insurrection, and the China Relief Expedition, and

Whereas, over three-fourths of the veterans were sons of Union and Confederate Civil War veterans and were led by Civil War veterans who formerly served in the Union and Confederate armies, and

Whereas, it is also the primary purpose of the SSAWV to inculcate a "true and proper" understanding of American principles and American history, and

Whereas, the SSAWV seeks to encourage principles of universal liberty, equal rights, and full justice to all people, 

BE IT HEREBY REOLVED, that the SSAWV stands with its brothers and sisters in other Heritage Organization in general overall opposition to the permanent removal of statues, monuments, war memorials and flags from historic sites and placements, be they Union or Confederate or representative of the service of any American veteran."

[Approved unanimously by the 81st National Convention]

"Our brave Soldiers and Sailors have been memorialized by monuments, plaques, statues and other means. Some of these were created using public funds. For these, any change, removal or moves should only be after public discussion, and by majority agreement of the citizens of that community from which the funds originated, and coordinated by their elected leadership. Any change, removal, or move of memorial objects that were paid for by private funds, or partially paid by private funds, should get the agreement of those private parties before proceeding with plans. At all times the respect for our military should be of primary importance."

[Approved unanimously by the 84th National Convention]