Two huge billboards in Central Florida paid for by a Marine veteran are advertising the message that the Veterans Affairs Administration is lying about their improved service for veterans.
Roger Gagnon, of Orange City, paid $775 for an Orlando billboard and $1,400 for another near Daytona Beach to send his message for one month. The billboard, boasting a bright yellow background, read, “VA is lying, veterans are dying.”
Gagnon asserted, “It’s not about me, I’m all set. This is about the people who are in the service and the ones who are fixing to go in the service.” He said of the VA, “They got that last nerve of mine that I just got to the point where I said, ‘I’ll eat Ramen noodles for a month, but I’m going to let them know that I’m upset.'”
Gagnon pointed out what he said are spurious claims from the VA and Barack Obama that wait times for veterans’ doctor appointments have been radically cut. Gagnon argued that the VA is lying, saying that his experiences with the veterans he knows have led him to a starkly different conclusion. He offered, “Now they come on the news and said we fixed things. They’re lying. Nothing has changed.”
Images of the billboards can be found on the “VA is lying group” Facebook page, which has over 12,000 members.
Gagnon concluded, “I want the public to finally realize this is totally unacceptable.”