On the 12th of October 2000, the USS Cole was harbored in Aden, a Yemeni port when it was attacked by an al-Queda suicide bomber. Seventeen sailors were killed and another 39 were injured. One of these dead sailors was Marc Nieto. His father, Jesse Nieto of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina began displaying decals on his vehicle as a display of anger, "at the hands of Islamic terrorists"
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Jesse Nieto has worked as a civilian at an electrical distribution shop on Camp Lejeune since 1994. A veteran himself, he served 25 years in the Marine Corps, including two combat tours as an infantryman in Vietnam.
Several months after his son was killed, Nieto put the decals on his vehicle. The messages displayed at least a half-dozen anti-Muslim terrorist decals including "ISLAM TERRORISM," and a red line superimposed on the Islamic star and crescent with the words "WE DIED, THEY REJOICED."
But, it wasn't until July of this year Nietos' supervisor informed him he would have to remove his decals or he would be fired. Base public affairs director Maj. Nat Fahy told the Jacksonville Daily News that commanders acted after Camp Lejeune's Equal Employment Opportunity office received several complaints about the "offensive nature" of Nieto's stickers. In August, Lt. Col. James Hessen, the base's traffic court officer, ordered Nieto to peel off the anti-Islam decals. Nieto did so while a Marine observed. Two weeks later, Hessen ordered Nieto to remove the rest of his decals, including one that said "REMEMBER THE COLE, 12 Oct. 2000," the lawsuit said. Nieto refused.
Hessen also issued an order barring Nieto from driving his vehicle onto any military installation, which includes his workplace and Arlington National Cemetery, where Nieto's son is buried.
Jesse Nieto has filed a lawsuit in eastern district of North Carolina on Monday, 10 November 2008.
Camp Lejeune has a standing order, as do all other Military installations, that vehicle owners are prohibited from displaying "extremist, indecent, sexists, or racist messages". " But there are no objective standards for determining whether a decal violates the order", the lawsuit said.
I, unlike others have no real problem with the Camp Lejeune administration or the enforcement of their policies. The Marine Corps has always worked this issue quite fairly and even handedly in the past. He can keep the stickers on his car, he just can't drive that car, with those stickers on it, on the post. Although how the Camp Lejeune administration can set the policy for Arlington National Cemetery is unknown to me.
I'm not sure why the stickers are considered offensive? The displayed stickers don't mention Islam except in context of a specific group of Muslims; terrorists.
However. How in the world is the bumper sticker "Remember the Cole, 12 Oct. 2000" offensive to anyone? How is it inflammatory? Extremist? Sexist? Racist? Under this same interpretation, any 9/11 remembrance stickers would have to be removed, all those cute little yellow ribbons would have to come off, the POW/MIA stickers would also have to go. These examples all fall in line with "Remember the Cole, 12 Oct, 2008". Perhaps the Marine Corps in their effort to bend over backwards to appease the person(s) that filed the original complaint with bases Equal Employment Opportunity office back in July, is too overzealous in their attempt to achieve political correctness.
Just out of curiosity, given Nieto put the stickers on his car a few months after his son died, that would put them in place for almost eight years. (possibly on two different cars?) Why has it only now become an issue? I'm betting one person complained and this revolves around problems with another person or an attempt to get him, as an old timer, to leave.
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