www.bostonglobe.com Open in urlscan Pro
2a02:26f0:480:f::213:7ec6  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Skip to main content

Sections

Search

More

Podcasts
email Created with Sketch.
Newsletters


WATCH: GLOBE TODAY


CORONAVIRUS


METRO

 * Obituaries
 * Death Notices
 * Politics
 * Investigations
 * Education
 * New England
 * Weather


SPORTS

 * Red Sox
 * Patriots
 * Bruins
 * Celtics
 * Revolution
 * Boston Marathon
 * Colleges
 * High Schools
 * TV & Radio


NEW HAMPSHIRE

 * Business
 * Politics
 * Education
 * Crime
 * Health
 * Commentary


BUSINESS

 * Tech Power Players 50
 * Healthcare
 * Life Sciences
 * Technology
 * Real Estate
 * Economy
 * Bold Types


POLITICS

 * Elections


OPINION

 * Ideas
 * Columns and Opeds
 * Editorials
 * Letters
 * Cartoons


SPOTLIGHT


RHODE ISLAND

 * Things to Do
 * Rhode Island Podcast
 * RI Food & Dining
 * Politics
 * Business
 * Arts
 * Crime


WORLD


LIFESTYLE

 * A Beautiful Resistance
 * Food & Dining
 * Comics
 * Crossword
 * Games
 * Travel
 * Names
 * Love Letters
 * Real Estate


GLOBE MAGAZINE


MARIJUANA


ARTS

 * Books
 * Movies
 * Music
 * Television
 * Visual Arts
 * Theater/Dance


CARS


REAL ESTATE


EVENTS


SEARCH


EPAPER


MAGAZINE


OBITUARIES


WEATHER


COMICS


CROSSWORD


EVENTS


MANAGE MY ACCOUNT


MR. 80 PERCENT


GLADIATOR


LAST SEEN


LOVE LETTERS


STAT: THE READOUT LOUD


ALL PODCASTS


TODAY'S HEADLINES


BREAKING NEWS ALERTS


SPORTS HEADLINES


TODAY IN OPINION


GLOBE'S MOST POPULAR


RHODE ISLAND NEWS


NEW HAMPSHIRE NEWS


BOSTON GLOBE TODAY


ALL NEWSLETTERS

Sign In
Email to a Friend
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterPrint this Article
View Comments4

Watch: Globe TodayMetroSportsBusinessPoliticsOpinionHealthNew HampshireRhode
IslandCoronavirusSpotlightLifestyleArtsGlobe
MagazineTechnologyClimateEducationCarsReal EstateEvents
Sign In
ONE DAY SALE $1 for 6 months




ON HONOR FLIGHT RHODE ISLAND, A TRIP FILLED WITH MEMORIES, CAMARADERIE, AND
GRATITUDE


THE FLIGHT ON JUNETEENTH HELD SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE BLACK VETERANS WHO
WERE ON BOARD. “IT MEANS A LOT TO ME,” ONE VIETNAM VETERAN SAID, “BECAUSE WHEN I
CAME BACK FROM THE SERVICE, THERE WAS NO WELCOME, NO NOTHING FOR US AT ALL.”

By Amanda Milkovits Globe Staff,Updated June 20, 2023, 6:00 a.m.
Email to a Friend
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterPrint this Article
View Comments4
Retired Tiverton Fire Chief Robert Lloyd and Vietnam veteran Joseph Gillis of
East Greenwich pause to look at the names on the Airmen Medal of Honor
Recipients memorial in Washington, D.C. The two men were part of the Honor
Flight Rhode Island, which brought veterans from Rhode Island to visit the
memorials in Washington and be honored for their service.Amanda Milkovits

PROVIDENCE — Roger Desjardins was 21 when he wore this dull green Army uniform
in World War II.

He is now 98 years old, and when the North Providence veteran got dressed in the
dark hours of the morning on Monday, the uniform still fit him.

4:58 a.m.

Read full article

Early Monday at T.F. Green International Airport, Desjardins is the oldest
veteran on Honor Flight Rhode Island, named “Freedom,” and he prepared to lead
the start of their day-long journey to Washington, D.C., and back.

The 65 veterans gathered at the airport represented every branch of the
military. Some served in World War II, others in Korea or during the Cuban
Missile Crisis. Nearly two-thirds served in the Vietnam War. Some came to know
one another long after their service, sharing the kinds of memories that only
fellow veterans can understand. Honor Flight guardians escorted the veterans --
some were veterans themselves.


Get Rhode Map

A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things
that matter most in the Ocean State.
Enter Email
Sign Up

Frank Collins, of Cranston, and Navy veteran Jimmy Price, of Providence, both
joined the Army when they were 17, and never forgot what it felt like when they
returned from Vietnam. “It was a shame,” said Price, who was attending the
flight as a guardian. “They called us ‘baby killers.’”

Advertisement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The memories of the Vietnam war are indelible, Collins said. He found it tough
when he visited the Wall years earlier. The men anticipated that it would be
hard again today. But they were with each other, and they were ready.

This is Honor Flight, by the Rhode Island Fire Chiefs Honor Flight Hub, was the
only one touring the nation’s memorials and monuments on Juneteenth, and for
these Black men, that made the flight extra significant. “It’s a beautiful
feeling,” said former Marine Kenneth Turner, a Vietnam veteran. “It’s my
Father’s Day gift.”

Turner, Price, and Collins were among 22 veterans from American Legion Post 69
in Providence, and some of the more than 20 Black veterans on this Honor Flight.
The post service officer, Johanne Washington, wanted to make sure everyone on
the flight understood the importance of Juneteenth. “It means a lot to me,”
Washington said, “because when I came back from the service, there was no
welcome, no nothing for us at all.”

Advertisement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They assembled in the dark outside the airport entrance, strangers about to
share what many who’ve experienced it called “the best day of my life.” Some had
wheelchairs and canes. One veteran reflected on being young once, and how fast
50 or so years have passed.

Desjardins led them in.

At the last minute, he abandoned his wheelchair, and with North Providence Mayor
Charles Lombardi, his guardian, tagging along, Desjardins strode in and saluted
the police and fire honor guards. Then all of the veterans filed in to the sound
of bagpipes and drums, and cheers, and their faces shone with emotion.

“This is amazing!” one kept saying.





9:07 a.m.

The flight has landed. Inside the Washington National Airport, passengers who
were heading for other flights instead have gathered at the Southwest Airlines
gate. When North Attleborough firefighter Richard McDonough began to play the
bagpipes to start the procession of veterans into the airport, the crowd began
to cheer.

A father with two young children shouted “Thank you for your service!” over and
over, as the veterans walked and rolled past his family. People rushed in for
fist bumps and high fives and selfies with the astonished veterans, some of whom
were moved to tears.

Advertisement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Desjardins whipped off his cap to show off his full head of hair, to mad
applause. The normally loquacious Mayor Lombardi walked meekly at his side, here
only to guide a hero through an adoring crowd.

Once on the tour bus, the group passed the Potomac River and the Pentagon, where
the driver pointed out the side that had been hit by a plane during the Sept. 11
attacks. They disembarked at the US Airforce Memorial, where three stainless
steel spires like the flight paths of jets, called “Soaring to Glory,” reach
toward the sky.

Raymond Garlick, who served in the Air Force as a combat engineer at Tan Son
Nhut Air Base in the mid-1960s, found it difficult to express what it meant to
see the memorial. “I really couldn’t explain it,” the South Kingstown man said.
“It’s so emotional.”

His wife, Kathleen, said she could feel it. “It’s emotional watching him seeing
this for the first time, and it comes to life.”

11 a.m.

Raymond Raiche was helped into a wheelchair and his son, David, pushed him ahead
to the Marine Corps War Memorial, to the statue that replicates the iconic photo
of the Marines raising an American Flag at Iwo Jima.

The 32-foot-high figures, raising the 60-foot bronze flagpole with an American
flag that snapped in the breeze, dwarfed the 97-year-old Navy veteran. Raiche
said he remembered being at Iwo Jima and being shot by a Japanese soldier in the
face. The bullet broke his glasses. Raiche laughs about it now. He survived and
came back to Rhode Island, where he married and raised a family in Warwick.

Advertisement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“My dad never really talked much about what happened,” said David Raiche. His
parents were married for 73 years and after his mother, Annette, died last year,
David volunteered to bring his father on the Honor Flight.

It is their first time sharing a trip like this. “I’m going to be 98,” the
veteran said. “This will be my last time.”



Paul Vadenais of North Smithfield had wanted to bring his father, Normand, on an
Honor Flight, and also sponsor the whole trip. But then the pandemic happened
and trips were canceled, and his father, an Army veteran in the Korean War,
died.

Vadenais decided to sponsor this trip anyway and became a guardian for another
Korean veteran, Ralph Litz. Litz said he’d been hesitant at first, concerned
about his health, but Vadenais won him over. “He’s the best guardian I could
have,” Litz said.

1:30 p.m.

The Honor Flight Rhode Island brought a ceremonial wreath to the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier.

Desjardins and 96-year-old World War II Navy veteran Anthony Barsamian, of
Worcester, Mass., were going to lay the wreath. Mayor Lombardi and Vadenais, who
is here in honor of his father, were going to push the men in their wheelchairs.

Advertisement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But instead, when Private First Class Randy Seguera stepped forward to escort
them, Desjardins and Barsamian stood up and walked, with Vadenais and Lombardi
following behind.

The crowd of tourists and the rest of the Honor Flight group watched in silence
as the men moved forward and presented the wreath. And as one soldier played
Taps, the veterans watching the ceremony held their salutes or their hands over
their hearts, their eyes welling with tears.

When the men returned to their wheelchairs, a Vietnam veteran leaned in to shake
their hands. “You made me so proud today,” he said.





2:30 p.m.

At the grand World War II memorial, tourists around the splashing fountains and
granite columns stop to applaud the Honor Flight veterans as they gathered near
the pool for a group photo. For some of them, it was the first time they had
seen the memorials built to honor them.

After a few moments, the Rhode Island Professional Firefighters Pipes and Drums
began to play, and they led the procession of veterans away from the memorial.
People cheered as they passed by, some marching, some being pushed in
wheelchairs, some pushing their own wheelchairs in defiance.



The procession of more than a hundred veterans and guardians followed the
firefighters for the half-mile walk along the Reflecting Pool, where tourists
stop and wave and salute the men. As they arrived at the base of the Lincoln
Memorial, the pipes and drums played “Amazing Grace,” in memory of those who
have passed.

Some in the crowd of onlookers became emotional and reached in to hug the
veterans, thanking them for their service.

From here, some veterans turned to the left, to visit the memorial for the
Korean War, while others headed to the Vietnam Memorial. Many of the Vietnam
veterans headed for the Wall, to search for familiar names.

Vietnam veteran Peter Celani of Coventry found two names -- Edward Lakwa and
Myron Nabozniak -- and rubbed them onto paper with a blue crayon. It’s been 53
years, he said, but this is the first time he’s been able to do this, to
physically capture their names.

“They’ve always been etched in my mind,” Celani said.

When he was 19, he was drafted into the Army and became a radio operator. He
said he remembers playing cards with Nabozniak. He remembers the day his friends
died. They stepped on a large land mine. Celani called in the “dust ups,” the
medevacs, and he swallowed his anger.

There was no welcome home for those who served in Vietnam. But this day was
different, Celani, now a retired Providence firefighter, said. The Honor Flight
“has been beautiful,” he said. It allowed him to feel ready to talk about his
friends and trace their names.



Collins sat on a park bench near the Wall, with a smile on his face. He couldn’t
wait to return to Providence and tell the other veterans what they’d missed.

Collins said he’d hoped to share this experience with his son, Michael Sanchez
Collins, who’d retired from the Marines and had served in Iraq. His son had a
different experience than his, and different from the other veterans Collins was
meeting. His own generation was able to talk about their service and what they
remembered in a way that was hard to explain. They all have stories. They were
boots-on-the-ground in it, he said.

He served from 1967 to 1968 and was in the Tet Offensive. Over the years,
Collins said, they learned about the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder on
veterans. They learned to talk about their experiences. “It took me 35 years,”
Collins said.

And this day was something special.

“It’s the camaraderie,” Collins said. “I’ve been through war, but not like
this.”



6:40 p.m.

The camaraderie is what Roger Johnson, a Vietnam War veteran from Burrillville,
thought about.

He’d joined the Navy at 19 and was shipped off to war. Yet on this trip, he
couldn’t bring himself to go visit the Wall.

Instead, he focused on the entire Honor Flight experience with other veterans.
“It’s the camaraderie of the people all around us,” he said.

At a ceremonial dinner, each veteran on the Honor Flight received “mail” from
home -- letters and cards from loved ones and well-wishers thanking them for
their service. School children drew cards with crayon. A Little League team in
Burrillville signed a baseball for Johnson.

In each package, there was a photo of the veteran from when they first entered
the service. Their impossibly young and serious faces stared back from
black-and-white photos.

The photos were another reminder of the passage of time. Johnson thought about
this today, as he looked at the group around him and himself in the photo from
53 years ago.

They’d all been young men, once. And here they were, 50 years later.

“It just goes by so fast,” Johnson said.



9:20 p.m.

They are heading home.

Douglas Chase and Hurtis Mitchner Jr. walked together toward the airport gate at
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

They’d grown up together in the South Side of Providence, joined the Marine Corp
on the same October day in 1969, graduated Parris Island the same day in
December 1969, and eventually both ended up in Okinawa. When they both came home
in 1971, the two Black men found the same cold welcome.

Although they’d served their country, they encountered racism at home.

Here they were, 54 years later, partnered together at the Honor Flight, being
greeted and welcomed by the public for their service, all on same day that
Governor Daniel McKee was signed legislation to make Juneteenth a holiday in
Rhode Island.

“It was the recognition, offering opportunities to Vietnam veterans, and
Juneteenth being recognized,” Mitchner said.

This day was more than they could have imagined, said Chase, who is also
Narragansett Indian. “We finally got the recognition,” he said.

Several veterans told retired Providence Fire Chief George Farrell that this had
been the best day of their lives.

Farrell, the founder of the Rhode Island Fire Chiefs Honor Flight Hub, says he
often tells veterans that they will remember it forever. Whenever they close
their eyes, he says, they can reminisce about the Honor Flight.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amanda Milkovits can be reached at amanda.milkovits@globe.com. Follow her on
Twitter @AmandaMilkovits.

Show comments

Boston Globe Today

What we know about the missing submersibleShareSHARE

Subtitle Settings
Font Default Mono Sans Mono Serif Sans Serif Comic Fancy Small Caps
Font Size Default X-Small Small Medium Large X-Large XX-Large
Font Edge Default Outline Dark Outline Light Outline Dark Bold Outline Light
Bold Shadow Dark Shadow Light Shadow Dark Bold Shadow Light Bold
Font Color Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime
Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua Orange Default 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%
Background Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime
Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua Orange Default 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%
Play

5:57



Skip
Reporter Emily Sweeney breaks down a developing story involving that missing
underwater vessel 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.
 * NOW PLAYING
   What we know about the missing submersible
 * Hope for sickle cell treatment
 * Meet kei, ready for her hometown showcase at BAMS Fest

 * NOW PLAYING
   What we know about the missing submersible
 * Hope for sickle cell treatment
 * Meet kei, ready for her hometown showcase at BAMS Fest

SEE MORE VIDEOS



MOST POPULAR ON BOSTONGLOBE.COM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 1.  The Celtics had a midnight deadline to land Kristaps Porzingis. In a
     stunning shift, they dealt Marcus Smart away to make it happen.
 2.  Simmons University in Boston considers cutting several liberal arts
     departments amid financial crisis
 3.  Celtics and Brad Stevens wanted to strike first, and acquiring Kristaps
     Porzingis was a knockout
 4.  Ballard’s Beach Resort owner Steve Filippi makes changes after last year’s
     tumultuous season
 5.  Underwater robot reaches sea floor in urgent search for missing Titanic
     submersible
 6.  How Ayo Edebiri, a shy, serious kid from Dorchester, became a breakout star
     on ‘The Bear’
 7.  Not the Patriot Way: Can team’s image withstand the off-field mistakes of
     its recalcitrant players?
 8.  The check is in the mail? You may be waiting awhile for that Mass Save
     rebate.
 9.  Healey created a nonprofit to bankroll her transition into office. But, the
     donors are secret, and so is how much they gave her.
 10. Search for missing submersible passes critical 96-hour mark




VIEWS FROM OUR COLUMNISTS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 * Yvonne Abraham
   Saugus officials forced the school superintendent to go on leave five months
   ago. They won’t say why.
 * Jeneé Osterheldt
   Juneteenth and the beautiful resistance of Black liberation
 * Adrian Walker
   Mel King changed what power looks like in Boston
 * Shirley Leung
   Are bus-only lanes on Summer Street a way to ease Seaport traffic congestion?
 * Thomas Farragher
   They’re building an ‘ice penetrator’ on a hillside in Westford
 * Kevin Cullen
   Nathan Carman takes his secrets to the grave
 * Dan McGowan
   A running list of possible candidates for Cicilline’s congressional seat



MORE ON GLOBE.COM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

celtics

THE CELTICS HAD A MIDNIGHT DEADLINE TO LAND KRISTAPS PORZINGIS. IN A STUNNING
SHIFT, THEY DEALT MARCUS SMART AWAY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala will head to the Wizards, and Boston picks up
the Grizzlies' No. 25 pick in Thursday's draft.


SIMMONS UNIVERSITY IN BOSTON CONSIDERS CUTTING SEVERAL LIBERAL ARTS DEPARTMENTS
AMID FINANCIAL CRISIS

The private university, which has trained generations of social workers and
nurses, is the latest women’s college to confront existential threats to its
business model.

BLOCK ISLAND

BALLARD’S BEACH RESORT OWNER STEVE FILIPPI MAKES CHANGES AFTER LAST YEAR’S
TUMULTUOUS SEASON

A free music festival got out of hand in August 2022, leading to brawls and
arrests on the Block Island Ferry. “There’s no excuses here. I still have no
idea how that happened,” Filippi said in an interview. “I still think about that
at night.”

On basketball

CELTICS AND BRAD STEVENS WANTED TO STRIKE FIRST, AND ACQUIRING KRISTAPS
PORZINGIS WAS A KNOCKOUT

The 7-foot-3-inch big man can stretch the floor and score from midrange, just
what the Celtics have been lacking.


UNDERWATER ROBOT REACHES SEA FLOOR IN URGENT SEARCH FOR MISSING TITANIC
SUBMERSIBLE

Rescuers rushed ships, planes, and other equipment to the site of the
disappearance on Thursday, a vital moment in the intense effort to save the five
people aboard the missing vessel.


HOW AYO EDEBIRI, A SHY, SERIOUS KID FROM DORCHESTER, BECAME A BREAKOUT STAR ON
‘THE BEAR’

Widely acclaimed for her performance as a smart but insecure young chef, Edebiri
doesn't seem too impressed with her success. The actress credits her upbringing
in Boston with giving her perspective.

Christopher L. Gasper

NOT THE PATRIOT WAY: CAN TEAM’S IMAGE WITHSTAND THE OFF-FIELD MISTAKES OF ITS
RECALCITRANT PLAYERS?

Patriots no longer can rely upon perpetual on-field success to deflect
off-the-field issues from players who were questionable choices.

THE FINE PRINT

THE CHECK IS IN THE MAIL? YOU MAY BE WAITING AWHILE FOR THAT MASS SAVE REBATE.

For many residents, appreciation of Mass Save — which offers lucrative rebates
for energy efficient steps — is mixed with frustration over how the program is
managed.


‘A TRULY SURREAL EXPERIENCE’: REVERSAL OF ROE LEAVES SOME HESITANT TO TRAVEL
OUTSIDE OF MASS. WHILE PREGNANT

Fearing they won’t get good care if they miscarry or require some form of
emergency care, some think twice about visiting red states.


MOST READ IN THIS SECTION

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SIMMONS UNIVERSITY IN BOSTON CONSIDERS CUTTING SEVERAL LIBERAL ARTS DEPARTMENTS
AMID FINANCIAL CRISIS


BLOCK ISLAND

BALLARD’S BEACH RESORT OWNER STEVE FILIPPI MAKES CHANGES AFTER LAST YEAR’S
TUMULTUOUS SEASON



UNDERWATER ROBOT REACHES SEA FLOOR IN URGENT SEARCH FOR MISSING TITANIC
SUBMERSIBLE



HOW AYO EDEBIRI, A SHY, SERIOUS KID FROM DORCHESTER, BECAME A BREAKOUT STAR ON
‘THE BEAR’


Missing submersible

SEARCH FOR MISSING SUBMERSIBLE PASSES CRITICAL 96-HOUR MARK



HEALEY CREATED A NONPROFIT TO BANKROLL HER TRANSITION INTO OFFICE. BUT, THE
DONORS ARE SECRET, AND SO IS HOW MUCH THEY GAVE HER.



‘A TRULY SURREAL EXPERIENCE’: REVERSAL OF ROE LEAVES SOME HESITANT TO TRAVEL
OUTSIDE OF MASS. WHILE PREGNANT



FASCINATION WITH TITANIC HAS CONTINUED UNABATED, EVEN 111 YEARS AFTER ITS
SINKING



BOSTON LATIN ACADEMY FACULTY PROVIDE FRESH INSIGHT ABOUT NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE IN
HEAD OF SCHOOL



Follow Us





SUBSCRIBE NOW

Digital Access

Home Delivery

Gift Subscriptions


MY ACCOUNT

Log In

Manage My Account

Customer Service

Delivery Issues

Feedback


CONTACT

Help & FAQs

Staff List

Advertise


MORE

Newsletters

View the ePaper

Order Back Issues

News in Education

Search the Archives

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

Terms of Purchase

Work at Boston Globe Media

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

©2023 Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC


Close
The Boston Globe Created with Sketch.

ONE DAY SALE

Get 6 Months of
Unlimited Access for $180 $1
Enjoy the many benefits of a digital subscription:

Get Unlimited Access

SALE ENDS JUNE 30
Cancel anytime.

Subscriber Log in | Privacy Policy
search by queryly Advanced Search