Boots on the Ground sees highest-ever turnout

Operation Stand Down Rhode Island’s Boots on the Ground for Heroes Memorial experienced its highest turnout ever during its first year at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, according to Dee DeQuattro, the organization’s development director.

DeQuattro, who founded the event four years ago, told the Sun Rise on Tuesday that attendees were filtering through the 7,000 boots nonstop over the course of Memorial Day weekend. She added that more than 500 people attended the patriotic concert, and “everybody loved the new location.”

“Obviously, every time you see this memorial, it’s overwhelming because of the gravity of the impact of loss and all those service members who gave their lives in pursuit of freedom,” she said. “The military really is a brotherhood, so to have this connection to one of the oldest military installations in the country, it really just added to the meaning and impactfulness of the event.”

DeQuattro said her group left headquarters in Johnston on Tuesday. The field was mapped out on Wednesday, and by the afternoon all of the boots had been placed. She reserved Thursday for tagging all of the boots.

She said the boots were set up with help from more than 200 volunteers from various businesses and organizations – including Bank of America, Citizens Bank, National Grid, the U.S. Navy, the Coast Guard, Corvias, Textron and Amgen – as well as students from Goff Middle School in Pawtucket.

They faced quite a challenge, though, as DeQuattro said the wind made it difficult to keep the boots upright. She and her team came up with a solution on the fly – tying the boots to the flags, which were planted in the ground, so they could not fall over.

DeQuattro thanked the staff of Fort Adams for making the event proceed smoother than usual. She said they were always willing to help, and OSDRI saved on security costs since the fort is locked up at night. Over the past few years at Roger Williams Park, OSDRI would have to hire security to watch the boots so they were not damaged or vandalized.

She added that Boots on the Ground would return to Fort Adams again next year.

“I do want to say the fort and the fort staff was tremendously great to work with, they helped us literally with anything,” she said. “If there was anything we needed, they had it … Any little thing, the fort seemed to have and were able to stand in and help us.”

DeQuattro said the Gold Star Gala, which was held among the boots for the first time, also went very well. The event allowed Gold Star families to place boots in memory of their loved ones, and it also drew a large turnout.

“It was the most families we’ve ever had,” she said. “It was really awesome to be able to be there and take some pictures with the boots and everybody at the gala to see the boots.”

DeQuattro told the Sun Rise during an interview earlier this month that she would ideally like to get the memorial on the road, and she said this year’s installment at Fort Adams helped show the logistics of how it could happen.

“This year it gave us so much exposure to people in other states,” she said. “There were people on cruise ships that came and saw it, people from all over that came and saw the memorial. All that exposure could help find organizations that could help bring it to a different state.”

Mayor Joseph Polisena lauded OSDRI’s work during an interview with the Sun Rise Tuesday. He praised founder Tony DeQuattro and said OSDRI does a “fantastic job” helping veterans. The mayor also encouraged readers to reach out to the organization if they are looking to make donations, ranging from food and money to new furniture.

Polisena also hopes that some day, OSDRI’s hometown could serve as host for the memorial.

“I think it was fabulous what they did,” he said. “I’d like to see it happen some day in Memorial Park. That would be fabulous. I think we could really host that event with no issues, or even they could use our football field. That would be great. So I’d like to see that some day.”

Polisena pointed to a picture of his father in his office. He said his dad was 17 years old when he falsified documents to become a member of the armed forces. He fought in the Korean War, and Polisena said his father’s fight then protected the freedoms he values strongly today.

“They’re all heroes because they give us our freedoms, they protect us from terrorism, they protect us in our speech,” Polisena said. “I can say what I want, I can speak as a politician, I can speak against another politician and that’s all because we have our freedoms, because this is the best country in the universe.”