It didn’t take Mayor Joseph Polisena long to come to an agreement with Rolling Thunder on a way to honor the town’s veterans.
Polisena said he recently met with a representative from Rolling Thunder last Friday after hearing about the nonprofit from Lt. Gov. Dan McKee’s office. Rolling Thunder, according to its Facebook page, aims to “educate the public that many American Prisoners of War were left behind after all previous wars and to help correct the past and to protect the future Veterans from being left behind should they become Prisoners of War-Missing in Action.”
Polisena told McKee’s office that he was interested, and a meeting was set up for a couple weeks later. Within the first five minutes of his conversation with Rolling Thunder, Polisena said he wanted to place a chair to honor Johnston’s veterans in both Town Hall and the Senior Center. The chair at Town Hall will rest near the time clock, while the Senior Center will place its seat next to the fountain at its entrance.
The chair will be cordoned off – unless veterans would like to take a seat and reflect – and become recognized as a symbol of both Polisena’s and the town’s dedication to remembering veterans and POWs.
The decision is especially close to home for Polisena, whose father falsified documents at 17 years old to serve in the Korean War.
“It just signifies that we care about the veterans, which we really do … I’ve always respected the veterans because if it wasn’t for the veterans, you wouldn’t be here with a recorder and I wouldn’t be talking to you,” Polisena said. “I respect the veterans immensely.”
Polisena said the chairs should be placed within the next two weeks. The chairs will be ordered, and Senior Center Director Tony Zompa will provide the ropes and stanchions. Polisena said Zompa was on board with the idea when he mentioned it to him.
“Tony Zompa has no problem helping us out,” Polisena said. “Tony welcomed it with open arms. Tony’s always been good to the veterans … He’s one of the best senior directors in the state. I said what we’re going to do and he said, ‘Excellent, excellent.’”
Polisena said the town is trying to do “whatever we can for the veterans,” and he’s got all hands on deck. He cited Operation Stand Down Rhode Island’s current food drive, to which the police and fire unions donate plentiful amounts.
He predicts the shelves to get stocked even quicker with increased foot traffic, now that residents will be coming to Town Hall to pay their tax bills.
“I expect an influx of food to come in for the veterans,” Polisena said. “We want to help them out. That’s the least we can do for them, really. I’m a firm believer that if it wasn’t for veterans, I wouldn’t be here speaking freely. I’d have somebody with a machine gun watching every word I say.”
Polisena said the chairs are a gesture to display his respect for veterans, especially those whose service has not received the proper recognition.
“It’s just a tribute to our veterans, especially the Vietnam veterans,” Polisena said. “They never really get the respect they should have gotten when they came back here. I’m very proud and honored that we’re able to do that. Whatever we can do for the veterans, we’ll do.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here