On a stunning September day in 2012 we gathered to dedicate the completion of the RING Living Memorial. As usual, the Veterans Memorial Cemetery was in great shape thanks to CSM (Ret.) Dan Evangelista, Cemetery Director, and Kevin Brown, Grounds Superintendent. The Honorable Donald Carcieri, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman James Langevin, Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts and Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio spoke about their high regard for the Retirees Association and its memorial committee for designing, funding, and building such a magnificent tribute to the men and women of today’s Rhode Island National Guard and our 375 year history of dedicated citizen soldiers. Other attendees were MG Kevin McBride (The Adjutant General and Commanding General of the R.I. National Guard), several other General Officers, state dignitaries, and retirees—close to 200 people in all. LTC Peter Parente and Chaplin Timothy Bourquin assisted in the ceremony; SPC Francesca Simone, a member of the 88th Army Band, gave an outstanding acappella performance of the National Anthem.
I have discussed in past newsletters the construction and financial details of the memorial. At the ceremony I talked about the future and what role we play; these were my comments: “An important element of this memorial is its legal status at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Once the design was approved and the memorial was completed, it became the property of the State of Rhode Island (and insured accordingly). Of course, the Retirees Association has agreed to maintain the grounds, bricks, granite, and statue with an annual cleanup and statue cleaning/waxing. We have funding for this role and gladly accept it. So now the National Guard Living Memorial is “free”; we release this memorial to the people of Rhode Island, to use it as a venue for any appropriate service. We hope the R.I. National Guard will take advantage of this great new memorial and consider it for future National Guard functions.” We will continue to sell engraved bricks to raise funds for the maintenance of the site; and we plan a short yearly dedication for the installation of new bricks… nothing formal.
In 2007, I joined the Memorial committee; I knew some of the people, but being from the Air Guard side, I had never known what a CSM (Command Sergeant Major) was. After soliciting some quotes, we realized that we needed an acceptable design. Paul Vona had a vision that became our final layout for the granite and statue. We now focused on final quotes, possible vendors and raising money. Dave Gray became our marketing and graphics guru, creating flyers, advertising, brick ordering forms as well as designing layouts for the bricks and the text on the granite; and he also was also our official photographer. After visiting several locations in the state, we decided on the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Exeter, and solicited their approval for design and construction. We would not sign a purchase order without cash in hand: rules from Bill O’Mara, the committee treasurer (and another CSM). So the pressure was on; our vendors had other projects that could affect our building schedule.
Once we cleared the land, thanks to former RINGRA President Russ Adam’s son, Ryan, construction could start. Our request for RING engineer support was rejected, so our project became temporarily stalled. Fortunately, a “plan B” arrived on time: another CSM, Tom Rezendes, stepped in and provided us the necessary contacts, materials and labor for the concrete forms, rebar, concrete, and fill.
In the meantime, Jack Afonzo, our stone mason, offered his huge back room in his garage to set up a full size wooden replica of the memorial to allow us to “visualize” the granite, statue and lettering sizes. He even provided the 4-foot x 8-foot sheets of plywood for the replica. What we didn’t know was that Jack had already purchased the granite, knowing we were confident we would complete the project. Jack also held to the three year old quotation, donating the price difference to our memorial. Four years after starting the new design, the statue was installed on its granite base and we had paid for all the work!
The dynamics of final design details, raising money, and construction is beyond comprehension, especially for a “non-profit” organization in a sour economy. People who we thought would help, didn’t. But others stepped forward and donated material, labor, and money to complete it. We are still overwhelmed by their support.
It’s been my privilege to be part of this committee and organization which built this living memorial to our brethren. It was also a personal endeavor: I am a third generation veteran and the military has played a significant role in my life, as it has with many of you. The memorial is a testament to our military lives; that can-do attitude that is so indicative of the R.I. National Guard. The Retirees Association stands tall with that culture of men and women getting the job done.
Sincerely, Bob Urquhart, Chair,
RING Retirees Memorial Committee
