Memorial Day is May 28, but the Rochester Women’s Club celebrated the local war vets with a meet and greet on Saturday, May 19. Veteran events in Rochester aren’t very common, so event organizer and Women’s Club president Nancy Boutin was hoping for a good turnout.
“There are about 300 veterans in town, and it’s open to all of them,” she said.
The day took about two months of planning, but her enthusiasm to support the veterans runs deep. Her late husband, Will, was a Vietnam veteran and was partly responsible for the erection of the Vietnam stone memorial near the Women’s Club.
The veterans and guests were welcome to partake in a continental-style food spread, including coffee, juice, donuts and fruit salad.
The event, which ran from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, attracted several dozen visitors, including Maurice Fuller, who said he stopped by to see friends and maybe meet new veterans. While in the Army, Fuller was stationed in Italy in World War II.
“I got there right after [the battle of] Cassino. They had a big push-off to get to Rome,” he said.
He served from September of 1943 to December of 1945 and entered the war officially on May 16, 1944, four days after one of the most brutal battles of the war. “You never forget and you never will,” he said.
Rochester resident Francis Cabral attended the event. He was drafted by the Army in 1969 and sent into combat in Vietnam.
“Nobody wanted to go. And when we got back, we realized it wasn’t a popular war. The people hated us, no matter what. They lumped all service people together like that,” Cabral said. “But I think today, things have changed for the better.”
Dave Watling also visited the club so he could talk to the World War II veterans.
“My father was a World War II vet, and I like to talk them when I can. They’ve done something a lot of people couldn’t do,” he said.
Watling is a veteran himself, having enlisted in the Navy during the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972, refueling ships out of his home port of Long Beach, Calif. and eventually serving at the US Naval base at Subic Bay in the Philippines.
“I’d like to thank Nancy and the Women’s Club for having this. They do a lot of good for the town,” Watling said.
“I’ve always wanted to do something like this. It’s a great chance for these guys to hook up, exchange a few stories. It’s kind of a thank you thing,” Boutin said.
By Eric Tripoli
