Colby Rottler is a soft-spoken man. You have to listen carefully when he is speaking in order to catch what he is saying, which tends to be on point.

            We know this from the many years and many meetings we have attended covering Zoning Board of Appeals and Finance Committee meetings of which Rottler has been a member for a mighty long time. He has faced difficult decisions while serving locally since retiring from his 9-to-5 job.

            But on Memorial Day 2023, as town folk assembled in Center School to hear the speeches, the former naval commander was thinking about the sacrifices of others who served the country – heroes he had met in life. Rottler was selected as the guest speaker for the community’s ceremony at the American Legion Florence Eastman Post 280.

            His remarks perused memories of various people he encountered, including Mildred Kilcoyne, a recent graduate in Mathematics from Boston College who joined the Navy as a WAVE, Ensign Steve Young who survived the rollover of the USS Oklahoma, Ensign Elliot Stienman, Marine William Johnson and Lieutenant Mickey Shrock.

            Rottler also spoke of his father, “a young Naval Seabee Construction Specialist … they build runways on Pacific Islands, often jumping behind dozer blades and firing back at snipers.”

            In closing, Rottler thanked Gold Star families and all families who support military personnel, most of all his wife, “…especially my wife of 52 years who supported me through my military career and kept our family safe. Marie, I love you.” Preserving democracy and remembering those who protected the country was Rottler’s message.

            Rottler has an outstanding military background. He is a retired USN Commander who enlisted in June 1965. He completed training at Naval Station at Davisville (North Kingstown), Rhode Island, and was assigned to the Naval Reserve as a radar technician. Rottler also attended Bridgewater State College and earned the rank of Radar Technician Second Class.

            After graduation, he continued his studies, being accepted into the Naval Aviation Flight Officer Program and then on to Pensacola to attend aviation officer candidate school with Marine drill instructors.

            After flight training in 1972, he reported to Patrol Squadron 23 at Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Maine, where Rottler was designated Mission Commander, Tactical Coordinator and Detachment Officer. He was deployed to the Mediterranean, North Atlantic and European areas, conducting antisubmarine operations.

            By 1975, Rottler reported to Patrol Squadron 92 at Naval Air Station South Weymouth, where he held positions in training, tactical maintenance and operations. In 1997, Commander Rottler was selected to command Patrol Squadron 92, flying the P3 Orion Submarine Hunter Aircraft. He deployed to South America, Europe, the Pacific, Iceland and Africa. His squadron also supported operations during Desert Storm. Rottler retired in 1991 from the Navy.

            And there is more! Rottler harbored an interest in culinary arts. Thus, long after he retired from military service and professional positions, he enrolled in Johnson and Wales where he earned a degree in Culinary Arts. He’d go on to teach at Upper Cape Regional Technical High School primarily in Food Safety Practices.

            Also present for Monday’s ceremony were the color guards from the Mattapoisett Fire and Police Departments, Representative William Straus, members of the Legion and the Select Board, as well as students whose participation seemed to underscore the meaning of the day – serving to protect our nation and the generations to come.

            Other highlights of the Memorial Day Observances included New Bedford High School ROTC Cadets presenting and retiring the colors in crisp procession. Select Board Chairman Jodi Bauer spoke of the passing of two much loved veterans and Mattapoisett hometown residents Howard Tinkham and George Randall.

            Tinkham’s long career as an educator and farmer and Randall’s annual oration of the Gettysburg Address were heartfelt memories, Bauer shared. She said that during each Select Board meeting, after the members pledge allegiance to the flag, they bow for a moment of silence to thank those who gave all and those who served or are serving our country. “That’s what I’m doing, I’m saying ‘Thank you.’”

            Straus noted the importance of remembering the sacrifices made by all, even those we never knew. He said that General Logan of Civil War fame was primarily responsible for early displays of commemoration in late spring with what would be called Decoration Day for many decades. Today it is Memorial Day, celebrated this year on May 29. He said that although we can never know all those who made the supreme sacrifice, it is important to remember them all. It still has relevance in these modern times.

            Local youths lent their voices and talents as the Center School band played favorites, including the “Star Spangled Banner,” and Andrew Porter recited the Gettysburg Address. Reading the governor’s proclamation was Geneva Gerrior of Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School.

            The day’s festivities included a short march from the school to the library, where flowers and wreaths were laid at the Civil War and WW1 monuments, and then another journey of remembrance to the wharves where floral arrangements were placed in the harbor in honor of all who died at sea.

            Memorial Day 2023 was organized in partnership with the Tri-Town Veterans Office with Agent Chris Gerrior and Dianne Sweeney. Master of ceremony was Rachel Peron, Commander of the American Legion Florence Eastman Post 280.

By Marilou Newell

            Editor’s Note: The Wanderer is sharing keynote addresses as spoken by guest speakers at this year’s local Memorial Day observances.

Sharing Stories of Our Heroes

Memorial Day in Mattapoisett

By Colby Rottler, Retired U.S. Navy Commander

            Good afternoon. I am Colby Rottler, a retired Navy commander. Before I begin, I would like to recognize guests here today, Veterans Service Agent Christopher Gerrior, Representative Mr. Straus, members of the Mattapoisett Select Board, members of the American Legion, members of the Color Guard and the ushers, members of the Old Hammondtown Band, the principal and staff of the Center School. Thank you for being with us today.

            For those who served in the military, Memorial Day holds a great and revered significance as it commemorates the brave men and women who served and lost their lives defending our great union. We honor the sacrifices of fallen service members who put their lives on the line for our nation.

            At the core of our military lie unique themes, the selfless desire to serve and the willingness to sacrifice to defend our nation and people. It is a day all Americans should take a moment to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.

            These women and men answered the call to serve and defend our country with courage, dedication and selflessness, knowing the risks were great but the cause greater. The respect and admiration we give our fallen veterans and pay tribute to their memories and the lives they lived.

            We do so by visiting their grave sites or placing flags, wreathes or other mementos at memorials in our community. But their final resting place should not be the only space we gather to share memories or sit in quiet contemplation. To truly honor their lives, we must share their stories with others and ensure their memories live on, even though they are gone.

            I will share the memories of heroes I have met.

            Mildred Killcoyne, a young woman, recent graduate in mathematics from Boston College, joined the Navy as a WAVE. She went to Washington and worked on a secret plan to solve the Japanese and German codes. She and her team succeeded, saving countless lives. After the war, she taught mathematics in the Randolph school system and was awarded a medal from President Clinton when her work was declassified.

            Ensign Steve Young survived the rollover of the USS Oklahoma. One of a few who escaped, his stories of his shipmate bravery are inspiring. He was rescued from the overturned ship and three days later was on another ship to fight in the Pacific.

            Ensign Elliot Stienman, executive officer of a fleet tug at Pearl Harbor, witnessing the carnage, retrieved his newly issued USN Colt 45 and with luck hit a low-flying Japanese “Zero” and shot it down.

            William Johnson, a Marine who received a battlefield commission, was part of the first wave on Iwo Jima. He said to me that God spared him to do greater things that day.

            Lt. Mickey Shrock, my flight commander, he was exercising and just laid down and passed on active duty. A great officer, brave, talented and always missed.

            My father, a young Naval Seabee construction specialist who drove road building equipment, building runways on islands in the Pacific during the war, he and his team often had to jump behind the dozer blade and fire at the snipers in the area.

            Many women and men did not return, but the ones that did went back to their lives, working, getting married, raising children and being great Americans. Our debt to the heroic and valiant women and men in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.

            America will never forget their sacrifices. Because of these sacrifices, justice and freedom casts its glory across the horizon.

            Oh, there is one other group that I would like to thank, the Gold Star families, the veterans here today, the veterans’ families who support them who are here and every person here who supports our veterans.

            Especially my wife of 52 years who supported me through my military career and kept our family safe. Marie, I love you.

            Thank you all for listening to me ramble on with my thoughts, and God bless all of you and God bless America.

            Thank you.

            Rochester is one of the oldest communities in the state and tends to have a unique patriotic spirit.

            That patriotic spirit was in full force down the Mattapoisett River on Memorial Day, where more than 40 paddle boats weaved their way 13 miles toward a family-fun-cookout finish line on Route 6 in Mattapoisett.

            This Memorial Day event, a unique celebration from one of the first Massachusetts towns to declare war on the British, has been happening since the 1930s. The event was canceled during the World War II years, but nothing has slowed it down since – not even the Covid-19 pandemic.

            Event Organizer Art Benner said the event has been opened to kayakers and a boat-building group from Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School. He hopes to draw more interest from kids at local schools.

            Benner and Rochester Select Board member Paul Ciaburri said at one point, close to 80 boaters were participating. Covid-19 has cut those numbers in half. Benner said that over the past few years, the event participation is trickling upward, with around 40 participating on Monday.

            “It’s a great thing for young people,” Ciaburri said, noting that it is a volunteer-run event and a great way to get involved in the community.

            Generations of families competed against each other. Some looked to form dynasties. Chelsea Allen of Spencer and Megan Lewis of New Bedford won their third consecutive first place in the Women’s Division, finishing 25th overall. They were awarded the Bill Watling Memorial Trophy.

            Others sought to resurrect old glory days or reinvigorate a family tradition.

            Peter MacGregor and Matt Buckley were the first due to float their way toward the Route 6 overpass where onlookers were cheering them on.

            MacGregor started earlier than his sons Ian and Eli. Peter MacGregor said he was happy that his boys did not pass him along the river – a sign of a slow pace. However, he and Buckley couldn’t quite match the elapsed time of the MacGregor boys. Buckley and Peter MacGregor came in fourth place with a time just above two hours and three minutes. Eli and Ian finished second overall with a 2:01:04 record. These 20-year-olds edged out their dad Peter.

            Peter MacGregor, surrounded by friends, was still all smiles after the event. He said he has been competing since 1974, starting when he was 10 and never missing a race. He will celebrate his 50th boat run next year. His rowing partner Buckley summed it up best, “Once you start, you can’t back out.”

            Bill Watling III can relate to that sentiment. After he and partner Daniel Rittenhouse finished in under two hours with a time of 1:57:35, Watling was looking at the leaderboard. Before discovering that he indeed won with Rittenhouse, Watling said it represents his seventh, consecutive first-place finish.

            “It’s a fun, old tradition,” he said. Watling has been participating for 22 years.

            Watling seems to take the tradition seriously, putting in 40 hours of paddling time before Memorial Day.

            Coming in third overall behind the Watling team and the MacGregor boys were Dana Barrows and Paul Milde, both of Mattapoisett.

By Jeffrey D. Wagner

            Editor’s Note: The Wanderer is sharing keynote addresses as spoken by guest speakers at this year’s local Memorial Day observances.

            Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to talk with you today. It is a tremendous honor, and I feel entirely inadequate to be standing in front of you to discuss the men and women who came before us to make this nation great.

            Now, with this said, I know what you military members and veterans in the audience see when you look at me. For those of you not in the know, there is no more judgmental community than those of veterans and other military members. Checking uniform standards, ensuring ribbon racks are covered and aligned.

            What they see when they look at me is an Air Force guy, not a pilot (which means cool fighter pilot stories are off the table), but still an officer. They are giving an internal eye roll and saying, “We’re in for a long morning of stories about clearing printer jams…”

            Well, I’m here to tell you that I was a young Marine once and for 10 years, I was a proud member of the enlisted ranks. I stood at parade rest for many, many formations and change of command ceremonies listening to some officer bloviate about how his unit is the best in the Marine Corps while young junior enlisted passed out after being told not to lock their knees at parade rest. I feel your pain. So I promise, no bloviating, and I’ll be brief and to the point.

            I’m also not going to make this speech easy on you. There are no free passes. We seem to have grown accustomed in this country to always thinking it’s someone else’s problem. That one is not smart enough, creative enough, or lacks the experience needed to get the mission done.

            It’s a fallacy created by our own insecurities to keep us in our place. My intent in delivering this speech today is to clearly illustrate that this is not the case.

            In my experience in close to two decades of military service, the men and women in uniform, regardless of their job, are not special. They’ve made a choice to serve, and they made a choice to honor their commitment and accept the consequences of their decision, whether good or bad. That’s it. There are no superheroes, no life hacks, only those that are willing to act and those that choose to allow others to act on their behalf.

            I’d ask that you consider which of these two personas you are right now and if you are happy with this choice.

            To be clear, the world needs both, but from my perspective, too many people sell themselves short and allow others to dictate which path they choose. “The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!” — Eleanor Roosevelt, 1945.

            This quote by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1945 is the best I’ve come across at providing a glimpse into the culture of the Marine Corps. I was a combat Marine, an infamous 0311, which is to say an infantryman.

            If pilots represent the cool kids in the Air Force, the infantry were the pilots of the Marine Corps. My path to the Corps was not exactly straight and narrow as is the same for many who enter the service. I was a subpar football player in high school, raised not far from here in a town called Whitman. I played quarterback and probably had more interceptions than touchdown passes over the course of my career.

            Needless to say, when the season concluded, college football recruiters were not exactly lining up outside of my homeroom with scholarship offers. There was one college, however, that for reasons unbeknownst to me, must have been in desperate need of a quarterback and made me an offer.

            Norwich University, located in sleepy Northfield, Vermont, was a military school with an average Division 3 football program. Raised in a Christian home, my parents and I both thought going to military school could provide a structured and rigorous education without all of the temptation and extracurricular activities of a standard civilian school.

            Despite my grandfather being a career Navy Corpsman and my father’s passion for the military, I had no actual desire to join the service. On September 11th, 2001, I was sitting in English class as a junior in high school. While I considered it a tragedy, to me as a teenager, it was someone else’s problem to deal with. I certainly wasn’t compelled to join the service at that point in my life.

            Fast forward to January 2005. I’m running off a bus at some unknown and ungodly hour of the night towards the infamous yellow footprints of Paris Island Recruit Training Depot. Screaming drill instructors and terrified recruits abound, and I’m internally questioning my life choices.

             In just a few short hours, I’d complete my in processing, head freshly shaved, uniform issue complete with “go fasters” (or sneakers for normal humans), and assigned to Platoon 3029, India Company, Third Battalion.

            I know you’re probably thinking, what happened to college football and the whole structured education thing, Chris? Well, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started to kick into high gear in 2003 and 2004, several of my friends started to go overseas, and the thought occurred to me that this wasn’t someone else’s problem. This was OUR problem.

            And so, I decided to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. It wasn’t long after I checked into my unit, Alpha Company, 1st Bn 25th Marines, that I met what would become my closest friend in the Corps.

            John was a young carpenter who was raised here on Cape Cod. To a kid raised as a rule-follower, John embodied what it was to be a Marine. Hair shaved closed, square jawed and what appeared to be a fearless mentality. He had machine gun rounds tattooed around his forearm in an apparent attempt to not run out of ammunition when he needed it the most.

            He was a wild man. Predeployment training in the USMC or the training received by a unit prior to entering a war zone, typically occurs in southern California at a place called Twentynine Palms. Needless to say, there are no palm trees.

            The training schedule is unrelenting and for several months, Marines are subjected to long days and nights in the “field” i.e., on some obscure rifle range in the middle of the desert with no running water or electricity and typically sleeping on the ground.

            Occasionally, when the stars aligned, there was a gap in the schedule, and Marines would get “liberty” or essentially a few days off without training where Marines were let loose on the local area to unwind. Liberty was few and far between during predeployment workups and so, when the opportunity presented itself, one did not squander the chance to get into civilian clothes and leave the base in one’s rearview mirror.

            On one such occasion, John and I went to Palm Springs for a long weekend because we heard they had a great public library system and wanted to do some “studying.” After a couple of days of “studying” at the local library establishments, we were exhausted and heading home when John had an amazing idea.

            “Pull over,” he said, with supreme urgency in his voice. He had spotted a local tattoo shop and wanted to surprise his fellow Marines with an amazing new tattoo. Not uncommon in the Marine Corps.

            What I failed to mention is that mustaches, though authorized, are not encouraged. Growing a mustache that borders on the line of USMC regulation is a way that a young Marine can show some small signs of rebellion against his chain of command. John had taken it upon himself to grow an obnoxious mustache over the course of our training and dubbed himself “Mustache Pete.”

            After several minutes in the tattoo shop, John tipped his hand as he had to run outside to ask us how to spell “Mustache.” Not long after, John came out proudly smiling. When we couldn’t spot the new tattoo, he turned around, dropped trow and there on his derriere was printed in bold print, “Mustache Pete.”

            He was so proud. Despite his peculiarities, John always ran to the sound of the guns. While on deployment in the spring of 2006, John and I were located at an entry control point on the perimeter of the city of Fallujah, Iraq.

            Due to our proximity, hearing gunfire and explosions was somewhat of a daily occurrence. On one such day, the gunfire was particularly close while I was on post in an overwatch tower. I took my position behind my squad automatic weapon and promptly called in the activity on the radio, awaiting an enemy incursion into our position. I looked up from behind my sites and realized John had sprinted hundreds of meters ahead, in a beeline for the gunfire and in doing so had completely cut off my line of fire. He got screamed at for this but really didn’t see what he did wrong and, if given the opportunity, would have made the same choice again.

            Another time, when we were being actively engaged by the enemy, John took up a position behind a 240 Golf machine gun and unleashed several hundred rounds that promptly quieted the enemy.

            A small-town carpenter, with a Mustache Pete tattoo, made the choice to act.

            John and I were fortunate, that deployment. We both survived, even as the battalion took 11 KIA and many more were injured.

            August 16, 2006, proved to be a particularly difficult day. The battalion lost Captain John McKenna and Lcpl Michael Glover. John, a 30-year-old state trooper from Brooklyn, and Michael, who dropped out of law school to join the Marines, were killed by sniper fire.

            Captain McKenna earned the Silver Star for his actions that day and part of his citation reads… Captain McKenna was leading First Squad on a foot patrol in Al Fallujah, Iraq. As the patrol neared a friendly observation post, it was suddenly ambushed by well-concealed insurgents firing sniper rifles, automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades from buildings, rooftops and cars to the north, south and east. The point man at the front of the patrol (Lcpl Glover) was fatally wounded by the hail of enemy bullets and fell in the middle of the intersection where the fire was most heavily concentrated. Captain McKenna instantly rushed into action, directing the fires of his men, and ordering them to employ smoke grenades to obscure the enemy’s vision. Ignoring the imminent peril from the heavy incoming fire, Captain McKenna ran into the intersection in an effort to save his downed Marine. Completely exposed to the enemy fire, he calmly knelt next to the stricken Marine to assess his condition. As he began to drag the Marine to a covered position, Captain McKenna was hit by enemy fire and mortally wounded.

            Captain McKenna gallantly gave his life in an attempt to save one of his Marines. In a letter he wrote while in Iraq that was read at his funeral, Lcpl Glover was quoted as saying, “I took an oath, and it’s the best oath I ever took. I’m at peace if I come back with parts of me missing. And I’m at peace if I don’t come back at all.”

            John and Michael came from ordinary backgrounds, very similar to you and I. But they made a choice to act, to stand by their commitment to themselves, to each other and to their country.

            As for me, I fired thousands of rounds of ammunition throughout my career … every one of them in training. I spent over 12 months in Iraq over the course of two separate deployments and never fired my weapon. I was shot at, but unable to return fire due to not having positive identification of the enemy.

            For civilians, they would consider me blessed…. Someone upstairs was watching over me. For an infantry Marine, it was devastating, equivalent to sitting on the bench during the Super Bowl.

            It wasn’t that my deployments weren’t busy. Violence was all around me. I would hear the screams for help on the radio, watched as casevac convoys raced past my position on the way to the battalion aid station and stood there helplessly. Even today, approaching two decades later, this is the first time I’ve spoken publicly about this. I have tremendous guilt in not feeling that I did my part and have a consistent sense of inadequacy.

            My point in sharing these facts is not to garner your sympathy, but to illustrate that everyone experiences doubt, guilt and shame. No one is 100% confident or even close. The great Army General Stanley McChrystal talked in his memoir “My Share of the Task” about how he was doubtful in his ability to lead with every promotion he received.

            I would argue that confidence is not the virtue we should be striving for, but courage. Those who assert they are not afraid are either lying or foolish. Courage does not deny the existence of fear, but rather enables us to conjure up the strength to overcome it. To give ourselves permission to fail, to look stupid, or if we dare to persist, to succeed, to change, or ultimately to be heroic.

            As I stated at the beginning of this speech, self-doubt becomes the excuse that enables us to think it’s someone else’s problem, that we lack the talent to accomplish our goals. The reality is we have one shot, and the clock is ticking, even as we speak.

            The true beauty of the heroes we spoke about today is that they recognized this, accepted the responsibility and sacrificed their opportunity in the hopes that you and I would carry the torch. They knew intrinsically that the fabric that comprises the strength and ingenuity of American spirit resides in the hearts of its people.

            You see, being a hero doesn’t necessarily mean you are charging a machine gun position or executing a dramatic rescue. It’s having the courage to take the next step, even or especially when you are terrified. Maybe it’s having an honest conversation with your significant other, turning off the television to play with your kids, or starting the business plan you’ve been putting off. It means choosing to see life as a gift not to be squandered because many others are not as fortunate.

            We (I’m at the top of this list) waste so much energy complaining and worrying and getting angry over seemingly insignificant things. It’s a choice. We all have a finite amount of time on this Earth. We can choose to use it superficially, buying all the things we are supposed to buy, saying all the things we are supposed to say and checking all the boxes, but when we look back on our lives, it will be a surface-level existence.

            Choose to take the hard path that makes us stronger in the end. Pain can often be the deliverance from defeat. Engage in meaningful conversation and listen. Help others who are struggling. Love each other unabashedly. Give up your time to do so. Be grateful for all of it. Make it count. Make it count. Make it count. Your actions are what matters most.

            If you do these things, and you live what you say, you will be perpetually honoring the spirit of the fallen and their sacrifices daily, and it will not go unnoticed. By embodying their warrior spirit, this becomes more of a thank you than waiving a flag, attending a Memorial Day parade, or posting on social media ever could be.

            I’ll end with a quote from one of my favorite children’s books, called “Mikey and the Dragons” by Jocko Willink. “And from that day forth, Mikey changed his mind, And he left his fears and his worries behind. Even when he was afraid of something out there, he knew how to get control of his fear. He would stand up straight and hold his head high, and like the Prince, look his fear in the eye. And that is always the best thing to do, if there is something that really scares you. Don’t get controlled by the feelings of dread. Remember most of the fear is just in your head. This isn’t to say you won’t be afraid. But you should know that fear is ok. Everyone gets nervous and has a good scare, and feels like they are going into the dragon’s lair. But when that happens and you don’t want to go, think of the lesson the Prince got to know: That when you are feeling so scared of it all, you just need to remember that the dragons are small.”

            Thank you.

By Christopher Bonzagni, U.S.A.F. Major