UPDATE: This is a reposted and updated diary several people suggested I repost on Memorial Day.
In this area of central Connecticut, the cities feel like small towns. I live in Plainville, Connecticut, a city of 17,000 surrounded on all sides by larger cities that still pale in comparison to Connecticut's larger cities: Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, Waterbury and Danbury. To the south lies Southington, population 42,000; to the west, Bristol, population 61,000; to the north, Farmington, population 25,000; to the east, New Britain, population 71,000; and to the northeast, north of New Britain and east of Farminton lies West Hartford, a suburb of Hartford, with a population of 61,000. In many ways, these cities are exactly that--cities--but those of us living here know better.
These are small towns. These are small towns in Connecticut.
And we were reminded of this fact again on March 8th.
West Hartford is well known for many things, but for me, I always think of it as the town where Alex's Lemonade Stand started as the incredibly big idea of an incredibly small girl with an incredibly big heart.
But other notable former West Hartford inhabitants include Edward Lorenz, the mathematician and meteorologist well known for his contribution to chaos and non-linear dynamics; John Enders, who received the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on "serum therapy" and its application to the treatment of diptheria; and, of course, Noah Webster, the lexicographer, author, writer, editor and all-around word enthusiast.
But people around here also remember West Hartford as the home of Lance Corporal Lawrence R. Philippon. Lance Corporal Philippon--who played hockey at, and graduated from, Conrad High School--joined the Marine Corps in 2003 at the age of 20. While in basic training, he was chosen for the Marine Corps Color Guard in Washington, D.C., which eventually led to the honor of carrying the Marine Corps flag at President Ronald Reagan's state funeral. At some point, however, Lance Corporal Philippon requested duty in Iraq, and in January of 2005, he was assigned as a rifleman to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, and soon found himself in Al Anbar province.
On May 8, 2005, 2nd Marine Division launched a major offensive along the Syrian border to flush out followers of Aby Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born militant Islamist who ran training camps in Afghanistan, and later was accused of suicide bombings and hostage beheadings in Iraq. While protecting the Syrian border and preventing insurgents from entering Iraqi cities to set up strongholds, Lance Corporal Philippon was killed by small arms fire. The next day, May 9, 2005--Mother's Day, and his parents' 24th wedding anniversary--his mother Leesa, his father Raymond, and his younger brother and sister were notified by Marine Corps representatives that Lance Corporal Philippon had been killed in Iraq.
The rest of us heard the terrible news either by word of mouth, or from the local evening news. Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell ordered flags be flown at half mast until Lance Corporal Philippon was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on May 18, 2005. The State Legislature held a moment of silence. And everyone in the state grieved: we Nutmeggers had lost our 15th hero in Iraq.
One of the Marine Corps representatives who went to the Philippon home on May 9, 2005 was Captain Brian Scott Letendre. Born in Calfornia but raised in Woodbridge, Virginia, Captain Letendre had joined the Marine Corps in 2000, and participated in the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, during which he earned the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for valor. As the Hartford Courant reported,
After returning from Iraq, Letendre was assigned to be the inspector-instructor for Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, a Marine Reserve unit headquartered in Plainville. His job there was working with the unit's members to make sure they were ready for deployment.
Soon after joining his new unit in Plainville, and settling in New Britain with his wife Autumn and young son Dillon, Captain Letendre found himself consoling and counseling the Philippon family in West Hartford. "Brian helped us carry the cross of our son's death and he left sunshine in all of our hearts," Leesa Philippon said.
Several weeks later, Captain Letendre spoke on the meaning of Memorial Day at Fairview Cemetery in New Britain:
The following April, when the Plainville Marine Reserve unit was ordered to Iraq, Captain Letendre volunteered to go back to Iraq with his new unit. Like Lance Corporal Philippon, Captain Letendre soon found himself in Al Anbar province, training Iraqi army units. And almost one year to the day after Lance Corporal Philippon's death, on May 5, 2006, Captain Letendre was killed in action in Al Anbar province.
Once again, news of a local hero's death hit central Connecticut hard. Since Captain Letendre had sold his house and moved his wife and son to Indiana before re-deploying to Iraq, his death was not counted among Connecticut's Iraq War casualties, but people in this area did not notice that distinction. In our hearts, he was the nineteenth Connecticut hero killed in Iraq. The twentieth Connecticut hero, Corporal Stephen R. Bixler, of Suffield, Connecticut, was killed the next day. Members of Captain Letendre's Plainville unit provided the same assistance to Corporal Bixler's family that Captain Letendre had provided Lance Corporal Philippon's family after his death.
Despite having lived in New Britain for only a year and a half, local residents grieved Captain Letendre's death. A memorial was held at the United Methodist Church in New Britain, where he and his family attended services regularly, with Governor Jodi Rell and Marines from his former unit in attendance. And, as might be expected in small town Connecticut, Lance Corporal Philippon's family also attended.
Captain Letendre was awarded posthumously the Bronze Star for the actions that led to his death. The citation read:
For heroic achievement in connection with combat operations against the enemy while serving as Military Advisor, Multi-National Forces West, I Marine Expeditionary Force, while attached to 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 3 May 2006. Captain Letendre was on duty with 1st Company at Observation Post (OP) 293, Ar Ramadi, Iraq when the OP came under a fierce complex attack. At 1415 hours, the OP began receiving accurate indirect fire. Courageously, Captain Letendre immediately exited the Command Operations Center to aid the Iraqi Company. He positioned himself to provide cover fire for Coalition Forces as sustained small arms fire began impacting his position. Simultaneously, a large dump truck penetrated the West entrance to OP 293. Despite being under indirect and small arms fire and with total disregard for his own safety, Captain Letendre engaged the driver with his M4 along with other U.S. personnel. The driver was killed and the truck was stopped short of the Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device's (SVBIED's) intended target, the Iraqi soldiers' barracks, saving the lives of more than 40 Iraqi soldiers. The SVBIED detonated and a massive explosion took place. Disregarding the huge fire ball from the explosion, Captain Letendre again exposed himself to gain a view of the West gate and prepare for a possible ground assault on the OP. At this time a mortar impacted in close proximity to Captain Letendre's position, mortally wounding him. By his selfless actions, courage under fire, and ultimate devotion to duty, Captain Letendre reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.
Of course, America has a long tradition of honoring it's heroes. Sometimes friends and families set up charitable foundations, like the Alex Scott Foundation for Childhood Cancer, which has taken Alex's idea nationwide. For fallen soldiers, states, cities and towns often name buildings of streets after their heroes. Therefore it was no surprise when last year, the Connecticut State Legislature passed Public Act No. 07-232, which included both
Sec. 37. (Effective from passage) The segment of Route 190 East in Suffield from Route 75 to Route 159 shall be designated the "Corporal Stephen R. Bixler Memorial Highway".
and
Sec. 38. (Effective from passage) The segment of Route 4 East from State Road 508 to The University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington shall be designated the "Lawrence Robert Philippon Memorial Highway".
Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) also introduced a bill to dedicate the Suffield Post Office in honor of Corporal Bixler, which was signed into law last December. This is a time-honored tradition in this country for honoring our fallen heroes.
But perhaps it was a bit of a surprise when, on Marc 8th, as the Hartford Courant reported, members of several small towns in central Connecticut gathered across the street from Captain Letendre's former home in New Britain to dedicate a small, grassy area the Captain Brian S. Letendre USMC Memorial Park. This park now encompasses a small, granite monument honoring Captain Letendre, and the cement at its base bears the small hand print of Captain Letendre's son, Dillon.
"To me, it's just amazing," Autumn Letendre said. "Some of these people, they hardly knew us — they maybe waved to us as they walked around the block ... but to do something like this when you don't know somebody is exactly what Brian was doing and he had a passion. That's why he volunteered to go back on this second mission."
Yes, the Letendre's lived here for less than two years, but the imprint they had on the people in the area will last as long as Dillon's hand print.
That's just the way it is when you live in a small town in Connecticut.
UPDATE: A few weeks ago, The Plainville Citizen reported that some members of Plainville's Company C are being mobilized:
On May 17, the U.S. Marine Corps is mobilizing members of Company C, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, based in Plainville, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. [...] The Marines of Company C, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, are being mobilized to support and augment, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines, which has its headquarters in Garden City, N.Y. [...] Most Marines activating in late May did not deploy in 2006, though some volunteers will be going for a second or third deployment to the Middle East.
There is a farewell ceremony today following the town's Memorial Day parade to see our Marines off. We can only hope and pray they all return home safely when their deployment ends a year from now.
Finally, let me conclude with this memorial to Connecticut's war dead, which was created and posted by Scarce at MyLeftNutmeg: