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For the final 10 years, Home of Heroes Connecticut has honored the state’s army and public security veterans by repairing and bettering their houses. On Saturday, the group reached a brand new milestone — 175 veterans served.
HOH honored its 174th and a hundred and seventy fifth veterans, 93-year-old World Struggle II veteran Richard Glidden of Berlin and Vietnam Struggle veteran Peter Johnson of Plainville, with flag-raising ceremonies.
Practically 50 volunteers, together with members of Sikorsky, Tops Market, the Berlin Lions Membership, the Kensington-Berlin Rotary and the Plainville Excessive Faculty Blue Devils soccer workforce, made the Saturday repairs on the 2 veterans’ houses attainable.
Carol Might, the manager director of the HOH Connecticut, stated that in 2023, the chapter plans to serve their 2 hundredth veteran.
“Veterans put their lives on the road for us [and] for our freedoms that we have now right here. I by no means served. I used to be a army spouse for 23 years, however I see what these individuals undergo and what they do for our nation, and it’s a means for anyone like me, who by no means served, to have the ability to go and assist them and serve for them,” Might stated.
In response to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau an estimated 160,142 veterans stay in Connecticut. Greater than 25,000 veterans within the state have a service-connected incapacity, and 31,660 veterans stay in houses with “a number of main issues of high quality, crowding, or value,” in accordance with the Housing Help Council.
For HOH, bettering security is the guiding mission of their tasks.
“We’ve walked into so many unsafe homes [where] veterans usually are not residing the way in which they need to be residing and never being handled the way in which they need to be handled,” Might stated.
The security repairs made at Glidden’s residence included washing, refinishing and shutting off an open deck that after held a pool, including hand railings, and clearing out vegetation in the front and back yard.
Glidden has lived within the residence since 1967. It’s the place he and his spouse Jane Glidden raised their son. However ever since his spouse’s demise in 2018, Glidden has lived alone.
“If you stay alone and with the pandemic factor occurring, I simply don’t go anyplace. I haven’t been anyplace. However to see this … and the job they did at present is unbelievable. … They made my yard appear to be a park,” Glidden stated.
Gildden enlisted within the U.S. Military Air Corps in 1946 at age 17. Within the aftermath of World Struggle II, Glidden served in Honshu, Japan, as a army policeman with the forty ninth Air Police Squadron. After an honorable discharge in 1949, Gildden acquired each the World Struggle II Victory Medal and the Military of Occupation Medal.
One among 11 youngsters, Glidden was born in Southington and raised in New Britain. All seven boys of the household joined the army; Glidden’s 5 older brothers served in World Struggle II, and his youthful brother served in Vietnam.
Glidden’s HOH sponsor is Peter Galgano Jr., a Vietnam Struggle veteran who now serves because the Veterans Fee secretary and the Municipal Veterans consultant for the city of Berlin.
After serving within the Marines in Vietnam, Galgano stated somebody threw a beer bottle at his head as he received off his aircraft in San Diego. After that, he stated he went residence, hung up his uniform and saved quiet about his army service. Immediately, he honors his army background by serving to veterans in his group.
“I didn’t admit to being a veteran for 33 years,” Galgano stated. “Now I really feel so good with the ability to assist different veterans.”
Galgano stated that at 4 occasions through the day, he regarded over to see Glidden with tears in his eyes.
Might stated that lots of the veterans HOH serves have the identical response.
“I at all times say, if I can deliver these massive males to tears, I’ve performed factor. They’re simply so grateful,” Might stated. “We hear at present [that] there’s so many unhealthy issues which are occurring and individuals are simply so imply and merciless to 1 one other. However I don’t suppose that’s the case. I feel there’s extra good than there are unhealthy.”
Glidden agrees.
“The individuals in Connecticut are very, very type and really good,” Glidden stated. “With a lot hatred occurring on the planet. I’ve received to let you know, it’s not round right here. It’s not in Connecticut.”
Gazing up on the new American flag hanging proudly off his storage, Glidden stated that he feels honored to be a veteran.
“I can’t think about not being patriotic to this nation. … A number of males died to place that flag up there, a number of males died and ladies,” Glidden stated. “They deal with the veterans in Connecticut like they’re anyone particular, and they’re, each one in every of them.”
These focused on donation, volunteer or sponsorship alternatives with Connecticut’s Home of Heroes can discover info on the group’s web site hohct.org.
Alison Cross could be reached at throughout@courant.com.
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