The long wait is finally over. This R.E.D. Friday, our communities unite to celebrate a momentous occasion. The brave citizen-soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 102nd Infantry Regiment of the Connecticut National Guard are finally home.
After grueling months abroad in the Middle East, these service members returned safely to Connecticut soil. They served with distinction on complex overseas missions. Furthermore, they demonstrated extraordinary courage while protecting our nation’s interests.
Throughout their deployment, local families held down the home front with remarkable resilience. Now, our primary focus shifts entirely to supporting their safe return. We must wrap our arms around these veterans and ease their transition back to civilian life.
At the Connecticut Veterans Bulletin, our core mission honors the profound sacrifice of those who wear the uniform. While we rejoice in this joyful homecoming, we also keep a prayerful focus on service members who remain deployed overseas.
We invite our readers to explore more stories of homecoming and community support by visiting our dedicated RED Friday category archive. Additionally, for robust support resources, please visit the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs.
Welcome home, soldiers. Thank you for your unwavering service and sacrifice.
I am not a veteran. I am a member of the Civil Air Patrol, the United States Air Force Auxiliary. But in 1991, personal loss brought me to a place I never left.
Over two decades later, that loss led me to the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, Connecticut, where I took on the coordination of Wreaths Across America — which grew into the largest and fastest growing veterans program in the state. I didn’t do it for recognition. I did it for them.
In 2016 I founded the Connecticut Veterans Bulletin. Not because I served, but because I believe those who did deserve to be honored, connected, and kept alive.
Twenty-two veterans die by suicide every day. I knew about that number before it became a hashtag. I knew it personally, long before anyone was talking about it.
This publication exists because that number is unacceptable. Because every veteran in Connecticut deserves to know someone gives a damn.
That someone is me.
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