First and only Air Force Memorial dedicated in Rhode Island

September 9, 2017 5:51 pm

By: Chloe Leshner

cleshner@abc6.com

@cleshnerabc6

EXETER, R.I. (WLNE) — Up until this afternoon, there was no memorial in the state to honor the thousands that have served in the Air Force. For years, a group of veterans worked to make the memorial a reality.

Integrity first, service before self, excellence in all we do. Values that Air Force members embody and words now permanently displayed to honor those men and women.

"If you wear a uniform as many years as I did, and these gentlemen who spent 4 years on active duty, that uniform means an awful lot to us and having this memorial here is very personal to us," says Commander Leo Fox with the Sampson Air Force Base Veterans Association.

70 thousand veterans live in Rhode Island, many of them Air Force vets. But up until now, there was no memorial specifically for the Air Force in the state. It’s the Sampson Air Force Base Veterans Association who worked for years to raise money and design the memorial, their mission now accomplished as its formally dedicated.

"It’s been long overdue. Welcome home. It takes a lot of people doing a lot of work to put these things together but knowing at the end of the day it’s here at our memorial cemetery and that it’s going to be honored for an eternity is special," says the Director of RI Veteran Affairs Kasim Yarn.

Several people spoke about the importance of honoring our veterans, including Lieutenant Governor McKee and congressman Cicilline and Congressman Langevin.

"Because of the sacrifice that they’ve made, sometimes sadly the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice that their families have made it’s always important to appropriately honor and thank them and that’s what this is doing today," says Congressman Langevin.

The Sampson Air Force Base vets raised $55,000 to accomplish this, the monument itself cost $48,000. They plan to establish a fund with the remaining money for upkeep.