Only on 6: Scituate man helped take down Independent Man in 1975

SCITUATE, R.I. (WLNE) — Gov. Dan McKee recently announced repairs for the Independent Man. The statue will temporarily move from the dome of the State House for the first time since 1975 and for only the second time in the state’s history.

ABC 6 News exclusively met with retired Lt. Gen. Reggie Centracchio to learn about his experience taking the Independent Man statue down nearly 50 years.

“It represents who we are. Independent Man meant that we had the freedom, that we had the ability to make choice,” said Centracchio.

Centracchio played an integral part in the process of the one and only removal of the Independent Man.

“Apparently, they decided to take the statue down, the Independent Man. Take it down and refurbish it. I was part of that. I oversaw the use of the National Guard, specifically a helicopter to go in and go down and strap it and it take it off the state house and bring it down and put it down,” he explained.

Centracchio physically unscrewed the bolts of the Independent Man.

“I was kind of thinner at the time. I was one of the few people who could fit in the dome which is very narrow. I was part of taking it off the bolts. You unscrew it and take it off. When it was ready, we gave signals to the helicopter to lift it off and take it off and put it down,” added Centracchio.

Centracchio agreed with McKee’s decision to invest in repairs for the statue.

“I think it is a wise decision to take it off and repair the crack and make sure there is some stability to it. When they take it down, I think he is talking about refurbishing it again, but what is more important is actual dome,” concluded Centracchio.