An Armed Forces Day tribute to Islanders in service
In honor of Armed Forces Day on May 16, The Martha's Vineyard Times invites the Martha's Vineyard community to join a grateful nation in remembering and thanking those who are serving in the military - on active duty, in the reserves, or in the National Guard. Friends and family members recently provided updates about Islanders in service.
Exec. Petty Officer Jordan Baptiste, U.S. Coast Guard
Jordan Baptiste, who grew up in Vineyard Haven, was assigned as the executive petty officer (XPO) at Coast Guard Station Menemsha last month. In his previous assignment he served as part of a pre-commissioning crew for the USCGC Bertholf, the Coast Guard's first national security cutter. After graduating from Martha's Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) in 2000, he played football for a year while attending Bridgewater State College, and then joined the Coast Guard in 2002. XPO Baptiste has continued to pursue his college education online through Columbia College towards a bachelor's of science degree in business.
Lt. Mason Berry, U.S. Navy
Lieutenant Berry, a 2004 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, is a Navy pilot stationed in Guam where he is training pilots to fly the MH60 Sierra helicopter in the Naval Aviation Training and Operating Procedures Standardization (NATOPS) program. He was previously deployed to northern Kuwait, where he piloted an MH-60S helicopter in medevac missions for all of Kuwait, southern Iraq, and the northern Arabian Gulf for nine months. After finishing a year's assignment in Guam, Lt. Berry will be doing stateside training for the NATOPS program in Pensacola and San Diego. The lieutenant is the son of Peyton and Andrew Berry of Vineyard Haven.
Specialist Daniel Blake II, U.S. Army
Specialist Blake, trained as a mechanic, is currently stationed at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. He will be deployed this summer, possibly to Iraq. In 2007, while serving in Afghanistan with the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry, 82nd Airborne Division, he was injured when a rocket-propelled grenade struck a convoy he was riding in. Spc. Blake recovered from his injuries after undergoing treatment in Texas. His brother Michael, whose update follows, also serves in the Army. The sons of Bertha and Daniel Blake, they grew up in Oak Bluffs, along with their other brother Aaron, and graduated from Martha's Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS).
Sgt. Travis Bissey, U.S. Army
Last month, Sergeant Bissey, a member of the Massachusetts National Guard, completed a second tour of 10 months in Iraq, where he advised Iraqi security forces on the logistics side. Although he and his long-time friend, Sgt. Jared Meader of Vineyard Haven, were deployed to Iraq at the same time last year with the same unit, they were at different bases. This was their second deployment together, after signing up for the Guard at the same time and deploying to Iraq in 2004 for 14 months. Sgt. Bissey will return to work at the Dukes County Jail and House of Correction. He has about two years left in his Guard commitment.
Staff Sergeant Michael Blake, U.S. Army
Sergeant Blake returned to Fort Hood, Tex., in mid-April, after completing 15 months on his third tour in Iraq assigned with an infantry division of the U.S. Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team, Multi-National Division in Baghdad. In March 2008, Sgt. Blake was traveling as a scout section sergeant in a convoy bound for port operations in Kuwait, and helped save a critically injured U.S. Army civilian contractor involved in a head-on collision on a main supply route in the Udairi Desert. While in Iraq this winter, he was inducted into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club, an elite membership group that recognizes sergeants who have displayed the integrity, professionalism, commitment to mentoring subordinate soldiers, leadership abilities, and personal ethics as exemplified by Audie L. Murphy, one of the most highly decorated soldiers of WWII.
Ensign Elise Chapdelaine, U.S. Navy
Ensign Chapdelaine is stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., working for the Navy Civil Engineering Corps as the construction supervisor for an $8.5 million barracks renovation project. On June 1, she will be promoted to the rank of lieutenant, junior grade. Ensign Chapdelaine grew up in West Tisbury and graduated from Martha's Vineyard Regional High School in 2002. She was the first woman from Martha's Vineyard to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, in May 2007. While attending the academy, she majored in naval architecture, and was a two-time All American lacrosse player. Ensign Chapdelaine worked at the Naval Academy for a year after graduating as an assistant coach for the women's lacrosse team. Her parents, Harold and Joan Chapdelaine, live in Vineyard Haven.
Sgt. 1st Class Kevin M. Devine, U.S. Army
Sgt. Devine, stationed at Fort Drum, N.Y., was deployed for a year-long tour in Afghanistan after Christmas 2008. He grew up on Martha's Vineyard and began his 16-year military career after graduating from Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. Island family members include his sister, Stephanie Devine, mother, Wendy Oliver, and aunt, Janet King. His dad, Herbie Devine, lives in Randolph. Sgt. Devine and his wife Tabitha have four children and two grandsons.
Staff Sgt. Jared A. Meader, U.S. Army
Sgt. Meader completed a second tour of 10 months in Iraq in mid-April and is currently in New Jersey processing out. He was deployed to Iraq last summer as a member of the Massachusetts National Guard along with Sgt. Bissey, his long-time friend. Sgt. Meader was assigned to a support battalion as part of a military transition team, working with Iraqi soldiers and also in the communities. When he gets back to Martha's Vineyard, he will return to his job as a Deputy Sheriff with the rank of sergeant in the Dukes County Jail and House of Correction. He and his wife, Julie, and their three children live in Vineyard Haven.
Lt. Col. Andre L. Mercier, U.S. Marine Corps
For the last three years, Colonel Mercier has been working in Crystal City, Va., on a multi-service project to build the Joint Strike Fighter for the Marines, Navy, and Air Force. Next fall, he heads to China Lake, Calif., where he will serve as the chief test pilot for 18 months and then become the commanding officer of the squadron. The son of Larry and Doris Mercier, he grew up in Edgartown and graduated from Martha's Vineyard Regional High School in 1985. Colonel Mercier joined the Marine Corps after graduating from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and has served almost 20 years. Trained as a navigator, he flew in the EA-6B "Prowler," and his tours of duty included service in Afghanistan and Bosnia.
FN Ryan D. Rossi, U.S. Coast Guard
Fireman (FN) Ryan Rossi currently is attending a Class "A" school in Yorktown, Va. Upon graduation on May 23, he will achieve a rank of Petty Officer Third Class with a rating of Machinery Technician (MK)3. While attending the school, FN Rossi joined the Yorktown Silent Drill Team and was made drill master. Previously, he served aboard the USCGC Morgenthau, a 378-foot high endurance cutter based out of Alameda, Calif. Prior to leaving the Morgenthau, FN Rossi was awarded the USCG Commandant's Letter of Commendation. He next reports to Natchez, Miss., to serve aboard the USCGC Greenbriar, a 95-foot cutter used to monitor and maintain aids to navigation along 630 miles of the lower Mississippi River. FN Rossi is the son of Daniel and Jane Rossi of West Tisbury. After graduating from Martha's Vineyard Regional High School in 2005, he attended UMass-Dartmouth for one year and then joined the Coast Guard.
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EOCN Craig Sylvia, U.S. Navy
EOCN Sylvia of Oak Bluffs returned from Ramadi, Iraq, last October after a six-month deployment with his construction battalion. Now training at his home port in Port Hueneme, Calif., he will be home on leave at the end of June before being deployed again at the end of August. He has not been told yet where he will be going.
Lance Cpl. Anthony M. Sullo, U.S. Marine Corps
After being home on leave for a visit, Corporal Sullo headed back last week to Camp Lejeune, N.C. Yesterday, he shipped out for deployment to either Somalia or Afghanistan. "He won't know until he's headed there," said his father, Peter Sullo, co-owner of Rocco's Family Style Italian Restaurant in Tisbury. About a year ago, Corporal Sullo finished a seven-month tour in Kuwait where he was deployed as an infantryman to patrol along the Iraq/Syrian border. He is a 2006 graduate of Martha's Vineyard Regional High School.
1st Lt. James Hagerty, U.S. Marine Corps
Lieutenant Hagerty, an Infantry Platoon Commander, is in Iraq for his second tour of duty, which he finishes in September. His parents, Barry Nevin of Edgartown and Robert Hagerty of Vineyard Haven, are looking forward to his visit home on two weeks' leave in July. Lieutenant Hagerty grew up in Edgartown and is a 2001 Martha's Vineyard Regional High School graduate. He joined the Marines and attended Officers Candidate School after graduating with highest honors from Northeastern University.
AMAN Leigh D. Sylvia, U.S. Navy
AMAN Sylvia, Craig's brother, is currently stationed in Brunswick, Maine, working as an aircraft structural mechanic. He also will be home on leave in June and his visit will overlap with his brother's. After his trip home, he will be stationed at Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station in Hawaii.
Sgt. Jared Wardell, U.S. Army
Sgt. Wardell is about half way through his second 15-month tour in Iraq, serving with the 82nd Airborne. He grew up on Martha's Vineyard and attended Martha's Vineyard Regional High School for a while, then transferred to Mashpee High School where he graduated in 2007. After joining the Army, he was deployed on his first tour to Iraq in 2007. Sgt. Wardell will be home on leave for two weeks at the end of the month, when he and his wife Kyra are expecting a baby. He is the son of Joe Wardell of Oak Bluffs and Susan Greenlaw of Mashpee.
Sgt. Christopher Willis, U.S. Army
Sergeant Willis was deployed last October with the 772nd Military Police Company, a Taunton-based Massachusetts Army National Guard company, for training at Fort Dix, N.J., before shipping out to Iraq in January to train Iraqi police officers and security personnel. This was the third deployment for Sgt. Willis, a military police officer (MP). Sgt. Willis grew up in Oak Bluffs and graduated from Martha's Vineyard Regional High School in 1998. He joined the Massachusetts Army National Guard before enrolling in college, and was called up in 2002 to serve as an MP in Afghanistan for a year. In July 2007 he was deployed to Iraq with an Army National Guard unit out of Cambridge to serve in the Baghdad area for 400 days.
PFC Jack VanBourgondien, U.S. Marine Corps
PFC VanBourgondien, stationed in Okinawa, Japan, was deployed to Afghanistan this week, after recovering from a training injury that delayed his previously scheduled deployment to Iraq. He was born on Martha's Vineyard and is the son of Roma Jean Marshall of Hyannis and Jack VanBourgondien, who lives in Colorado. He lived with his grandmother Clara Marshall and uncle Daniel Marshall while growing up in Oak Bluffs, and graduated in 2007 from Martha's Vineyard Regional High School.
The Martha's Vineyard Times extends a heart-felt thank-you to the men and women mentioned above and any Islanders who are not listed but who are serving. The personnel at U.S. Coast Guard Station Menemsha also deserve recognition as the Vineyard's resident Islanders in service.
Armed Forces Day History
Armed Forces Day is celebrated annually nationwide on the third Saturday of May to honor Americans serving in the five services - the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and the Coast Guard - as well as the National Guard and Reserves.
In recognition of the unification of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense, on August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of a single-day celebration to replace separate military service celebrations.
President Harry S Truman proclaimed May 20, 1950, as the first Armed Forces Day. The Marine Corps supports Armed Forces Day and it also continues to celebrate its own Marine Corps Day.
