Joe Caminiti and Bev Strong with the bell.

 

Veterans Day with the help of an Iwo Jima survivor and World War I widow

Bristol, CT

Seicheprey American Legion Post 2 talked the Bristol Veterans Council into adding a new event to the annual Veterans Day ceremony. Due to not being able to use the local school, the event was moved to the Post 2 hall. There Nutmeg TV filmed the Veterans Day events: the ringing of the bell along with the POW/MIA table followed by reading the 175 names of local Veterans who have passed away since Veterans Day 2020. The event ended with a fire volley from the post honor guard followed by taps.
The post was presented the Captain’s Bell from the World War II warship USS Kidd. A large number of WW II Navy veterans from Bristol served aboard this vessel.
Starting this year, the council rang the bell at the beginning of the event as part of the “Bell for Peace.” The first set of three rings were for those veterans who had served. The second set of three were for those presently serving, and the third set for those who will serve in the future.
This is part of the National Bell for Peace program operated by the Doughboy Foundation. The goal is to ring bells across this land on the 11 month, 11 day at the 11 hour as they did in 1918 when World War I ended. To honor all veterans. The bell was rung by American Legion members Joe Caminiti and Bev Strong.
Joe Caminiti is a World War II veteran and member of Post 2. He fought on Iwo Jima. Caminiti also raised a flag given to him by the U.S. Navy at the 61st National Iwo Jima Survivors reunion at Norfolk, Va., aboard USS Iwo Jima. The flag flew over the ship while in the waters of Iwo Jima. With the help of the founders of the Iwo Jima/World War II Traveling Military Museum and the chairs of the Gold Star Family Memorial Monument Committee, they raised that flag during the pandemic for the 76th anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima. The flag was raised in front of Post 2 in 2020. The flag flew for 28 days in memory of those who fought on Iwo Jima. Afterwards the flag was lowered and presented to the Bristol Military Museum. .
Bev Strong, a 96-year-old member of Post 2 and one of the few remaining World War I widows, helped the night before. Strong was presented a clipping from the 2000 Town Paper on an event her husband was part of.


This clipping was presented to Bev. Her husband was one of the servicemembers honored in Bristol in 1917.

The American Legion honor guard.
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