The City of East Providence held its annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Garden of Flags in Riverside on Wednesday morning, Nov. 11, 2026.

This year’s guest of honor was Tony Ballirano (U.S. Army, Ret.), who served in Germany during the Berlin Crisis and the Vietnam War during a three-year tour of duty.

After his military service days were over, Ballirano switched gears to public service in a different way, working a 38-year career in various capacities with the Rhode Island Department of Social Welfare, the state Department of Public Works, and the State Bureau of Audits. He retired in 2002.

Ballirano was instrumental in submitting and advocating for legislation that was recently passed by the State of Rhode Island that expands tax exemptions for disabled veterans with service-connected disabilities under 100%. Locally, he worked with the City of East Providence tax assessor and solicitor to implement that policy, and is an active member of the City Council’s Veterans Advisory Committee.

“After returning home to the states, he would make it his life’s work to volunteer and give voice to those that felt voiceless,” Mayor Bob DaSilva read from his commendation. “Ballirano has been a driving force for the veterans of East Providence and the state of Rhode Island as a whole.”