Mother Nature was among the more than 100 attendees who showed up to pay tribute to the nation’s war veterans on Thursday, Nov. 11 at the Warren Town Common, where a fully restored Honor Roll memorial was unveiled to the public, exactly two decades after the memorial’s original dedication.

“This is a special day for Warren’s veterans. It was 20 years ago on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month that we stood here, with a wind-chill temperature of I think 10 [degrees],” said Dave McCarthy, Chairman of the Veterans Honor Roll Committee from the podium during the warm autumn morning. “Here we stand two decades later, and what an awesome day to stand here.”

The $20,000 restoration was half funded through grant money and donations, with the other half accrued by the Warren Association of Vietnam Veterans and Warren Unit #11 of the American Legion Auxiliary, whose president, Judy Fardig, did much of the original research and advocacy that led to the monument’s creation in 2001. Its scope included repainting and re-bronzing the 11 existing tablets, performed by the O’Brien Company of North Scituate, and the unveiling of a new, 12th tablet, forged by the Matthews Corp. of Pittsburgh, Pa. Updated electrical work was conducted in-kind by Warren electrician Dave Loren.

The newest bronze tablet includes an updated list of newly-discovered veterans who have served throughout history in all major wars, including the United States involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq throughout the past two decades.

“These young men and women have served in a war far longer than Vietnam, and we owe them,” said Wayne Smith, a veteran of the Vietnam War, where he served as an Army medic. “We have an obligation to learn from what we did in past wars, and to help them to memorialize and heal from the wounds of war. And we can do that.”

“But it’s also true that it happens at the local community level,” he continued. “And what each of you have done to support this memorial, you have given a gift to the people of Warren. You have given a gift to the people of Rhode Island, and you have inspired, I think, other communities to hopefully, one day, follow suit.”

Enslaved soldiers ‘no longer lost’ to history
The Warren Honor Roll can now also claim to be one of the few, perhaps the only, such memorial in the state to feature the names of formerly enslaved African Americans who fought for the Union during the Revolutionary War.

Pat Mues, Founder of the Warren Middle Passage Project, along with Honor Roll Committee member Sarah Weed, conducted months of research to learn about the six enslaved Americans from Warren who fought alongside revolutionary soldiers to earn the country’s independence, and their own freedom. Mues shared each of their stories during the ceremony.

“Their names are Ceasar Cole, Hampton Barton, Prince Childs, Warren Mason, Bristol Miller, and Bristol Luther,” Mues wrote in a statement. “Their stories span the war years 1776 to 1778. Between them they struggled at the Battle of Red Bank, wintered at Valley Forge, fought at the Battles of Monmyth and Rhode Island eventually beating the British at Yorktown. In the end, only two of the six survived and returned to Warren.”

Mues spoke about how, as Black men who at the time had no ability to be promoted while in the Army, these soldiers spent years at war and, as a result, were more susceptible to the many dangers associated with it — none more prevalent than communicable diseases.

“We all understand that longer service means more chances to be injured, wounded or killed, more exposure to deprivation and disease,” Mues writes. “And since they these men were barred from promotion above the rank of private, regardless of seniority, we can assume they were given the most grueling of tasks.”

Caesar Cole and Warren Mason each died of illness, the former at Valley Forge and the latter on the eve of the Battle of Rhode Island, the battle in which the 1st Rhode Island Regiment — comprised mostly of black soldiers but also had Native American enlistees as well — would gain significant notoriety for repelling three waves of Hessian soldiers.

“Privates Barton and Childs were a part of that fight; they both survived,” Mues wrote.

Private Hampton Barton served for a total of three years and was honorably discharged in 1780, but re-enlisted after he returned to Warren with no money and no home. Private Bristol Miller also re-enlisted, but only after earning a written guarantee of emancipation from his owner, Warren’s famed militia leader Captain Nathan Miller (for which Miller Street is named). After their battalion was dissolved five months later, they returned to Warren once again as free men.

Prince Childs was killed on May 18, 1781 — exactly four years since his initial enlistment — when Loyalist forces ambushed a river crossing in New York. Childs was serving with a guard detail for Col. Christopher Green.

Finally, Bristol Luther, owned by shipbuilder Martin Luther, joined the now-integrated Rhode Island Regiment in 1781, which was chosen by General George Washington to lead his forces at the pivotal Battle of Yorktown, which would end the war and earn American independence. Unfortunately, Luther took ill and died on Dec. 30, 1781.

“But he might well have left behind a son, because just a few months later a Black baby boy was born in Martin Luther’s house...and he carried the name Bristol Luther,” Mues wrote.

This left Hampton Barton and Bristol Miller as the only two formerly enslaved men from Warren to survive the Revolution. Barton struggled following the war with physical and psychological ailments, and would become a ward of the town before disappearing from records at the age of 45. Bristol Miller, on the other hand, had a much happier ending. He married a woman named Peg and had a son, Ceasar. He was able to purchase a farm in Touisset and lived until at least the age of 70.

The fight doesn’t end with war
Speakers at the event emphasized the importance of trying to empathize and understand the sacrifice made by military veterans.

“It’s one thing to say we honor their sacrifice, but it’s quite another thing to actually know what that is. For those that haven’t served, I think it’s really difficult sometimes to understand what that means,” said Rep. Jason Knight, a Navy veteran. “For somebody in combat, I think it’s even more difficult to communicate to folks who haven’t been there just what exactly goes on in the lives of a service member in that kind of situation.”

Rep. Knight said that individuals should make an effort to speak with veterans about their experience, but only on their terms, as some might have difficulty doing so, or be unable to do so at all. He recommended reading “The Things They Carried,” and “With the Old Breed”, two acclaimed memoirs authored by combat veterans of the Vietnam War and World War II respectively, to gain better perspectives on the soldier’s experience.

“We should know, in order to truly honor them, what it was all about,” Knight said.

Smith, who celebrated his 53rd anniversary of enlistment on Monday, said that every effort must be made to prevent suicide among the military’s veterans — and that as many as 20 die by suicide each day.

“They cannot be forgotten,” he said. “We must continue to do everything to help reduce and eliminate those numbers.”

Smith spoke about how, at 18 years old, he took over for Richard Best, a fellow Army medic who died in combat the week before his 21st birthday. Within his platoon of various races, ethnicities and backgrounds, Smith said that the only thing that mattered was the willingness and ability to perform his duty.

“In times of war and peace, the United States has been blessed to have white, black and Native Americans almost always willing to risk their lives for our nation, to do their duty,” he said. “Each of us takes an oath to defend and protect the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. And it’s not abstract for us. We believe it, and I still carry that with every fiber of my being.”

Smith continues to advocate for veterans as a member of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of American Board of Directors. He spoke about how veterans recognize war not only as a call to duty, but a sometimes necessary force of progress.

“I also recognize that war is a force that gives us meaning, that helps us shape our destiny,” he said. “We all know children, like these lovely little girls behind me, that freedom isn’t free. That we all have an obligation to our nation and to one another.”

“Because of you, because of the brave men and women whose names are on this memorial, and the patriots of Warren and the 13 other colonies, because they fought in the Revolutionary War, we can gather today and enjoy life in immeasurable ways.”

The full list of names added to the new 12th plaque include the following (those in bold made the Ultimate Sacrifice):

REVOLUTIONARY WAR
Hampton Barton; Jack Blink; Prince Childs; Ceasar Cole; William Cranston; Bristol Luther; Warren Mason; Bristol Miller; Eseck Sisson; Perez Wheaton

CIVIL WAR
Charles F. Gardner; Henry F. Gardner; Hiram B. Gardner

WORLD WAR II
Walrdon M. Huftalen; Norman A. Lambert

KOREAN WAR
Louis A. Alexander; Roger F. Goulet; Frank Lial; Joseph A. Ribeiro; Robert E. Rioux

VIETNAM WAR
Joseph M. Batista; John S. Costa Jr.; Amedeo J. D’Arcangelo; Geoffrey B. Feather; John W. Flynn; Peter L. Jannitto Jr.; Robert E. Lambert; Ronald A. Louro; Dennis N. Tavares; Peter Thibaudeau; Francis Scorpio

PERSIAN GULF WAR
Kirsten A. Cordery

OPERATIONS ENDURING FREEDOM & IRAQI FREEDOM
Sheri A. Boucher; Peter L. Calenda; Jeremy P. Collins; Samuel H. Collins; Jeffrey M. Cote; Matthew A. Dallaire; William F. DeRiso; Nathan J. Diniz; Brian A. Ferreira; Jarrett L. Fortin; Jevin L. Fortin; Nathan D. Haley; Darlene M. Harding; Craig M. Larisa; William Lemieux; Edward A. Lombardi; Charles A. Martel; Daniel J. Martel; Nathan J. Mello; Brent A. Miranda; Arlin W. Nebiker; Collin S. Rezendes; Brandon L. Young