At CT Memorial Day service, honoring veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice and one ‘who set the standard’

Col. Rose Forrest remembers her father telling her to always volunteer for things.

It was her father’s decision to volunteer that led Frank W. Forrest Sr., an East Hartford native, in 1968 to serve in the U.S. Army in Vietnam as a chaplain’s assistant from 1969 to 1970, where he received the Bronze Star for bravery in action.

Forrest said her late father’s time in Vietnam “really informed who he was as an adult.

“He takes care of everybody,” she said.

Forrest Sr., 75, died last October and he was honored Monday at the East Hartford Memorial Day program for his work in the community, from serving as commander of the VFW Post 2083 to founding Support Our Soldiers, sending countless care packages to deployed troops.

A town proclamation presented to Forrest’s daughter said that Frank Forrest “was widely known throughout East Hartford for quietly helping those in need by providing food, necessities and compassion to individuals and families facing difficult times.”

Forrest told the Courant as she reflects on Memorial Day that “while it is easy to focus on the losses we have, it is also important to remember the blessings we have.

“What a blessing it was to have had my father in my life,” she said. “The events like this that he helped organize.”

While Forrest joined the service in 1998, she said her father then participated in the VFW in the city in an effort to support other veterans.

Dan Lareau, chaplain of the VFW Post 2083, said “Forrest set the standard of service, humility and dedication that we can strive to follow.”

The ceremony honoring Forrest and other fallen service members occurred inside the East Hartford Town Hall, including U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, Goodwin University President Mark Scheinberg, and East Hartford Mayor Connor S. Martin.

“What a great way to honor Memorial Day by honoring Frank Forrest and how proud he must be of his daughter,” said Larson. “In this day and age 250 years ago, we started as a nation and since then so many of our fellow Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice, they gave their lives on behalf of their country. They gave their lives so we would enjoy the very freedoms that are often taken for granted. They were earned by those who wore the uniform and gave their all.”

Scheinberg said, “on Memorial Day we don’t come as Republicans or Democrats, we come as neighbors, Americans and grateful citizens.

“Freedoms that allow our students to learn, question, and build better lives are protected by the men and women that we are here to honor today,” he said. “Democracy requires responsibility, and service of others remains the highest calling.”

Martin said one of the most impactful parts of the Memorial Day service is the reading of the names of the East Hartford Gold Star Honor Roll, which includes the names of town residents who died while serving their country in wars.

“It makes me wonder who are these people?” Martin said. “Who are these names that we are reading? It is very clear that I don’t know any of them and many of them served before I was even born. What I do know about each and every single one of those names that we read is that they were East Hartford residents. They were people who shopped at our grocery stores, played in our parks, and whose kids went to our schools. It is very likely at that time that they worked at Pratt & Whitney. At the end of the day the only difference between them and us is they responded to the call of duty, something so honorable and that they deserve recognition every single Memorial Day.”

Forrest, who has served in the Army since 1998, said it is heartbreaking thinking of those she lost in the line of duty. She said she remembers her father’s struggle with the same issue. She described being a young girl and taking a trip with him to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Grieving there was a release that helped him through the loss, she said.

Craig Jordan, veterans coordinator at Goodwin University, who served in Vietnam, said Memorial Day is the most important holiday for him to honor those he lost including his first cousin, Francis Sullivan, a pilot who died in Vietnam.

“I was given the distinct honor of escorting his body back,” he said of the 25-year-old. “I think about him and a couple of guys who I played ball with who died.”