With the help of local lobstermen, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Boston is organizing a cruise and cookout for veterans with disabilities and is seeking a couple of sponsors to help with the event.
Jim Henderson, who lives in Boston, but comes to Maine by sailboat during the summer, said he wanted to help forgotten veterans and thought a day on the water, cruising around Boothbay Harbor, might lift their spirits.
“I watch the marina boats sit there unused day after day and thought how wonderful it would be to get a bunch of wounded veterans out on some boats and drive around for a day,” Henderson said.
Henderson said he often talks with veterans and is saddened by the conditions in which the wars have left them, both physically and mentally. He said he has talked to some who haven’t left their homes in years.
“So many with PTSD that they won’t even look you in the eye. It breaks my heart,” Henderson said. “Many are so crippled that they can’t get around by themselves.”
As of Aug. 4, Henderson has 20 people coming from Togus, which includes some staff; another 20 or more from Veterans Adaptive Sports in New Gloucester, and five World War II veterans from the Boothbay American Legion Post 36. Henderson said the group also includes veterans of the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
“I have to cap it around 60 people because I want make sure the guys and girls get fed before they return. It will be a long day for many of them,” Henderson said.
Henderson said he still needs local businesses or individuals to help with donating the food for the cookout and he would also like to provide a T-shirt for everyone as a keepsake of the day.
Henderson said Harbor Embroidery has generously offered to embroider the T-shirts, but is looking for a sponsor who will buy the shirts.
The response from the local lobstermen has been incredible, Henderson said.
“Many of them are either vets themselves or have kids that are vets,” Henderson said.
The following have donated the use of their boats for the event: Bruce White, HayVal; Larry Knapp, Lady Esther; Mark Stover, RedHook; George Mcevoy, Nellie G II; George Mcevoy, Northern Ranger; Cory Pottle, Patricia Sue II; Ryan Casey, Northern Lights; Billy Sherman,The Quest; and Billy Hallinan, Apparition II.
The event is planned for Sept. 4 with a rain date of Sept. 5. Veterans will meet at Tugboat Inn’s marina at 9:30 a.m. to register and have coffee, muffins, and donuts, which have been donated by Tugboat Inn, Blue Moon, Red Cup, Bakers Way, and Ebb Tide.
Veterans will be assisted onto the boats about 10 a.m. and enjoy a cruise around the harbor, go through the swing bridge across the Sheepscot River, around MacMahan Island, and then return. The cookout will be held on the Tugboat Inn deck following the cruise.
For more information or to help, contact Henderson at 781-267-5159 or jim@jimhendesonsculpture.com.
“A day on the water and a couple of hamburgers is nothing compared to what they have sacrificed,” Henderson said.
