MEMORIAL DAY 2026

Photo by Mark Agard: https://www.pexels.com/photo/american-flags-on-lawn-12487928/

Dear Friends,

Each Memorial Day, we pause to honor those who gave their lives in service to this country during war. In Newton, where I am from, the American Legion Post 440 family places wreaths on bridges and memorial stones throughout the city. We honor the men and women of Newton who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. I have had the privilege of offering prayers and laying wreaths at many of these services.

At these ceremonies, we all do the same thing. We read the names carved into stone, glance at the dates, do the math, and calculate how young they were when they were killed. We offer a prayer. Yet behind each name on a stone, wall, bridge, or plaque lies an untold story. There was a family, a future, and a life cut short. A story that ends with an emptiness in the heart that time can never fully heal.

The first war I ever experienced was Vietnam. I was a young, naive teenager. The war was raging, and the nightly news delivered constant updates on casualties and troop movements. It became deeply personal when two families from Newton lost their sons.

One of those families was the Forte family of Newton.

In 1920, Nicola and Concetta Forte left Benevento, Italy to begin a new life in America. They settled in Newton and built a life rooted in love, generosity, and unwavering devotion to family and their adopted country. Through hard work and perseverance, the American dream became their reality, offering a better life and opportunity for their children.

Their son Pasquale graduated from Newton High School and married Lucy Bottari. Together they had four children: Nick, Richard, Guy, and their daughter Lori. Their eldest son, Nick, was married and expecting his second child. Richard had just graduated from Newton High School and had been accepted to Northeastern University and Boston University for engineering, and he was engaged to be married.

Then something changed his path. Like many of us at the time, he believed in fighting to stop communism, defending freedom, and preserving the American dream. That conviction led him to enlist in the Army.

His brother Guy recalls the day he left. “September 18, 1968, Richie was leaving for Vietnam. In my heart, I remember thinking this could be the last time I see my brother. Something made me go back for one last goodbye. I reached to shake his hand, and he pulled me close and kissed my forehead. He told me he loved me. I left for school, and I don’t think my tears stopped until I arrived at Newton High School. I was 15 years old.”

Richard wrote home often. His letters spoke of the realities of war. In one he wrote, “God has kept me hard and brave so far. I pray God keeps me that way for the rest of my tour. It can be rough to see your buddies blown to bits.” Three months later, and just one month before his 21st birthday, on December 23, 1968, Richard was killed in action.

Life for the Forte family was never the same. Richard’s death left a lasting and profound impact on everyone who loved him. His father never fully recovered from the tragedy. His brother Guy recalls that he became a changed man. His mother grew quiet, carrying a grief that never left her. The unimaginable pain of losing a child created an emptiness where joy once lived. Their son, their child, was gone forever. Even today, nearly 58 years later, there is still an unmistakable sadness when Guy speaks of that painful chapter in his life.

I now look differently at the names on the stones. Richard, like so many others, made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and for all of us.

Freedom, the preservation of the American dream, the defense of the Constitution, and the fight against communism were ideals paid for with lives like his. We owe the life we have today to our brave American military and to men like Richard Joseph Forte. His name, and the names of so many others etched in stone, must never be forgotten.

Pray for peace.

Virginia Papa Gardner

IAA National Chapter Chairman

Approximately 250,000 Italian Americans served in the Vietnam War, representing a significant portion of the U.S. military during that conflict. There was one Italian American Medal of Honor recipient, Fr. Vincent Capodanno.