American Legion Riders from Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts join with VFW Riders and others to escort Bernard Sweet’s remains from Bradley International Airport to his home in Bennington, Vt.
On May 6, 1942, Vermont native and U.S. Army Air Force Pfc. Bernard F. Sweet was among the thousands of U.S. and Filipino servicemembers taken prisoner by Japanese forces during the fall of Corregidor Island. Sweet survived the ensuing 65-mile Bataan Death March to San Fernando, where the prisoners were loaded onto trains and taken to prison camps.
But during the following October, Sweet died of dysentery and was buried in a common grave within the camp cemetery. Following the war, American Graves Registration personnel recovered the remains from the cemetery. While most servicemembers were identified, two sets of remains could not be identified and were interred at the Manila American Cemetery.
It was not for nearly 83 years after his death before Sweet’s remains were identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. When his surviving family learned of the discovery earlier this summer, they reached out to Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1332 in Bennington, where Sweet was born and raised and where his remaining family still lives.
That got the ball rolling on what would be a collaborative effort between the VFW, The American Legion and law enforcement from three different states to provide Sweet the welcome home he’d earned.
On Aug. 1, dozens of American Legion Riders and VFW Riders, along with multiple vehicles, escorted Sweet’s hearse and his niece, Shirley McLenithan, along the 106-mile ride through New England to Bennington. Along the way, area residents stood along the road to pay their respects as the procession passed.
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“It’s one of those things that I’ll absolutely never, ever forget,” said Past National Commander and Connecticut Legionnaire James LaCoursiere Jr., who represented American Legion National Commander Dan K. Wiley in the procession. “I was going to do this, no matter what, to get the time off at work and make the whole ride all the way into Bennington. And I would absolutely do that again. The emotions that come with it, knowing that we gave the family closure, and to sit back and see him come home is fantastic.”
Procession planning began in Bennington. Joe Bisson, president of VFW Riders Chapter 1332 and a member of American Legion Riders Chapter 13 in the same town said Sweet’s family had contacted VFW Post 1332 Commander Norm LeBlanc earlier this summer to let him know Bernard’s remains had been located and would be shipped home. Immediately, Post 1332 determined it wanted to provide an escort when Sweet’s remains arrived at what would be Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn.
Bisson reached out to Chapter 13, as well as other local organizations and clubs and publicized the ride via various media outlets. The route was planned, and Bisson said Chapter 1332 Vice President Al Zoito deserves credit for working with law enforcement to provide a police escort along the way.
“It went very, smoothly,” Bisson said. “Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont (state police agencies) were all jumping at the chance to do this. They were great about it. Plus, we had our local police department – the Bennington County Sheriff, plus our Bennington Police Department – and all the fire departments got involved in this. It was amazing – the outpouring of support we had.”
Legion Riders from Massachusetts and Connecticut became involved when Department of Massachusetts Second Vice Commander Drew Pajak, Northeast Region consultant for the National American Legion Riders Advisory Committee, received a call from ALR Chapter 125 in North Adams, Mass.
“They do a lot of work with the Riders in Bennington, and the guys in Bennington were looking for some help (with the escort),” Pajak said. “They didn’t know this area, so I went ahead and made the calls to the Connecticut State Police. And since we were going to be in Connecticut, I reached out to the Department of Connecticut. And that’s when Past National Commander LaCoursiere called and said he wanted to be a part of this.”
LaCoursiere was among the large group at Bradley International Airport to greet Sweet’s remains. Other participants in the procession included Massachusetts Department Commander Robert Jerdan, Connecticut Department Commander Michael Mitchell and Alternate National Executive Committeeman Jeff DeClerck, and multiple other Legion Family members from all three departments.
Pajak was one of the 49 motorcycles that left Bradley, along with the hearse and a procession of cars and other vehicles. Along the way the procession picked up additional motorcycles and vehicles; Pajak estimates as many as 60 bikes were on the ride at one time or another.
And it was along the ride that participants began to see the full magnitude of what they were doing and its impact on those along the way. People stood on highway overpasses and along the side of the road to honor Sweet as he passed. Those numbers grew as the ride moved through Connecticut and Massachusetts and reached their apex in Vermont.
“As soon as we crossed the Vermont (State Line), we started seeing vehicles pulling over and people getting out of their cars as they saw the procession coming,” LaCoursiere said. “The closer we got to Bennington, you could start seeing more and more people waiting out in their yards, lining the street and things like that.”
Pajak had a similar experience. “There was this one little town in Vermont (Wilmington), it’s like a typical New England town. You’re in the middle of nowhere, and all of the sudden you come into Main Street,” he said. “The place was packed. Five, six, seven deep on the sidewalks. Fire trucks. Everybody and their mother were out there. Little kids waving their American flags.
“We’ve moving along and there’s people in their driveways in the middle of nowhere on Route 9 in the middle of Vermont. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and there are people standing in their driveway, hand over their heart, flag in their hand.”
When the procession finally arrived in Bennington, the community was out in full force to welcome Sweet home.
“We rolled into Bennington, and they shut the entire town down. I haven’t seen someplace shut down a town like that,” Pajak said. “Then there were six to seven fire trucks waiting, and they all fell into the procession as it continued. You’re coming down Main Street and there’s not a single bit of traffic, other than us.”
The sidewalks along Main Street were lined with residents there to pay their respects to the fallen servicemember. “The streets were packed,” LaCoursiere said. “You would have thought it was the world’s biggest parade.”
Once in Bennington, Sweet’s casket was transported to Devlin Funeral Home, where U.S. Army personnel were on hand to unload Sweet’s casket and carry it into Devlin Funeral Home. Members of the procession stood at attention and saluted as the casket passed.
Both the procession itself and the outpouring of support for it came as a shock to McLenithan, saying she was “just overwhelmed.”
“We do a lot of funerals because we have a 21-gun salute drill team. And the biggest response you get from the family is ‘thank you, thank you, thank you,’” Bisson said. “(Sweet’s) niece is so appreciative of everything we did for him. She said she couldn’t understand the outpouring of affection and respect for Bernie to come home.”
LaCoursiere also got a chance to visit with McLenithan both at Bradley and then at the funeral home. “She’s an absolutely fantastic lady,” he said. “Appreciative is not even the word. She was just completely blown away by it. She shared that with me. She was so humbled and honored to see the turnout and everything … and have that escort from the airport all the way to Bennington.”
He also said it was important for the Legion to be deeply involved in an event like Sweet’s escort.
“Any time we have anything pertaining to our troops, the veterans and their families, we have to show what we’re all about and not just talk about it,” LaCoursiere said. “We need the community to see. We need everybody in America to see the value of The American Legion. How we unite as a family, and how we’re willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters, no matter what other veteran service organizations they’re with, when it’s a good and proper cause. Especially something like this, when you’re bringing back home a World War II POW.”
Bisson said he wasn’t surprised the Legion Riders and VFW Riders worked so well together on the escort, based upon what he sees at the local level. “The VFW works very well with our local Legion here in Bennington,” he said. “Any time there’s something going on we try to help each other out. They’re very supportive of us, and we try to be very supportive of them, too. Like Norm says, we’re all veterans. We’re all here to do the same thing.”
Bisson said the local Riders will provide one final escort for Sweet, this time coming on Aug. 8 when he is laid to rest at Park Lawn Cemetery, where his mother is buried. “This has been very, very emotional,” he said. “I still get choked up about it.”
Watch video of Pfc. Sweet’s escort heading into Bennington here.
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