How did we get here?
Portsmouth Project Blue Star is my alter ego and was created in 2013 to honor the men and women of Portsmouth, Rhode Island who have served in the US Armed Forces. It was hoped that the Veterans of WWII would be honored at the August 2013 dedication of a Blue Star Memorial Marker located at the Portsmouth Free Public Library but there was too much research to be done and too little time to accomplish this.
In November 2013, with a few more months of research of public records
and listings received from the Portsmouth Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs): The American Legion, Post 18, and The Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 5390, one hundred and eleven (111) WWII
and Korean War Veterans were identified. Project Blue Star joined with the Town Council and the VSOs to present Certificates of Appreciation at our Town’s annual Veterans Day
Ceremony held in the Council Chambers at the Portsmouth Town Hall on 11 November.
In 2014, we continued this tradition and honored the Vietnam Era Veterans and the research identified 805 Veterans from Portsmouth, RI. It was found that 16 of the Veterans were deceased and 41 could not be located as they perhaps moved from the town. We were going to honor 748 Veterans and it was apparent that we would have to move to another location. The best choice was to move to the Portsmouth High School Auditorium with seating for 500. We were well received by the PHS Principal, Mr. Robert Littlefield, and staff who went above and beyond to make our ceremony a huge success. One hundred and twenty seven Veterans would attend this ceremony and with their guests there would be 193 present. On 11 November 2014, we were just about at full seating capacity with the support from our Town residents in attendance. It is safe to say that only 25 seats were unoccupied.
I hope to continue to honor our Town's Veterans and this year, on 9 November, I joined the Town Council to honor those Veterans that served in the the Military from 1982-1984 (Lebanon and Granada). Portsmouth Veterans are identified by public records from the Town and that is sometimes inefficient to identify all Veterans. If you reside in Portsmouth and have served or are currently serving in the Armed Forces, please let me know by clicking this Guestbook/Contact Me link or in the menu found above and I will add you to this website's Honor Roll.
Portsmouth Project Blue Star would like to stress the importance of honoring our Veterans and I hope that if you are reading this you will take a moment to thank a Veteran for their service to your Town and Country.
Carolyn Evans-Carbery
"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."
Adlai Stevenson II
