Army veteran Gerald “Jerry” Cafferty kneels beside the granite U.S. Army insignia marker and the granite map of Vietnam’s four battle districts at the West Haven Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Bradley Point Park on May 6. Cafferty, who served in the Vietnam War in 1970-71, will lead the city’s Memorial Day parade as the grand marshal when it steps off at 10:30 a.m. May 27 along Campbell Avenue. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Vietnam vet Cafferty leading Memorial Day parade

WEST HAVEN, May 17, 2024 — Vietnam veteran Gerald “Jerry” Cafferty will serve as the grand marshal of the city’s Memorial Day parade when it steps off at 10:30 a.m. May 27.

Cafferty, who turns 75 on May 20, will lead the more than 40-unit procession of veterans, dignitaries and bands along the 1 ½-mile parade route, which follows Campbell Avenue from Captain Thomas Boulevard to Center Street.

An Army veteran who served a tour of duty in the Vietnam War, he embraced the recognition with typical grace and humility.

“It’s a great honor, a real honor,” Cafferty said on receiving the grand marshal nod. “I’m a behind-the-curtains type of person.”

Cafferty was chosen by the Veterans Council, which helps the city organize the annual parade, for his years of service to the military, his fellow vets and his community, the latter of which is the cornerstone of the qualifications for grand marshal, council President Dave Ricci said.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Jerry Cafferty and all other veterans for their brave service to our nation and for providing us with our greatest liberty: freedom,” Borer said. “Memorial Day is a time to reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice for all Americans.”

Borer continued: “West Haven is not only proud of our service members but is proud to be the home of the West Haven VA Medical Center, which has provided quality health care to thousands of veterans who deserve great care. We also boast the largest veterans and military museum in the state of Connecticut, so that across generations, residents can learn of the great sacrifice of the brave men and women who risked their lives so that we can be the greatest country.

“I hope you will join us at the parade and at the wreath ceremony that follows, so that we together will let the families and friends of those who lost their lives know that they will never be forgotten.”

The 2024 edition of southern Connecticut’s oldest and largest Memorial Day parade has no rain date and will feature three marching divisions and a military division, as well as special accommodations for disabled veterans.

The procession will include an eight-seat golf cart carrying former grand marshals that is bedecked with a star gracing the names of those deceased. Other veterans will ride on a float.

It will also include a flyover by a C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft operated by the Connecticut Air National Guard.

Cafferty will steer the procession from a golf cart flanked by the West Haven Police Honor Guard.

The 90-minute parade, in memory of the deceased members of the U.S. armed forces of all wars, will showcase the city’s legion of veterans groups.

The procession will include bands from West Haven High and Bailey Middle schools, along with the Notre Dame High School Drum Line, the Stylettes Drill Team and Drum Corps, and the New Haven County Firefighters Emerald Society Pipes & Drums.

It will include cheerleaders from the West Haven Seahawks, members of the West Haven High School dance team and Jeeps from the Connecticut Beach Cruisers, as well as bands from the Rock House School of Music.

The procession will also spotlight the traditional contingent of youth organizations and sports leagues, dance troupes and Scout troops, fraternal organizations and service clubs, local and state leaders, police officers and firefighters.

Cafferty was born to James and Loretta Cafferty and raised on Third Avenue in West Haven with his two brothers and two sisters.

His father worked as a clerk at the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Co. His mother stayed home to raise the family’s five children, all of whom attended St. Lawrence School.

Just over a year after graduating from West Haven High, Cafferty was drafted by the Army in July 1969 at age 19. He completed basic training eight weeks later at Fort Dix, New Jersey, followed by 10 weeks of advanced training as a medical corpsman at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio in preparation for Vietnam.

Beginning Jan. 13, 1970, Cafferty was based out of Camp Evans, northwest of the coastal city of Hue in central Vietnam and near the demilitarized zone.

He served as a medic with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division and participated in the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord, the last major battle of the Vietnam War between U.S. ground forces and the North Vietnamese army.

The 23-day offensive took place in July 1970 outside of the A Shau Valley, southwest of Camp Evans.

In addition to giving first aid in combat, Cafferty fought alongside his company’s infantrymen on Hill 902, just over a mile south of Ripcord, to help protect the mountaintop artillery fire support base.

Cafferty received several U.S. military decorations for valor in combat, including the Silver Star Medal, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.

The battle was chronicled by author Keith W. Nolan in the 2000 book, “Ripcord: Screaming Eagles Under Siege, Vietnam 1970,” and by director Shannon Lanier in the 2012 film, “The Battle of Ripcord.”

The book contains a prominent quote from Cafferty: “Those sappers were good. They were inside the perimeter before anyone knew it, and they knew exactly what to hit.”

Cafferty was also interviewed about the battle by a producer of “War Stories With Oliver North,” the retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel’s military history program on Fox News. He appeared in Episode 43, “The Siege of Firebase Ripcord,” which aired March 7, 2004.

After serving his tour of Vietnam — 12 months, followed by a one-month extension — Cafferty was honorably discharged as a specialist 4 on Feb. 10, 1971. He also received the Army Commendation Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, a South Vietnamese military campaign medal for support of operations in Vietnam after 1960.

The Vietnam War is a story of patriots who pushed through jungles and rice paddies, heat and monsoon, fighting heroically to preserve the ideals and liberties that Americans hold dear.

From la Drang to Hue, U.S. troops won every major battle of Vietnam. Through more than a decade of combat over air, land and sea, they upheld the highest traditions of the armed forces. And more than 58,000 sacrificed all they had and all they would ever know in service to their country.

After the Army, Cafferty worked for the Postal Service as a clerk in New Haven and Wallingford until his retirement in 2009.

He is a longtime member of Disabled American Veterans.

Cafferty and his wife, Penny, have been married for 52 years and have two daughters, a son and seven grandchildren.

The couple like to travel and to visit with their grandchildren in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Bicycle safety event set for 2 city locations May 25

WEST HAVEN, May 17, 2024 — Mayor Dorinda Borer and the Police Department are holding a bicycle safety event at two city locations May 25.

The Cycling Safety Day event will take place at the department’s Shore Patrol substation on the boardwalk at 11:30 a.m., followed by Brent Watt Park at 24 Tile St. in Allingtown at 1:30 p.m. The rain date is May 26.

Borer said the event is aimed at encouraging bike riding and promoting bike safety to prevent crashes and injuries.

Sgt. Pat Buturla and his community outreach officers are partnering with Borer to help promote safety and to answer questions on West Haven’s bicycle ordinances.

Borer, Buturla and his officers will give out bike helmets and locks to children while supplies last.

The event will include complimentary ice cream, helmet decorating and a demonstration by Savin Rock Surf Shop.

Borer also announced the city’s purchase of 10 bike racks for installation in designated areas across West Haven. Each green rack holds five bikes.

The bike rack locations are: Brennan Field basketball court, Painter Park basketball court, Quigley Stadium basketball court, Sandy Point Beach & Bird Sanctuary, Veterans Memorial Park basketball court, South Street Beach parking lot, Brent Watt Park, Cove River pedestrian bridge and City Hall.

The brick Veterans Walk of Honor in Bradley Point Park, West Haven. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh, File)

Phase 16 dedication of brick Veterans Walk of Honor in Bradley Point Park scheduled for 5 p.m. May 25

WEST HAVEN, May 17, 2024 — West Haven Veterans Council members and city officials will dedicate Phase 16 of the brick Veterans Walk of Honor in Bradley Point Park at 5 p.m. May 25.

All veterans are invited to participate in the seaside ceremony, which will feature a flag-raising, an invocation and a wreath-laying, as well as remarks by Mayor Dorinda Borer and a Veterans Council representative.

The public is also invited. The rain date is June 1.

Rick Spreyer, Borer’s chief of staff, will serve as the master of ceremonies.

In November 2006, the Veterans Council began the first of 16 campaigns selling bricks to memorialize vets on the 100-yard Walk of Honor between the William A. Soderman and Vietnam Veterans memorials.

The bricks, which cost $75, have charcoal lettering for personalized messages.

About 3,000 bricks have been installed to date, including 46 for Phase 16 and 51 for Phase 15, which was dedicated May 27, 2023.

Phase 1 of the Walk of Honor was dedicated in May 2007, along with a memorial to Korean War veterans.

In May 2008, Phase 2 of the walkway and a memorial in commemoration of World War II Army Pfc. William A. Soderman were dedicated.

Soderman received the Medal of Honor after he distinguished himself in December 1944 while defending an important road junction near Rocherath, Belgium.

On July 1, 1984, Bradley Point Park’s flagpole was dedicated in memory of Soderman, who died in 1980.

Also in 2008, 14 grave markers signifying every war in U.S. history and peacetime were dedicated. The markers are mounted on granite posts.

The walkway was built by City Point Construction Co. of West Haven. The granite Korean War and Soderman memorials were made by Shelley Bros. Monuments of Guilford.

In May 2015, the dedication of Phase 8 included the dedication of a granite stone in memory of Veterans Council President Lorelee “Lori” Grenfell, who died in 2015 at age 60. The memorial was crafted by Giordano Bros. Monuments of West Haven.

Subsequent dedications have been held amid much fanfare, attracting hundreds of veterans and their families from all corners of Connecticut and beyond.

Craft, farm, food truck vendors sought for Tony Inzero Farmers Market; 2024 season starts July 6

WEST HAVEN, May 17, 2024 — The city is seeking craft, farm and food truck vendors to participate in the Tony Inzero Farmers Market, which will open its 2024 season July 6 next to the Oak Street Beach parking lot off Captain Thomas Boulevard.

The market, nestled on the right side of the beach lot, will include state farmers selling homegrown fruits and vegetables and crafters selling homemade wares from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Thursday and Saturday through Oct. 12.

It will also include food trucks.

To participate in the semiweekly market, download an Application.

Applications are also available for pickup in the mayor’s office at City Hall, 355 Main St., where they are due June 17.

Completed applications must be emailed to Tracie Slater, the market’s manager, at tslater@westhaven-ct.gov or faxed to 203-937-3705.

For more information, call Slater at 203-937-3510.

Duckpin bowling program offered to West Haven residents ages 9-13

WEST HAVEN, May 17, 2024 — West Haven’s Youth and Family Services and Department of Parks and Recreation are teaming up to provide an alternative enrichment duckpin bowling program for residents ages 9-13.

The program will take place at the Woodlawn Duckpin Bowling Alley, 240 Platt Ave., from 4-5:15 p.m. Wednesdays, May 29-June 26.

The five-week program costs $20 per child and includes a pizza party June 26. Siblings receive a $5 discount.

Participants will bowl in their socks. Staff members from both city departments will keep score for bowlers.

Parents must drop off and pick up their child.

Register for the program at Park-Rec.

Anyone with questions can email Youth and Family Services Director Diane Dietman at dietman@westhaven-ct.gov.

Borer announces Blue Ribbon Panel on Arts, Culture & Tourism

WEST HAVEN, May 3, 2024 — Mayor Dorinda Borer has appointed a Blue Ribbon Panel on Arts, Culture and Tourism to support arts investments in the community, to create a strategy for promoting tourism in West Haven, and to help coordinate the city’s new microgrant arts program.

Borer said the West Haven Microgrants for Arts + Culture program will be facilitated by the Greater New Haven Arts Council to help distribute microgrants for artistic purposes in the community.

The microgrants will total $116,250 and will be issued in increments between $2,500 and $10,000 each, depending on an applicant’s need, the mayor said.

Borer, who chaired the General Assembly’s bipartisan Arts, Culture and Tourism Legislative Caucus when she was a state representative, modeled the new yearlong panel after the speaker of the state House’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Tourism in 2021.

“This special coalition is made up of individuals who bring different strengths and perspectives to the table,” Borer said. “Their vision and innovation will help drive the future success of the arts, culture and tourism in West Haven.”

“I like the idea of a panel,” the mayor added, “as they have a short one-year life span with a focus on bringing results.

“Statistics have demonstrated that for every dollar you invest in this area, $3 is brought back to the economy. There is a direct link toward bolstering our community.”

The grants, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, will also help strengthen the development of a vibrant and creative city by integrating arts and culture into community life while showcasing West Haven as a cultural destination, Borer said.

The ARPA grant program has been approved by the state Municipal Accountability Review Board.

Borer said the microgrants will be just one component of the panel’s role.

Elinor Slomba, the director of ArtsWestCT, West Haven’s public-facing arts service organization, has been a champion of the microgrant program and will coordinate the program’s application process.

“We are incredibly glad to see this get started,” Slomba said. “We’re starting a new chapter for creatives in West Haven. From all the interest we’ve received so far, we anticipate that a robust and diverse group of artists will submit applications.”

Applications are available online until May 29 at https://artscouncilofgreaternewhaven.submittable.com/submit/293095/west-haven-arpa-grant/collectOrganization.

Funded projects will take place in July and August to support West Haven artists, arts organizations and creative businesses, officials said.

The Arts Council will provide the infrastructure for a professionally managed review process. ArtsWest will help promote the program and provide mentorship to applicants.

Borer’s eight-member panel will decide the grant awards.

The members are city residents Monique Bolt, Ruby Melton, Marilyn Wilkes, Paige Weinstein, Caitlin Maloney, Steven Gourdier, Jeffrey Moreno and Paul Scanlon.

“I am excited and honored to work alongside Mayor Borer as part of the blue-ribbon panel,” said Bolt, a lifelong Westie and former associate vice president of customer service and enrollment events at the University of New Haven. “As a member of the panel, I look forward to collaborating with the other members to examine ways we can stimulate more arts, culture and tourism within the city of West Haven and to assist with making decisions, in partnership with the Greater New Haven Arts Council, regarding microgrant distribution to artists, art organizations and creative businesses within the city.”

“I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve on the mayor’s blue-ribbon panel and to help create a vibrant and thriving arts and culture ecosystem in West Haven,” said Melton, a longtime advocate of the arts who brings extensive experience from her work on several New Haven regional arts organizations.

“This microgrant program will provide a wonderful opportunity for West Haven-centered artists and organizations to showcase their talents,” she said. “It’s also a way for the city to tap into the beautiful diversity of our artists and creatives and to jump-start creating an inclusive and sustainable arts and culture community. West Haven is at an exciting moment of change.”

Informational sessions about the application process will take place online and in person.

The first session is on Zoom at 6 p.m. May 8. Participants must register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3-XgRhFiHn5Gxw7MOm-HjhQ7q26dQKTE35Vk9oTKWHssUcQ/viewform.

The second session, open to the public, is at 10 a.m. May 9 at Coffee Haven West, 535 Campbell Ave.

Appointments can also be made during ArtsWest’s office hours from 2-6 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The one-on-one sessions can be virtual or in person at 377 Main St., Suite 105, lower level, but must be arranged by emailing artswestct@gmail.com.

Learn more about the Arts Council of Greater New Haven at https://www.newhavenarts.org/.

Learn more about ArtsWestCT at https://www.artswestct.org/.

West Haven Mayor Dorinda Borer is joined by Mental Health Connecticut President and CEO Luis B. Pérez, center left, city Health Director Maureen B. Lillis, center right, and other West Haven officials during a kickoff event marking Mental Health Awareness Month on the steps of City Hall on May 1. At right, an easel displays the “988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline,” a national 24/7 hotline that provides caring, trained counselors for people who are experiencing mental health-related distress. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

City leaders shine light on Mental Health Awareness Month at May 1 kickoff event on steps of City Hall

WEST HAVEN, May 2, 2024 — A united front of city leaders and first responders were joined by a group of mental health experts on the steps of City Hall to publicly mark Day 1 of Mental Health Awareness Month on May 1.

The kickoff event was led by Mayor Dorinda Borer and Health Director Maureen B. Lillis and featured an array of speakers from the region’s mental health agencies, including the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center, Mental Health Connecticut, Bridges Healthcare, Shoreline Wellness Center & Behavioral Health Clinic, Fair Haven Community Health Care and the Bereavement Support Group of West Haven.

Borer and Lillis, both of whom wore green for the special month, delivered poignant remarks on the importance of mental health awareness, including a sobering statistic that suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States.

Lillis organized the half-hour event to shine a light on the public health crisis.

In front of dozens of mental health supporters, including city employees and fire chiefs, speakers shared stories of inspiration and words of encouragement, starting with Borer, who bravely revealed her struggle with mental health while growing up in West Haven.

Read the full story and see the photo gallery at Mental Health Awareness Month.

Mental health relief the focus of EAP May newsletter

WEST HAVEN, May 2, 2024 — Get mental health relief by checking out the May edition of the EAP newsletter.

Read the newsletter.

Join Paige’s Purple Pirates in cystic fibrosis fight

WEST HAVEN, April 12, 2024 — Help support 2-year-old Paige McCormack in her fight against cystic fibrosis, an inherited disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs, digestive system and other organs in the body.

Paige was diagnosed with CF when she was only 2 weeks old.

Now, her parents, Mark and Jill McCormack, and her grandparents, Tim and Debbie Collins and Keith and Maureen McCormack, will not stop until CF stands for “Cure Found.”

On May 19, join Paige’s Purple Pirates in the Great Strides walk for a cure at Jimmies of Savin Rock, 5 Rock St.

Any donation is appreciated to help reach Paige’s $5,000 fundraising goal for the walkathon, which is presented by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Donate to Page or join her team at Paige’s Purple Pirates.