Retired Warwick Police Captain Joseph Coffey comes from a family of servicemen.

His father, one of 14 siblings, is a Vietnam veteran. One of his uncles died on the beach of Iwo Jima and another died shortly after the assault on the island from a bayonet wound that became infected. Two more of his uncles are Korean War veterans.

So, it’s not surprising that Coffey, who served in the Army Reserves, would volunteer as a guardian to Doug Gamage, a Korean War veteran who will join 49 other Korean and World War II veterans for the June 3 Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. But the connection to veterans doesn’t end with Coffey.

Coffey’s 14-year-old son, Ethan Masciarelli, also has an interest in veterans. He has made veterans the subject of his Eagle community service project and with other members from Troop I in Richmond attended a recent Honor Flight meet-and-greet reception in Cranston.

Ethan said he was inspired when he visited his uncles’ graves in Arlington National Cemetery at the age of 11. He was moved by the visit and became interested in learning more about what happened to them.

When it came time to choose a service project, which is a requirement to earn an Eagle Badge, Ethan talked with his father about doing something for or about veterans. Usually scouts select a project such as beautifying a park, building something or conducting a food or clothing drive to fulfill the requirement. A component of the project is to involve troop members and demonstrate leadership.

Ethan discussed possible projects with his father and came up with the plan to interview veterans and then compile their stories in a display at the library as well as provide them to local newspapers. The plan wasn’t an easy sell to scout officials who sanction Eagle projects.

“It almost didn’t get approved. It was so different they didn’t know how to handle it,” said Ethan.

On Sunday, as veterans and their guardians arrived, Ethan and members of his troop found more to do than interviews. They were quickly recruited to move boxes of food and other items into the meeting room. Then, as veterans found seats and before the formal program started, Ethan conducted the first of the interviews with Richard St. Louis, who as an Army Sergeant First Class served in what became known as the Iron Triangle in Korea in 1952 and 1953.

In preparation for the interviews, Ethan went online to read about military service and to come up with the series of questions he and members of the troop would ask. He came up with many more questions than practical, which he boiled down with his father’s guidance.

Even before hearing the stories of veterans, Ethan has thought about whether he might serve.

“I wouldn’t want to do combat,” he said. But Ethan sees other opportunities that would synchronize with his interest in math such as engineering.

Ethan will attend Hendricken High School this fall.