He returned from Vietnam, but wasn’t welcomed back.
The world was a different place when Craig Kohanski enlisted after graduating from URI in 1968. He’ll be one of a plane full of Rhode Island veterans who travel to the nation’s capital on Monday, part of the 28th Honor Flight, organized by the RI Fire Chiefs Honor Flight Hub.
The Warwick man, a former ROTC cadet, started active duty in the U.S. Army immediately after basic training. He shipped off to Japan for more than two years and then volunteered to go to Vietnam.
“They were going to send me to the Korean DMZ,” Kohanski recalled. “I ended up in the First Signal Brigade for 13 months.”
Kohanski longs to meet fellow veterans with shared experiences.
“My exposure is limited,” he said. “I’m looking forward to meeting more veterans period; hear some of their stories; shake their hands and let them know how glad I am to see them come home. I hope some of them had better welcomes home than I did.”
For years, Kohanski learned to cope in a society that didn’t appreciate his service.
“I heard the stories,” he recalled. “It was almost a shame to wear the uniform, the way people were looking at you, talking about you. It was not a good feeling to come home — not at all.”
Over time, Americans finally started to acknowledge the sacrifices made by Vietnam War era veterans.
Eventually, Kohanski started wearing his Vietnam veteran hat in public.
“Many people have come up to me thanking me for my service,” Kohanski said. “That didn’t happen before. Things have changed; and I can’t say when it happened.”

The Price of Freedom
On Monday, June 19, the Honor Flight “Freedom Is Not Free” trip will depart T.F. Green International Airport for Washington D.C.
The Honor Flight has a Mission Statement: “To transport America’s Veterans to Washington D.C. to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their sacrifices.”
“Taking veterans to Washington, DC is now and always will be our highest priority,” according to Chief George S. Farrell (retired), chairman of the RI Fire Chiefs Honor Flight Hub, which he founded in 2012.
“After I witnessed what I later learned was an Honor Flight arrival at BWI (Baltimore-Washington International Airport) in the spring of 2010, my wife and I were so moved by the experience I came home and did some research to find out what Honor Flight was,” Farrell recalled.
He was the president of RI Fire Chiefs Association, so he took his idea to the board and recommended the group’s involvement in organizing the Ocean State’s first Honor Flight.
“It was also a way to Honor the service of my father, George F. Farrell Jr. (U.S. Navy, World War II) and my wife's father, Antonio Barletta (U.S. Army, World War II),” he said. “We both wish that our fathers were alive to have been able to go on their Honor Flight.”

Honored to Fly
The group took its first Honor Flight in November 2012. Since, 27 Honor Flights have transported thousands of the state’s veterans to Washington D.C., taking them on tours of Arlington National Cemetery and the nation’s war memorials.
“Currently, on this Honor Flight we have 3 (World War II) veterans,” according to Farrell. “The oldest is 98 years old.”
Monday’s flight will also include three Korean War veterans, many Vietnam veterans, and several veterans that served during other times and places.
Farrell said that “about two-thirds of our veterans on this flight are Vietnam War veterans.”
“We will be traveling to DC with a total of 115 passengers, veterans, guardians, medical staff, and photographers,” Farrell said in a press release he circulated earlier this week. “On this Honor Flight we are also taking 15 members of the RI Professional Fire Fighters Pipes and Drums.”
The organization has been approved for a “Public Gathering Permit” from the National Park Service, which will allow the pipe and drum band to perform at the WWII Memorial and march along the reflecting pool with the Honor Flight veterans in-step behind.
“When we reach the end of the Reflecting Pool, at the base of the Lincoln Memorial the pipes and drums will perform again,” Farrell said. “When we go to Arlington National Cemetery, we will participate in a Wreath Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.”
Four members of the group will lay a wreath — two WWII veterans, Roger Desjardins, 98, of North Providence, and Anthony Barsamian, 96, of Cranston. North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi and Paul Vadenais, who sponsored Monday’s Honor Flight in memory of his father Normand G. Vadenais (a Corporal in the U.S. Army) will also attend.

Freedom Day
Monday’s date has a special significance.
“June 19 … is Juneteenth a Federal Holiday that celebrates ‘Freedom Day’ and the end of slavery,” Farrell said in the press release. “Juneteenth commemorates he emancipation of slavery which finally came on June 19, 1865 when Federal troops were sent to Galveston, Texas to free nearly 250,000 slaves. The day was first recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. We are pleased that on Honor Flight ‘Freedom’ we have approximately 20 minority veterans and we celebrate Juneteenth with them and all our veterans. We believe that we are the first Honor Flight Hub in the Nation to travel to Washington, D.C. on June 19, ‘Juneteenth.’”

The Wall
Kohanski, now 77, said he’s “super excited” to take the trip.
“It’s fantastic really,” he said earlier this week. “It’s like going back in history a little bit. I’ll see a lot of fallen comrades … and it’s good to bring back some of the memories of what you went through during the time period and honor those who didn’t make it back home.”
Johnston native Frank Olivo, also a 77-year-old Vietnam War era Army veteran, will be on-board Monday’s Honor Flight. This will be his first trip to Washington D.C.
“Once I got out of the service, I got out of the service,” Olivo said Tuesday afternoon. “I had a very close friend who was a guardian on an honor flight. He went with a World War II vet years ago. He talked to George and then talked to me, and wanted to know if I’d be interested.”
Olivo was interested.
“I was able to locate four of my friends that I lost in the Vietnam War,” he said. “I know where they are on the wall — what line they’re in.”
Olivo can’t wait to pay his respects.
“I’m as excited as a kid going to Disney World for the first time,” he said. “I cant’ thank the people who put this on enough. It’s an amazing venue; the way they do it; very, very professional. They make everyone feel welcomed; everyone feel honored … You can’t even imagine how excited I am to go.”