>>> A LOST SOLDIER RETURNS HOME.

>> YOU DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND THE SACRIFICE HE MADE.

IT WASN'T JUST SOMEONE INJURED IN BATTLE.

HE WAS KID IN BATTLE AT 18.

>> LOCAL VIETNAM VETERANS REFLECT ON THEIR EXPERIENCES THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY.

>> I WAS USING FILM AS A WAY TO GET MYSELF MARRIED BACK INTO SOCIETY.

I WAS USING IT AS A VEHICLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT NORMAL IS.

>> AND PRESERVING THE MEMORIES OF THOSE WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR OUR COUNTRY.

>> PEOPLE TONIGHT REALIZE THEIR SERVICE, THEIR SACRIFICE, WHAT THEY GAVE, AND WHAT THEY CONTRIBUTED BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AFTERWARDS.

>> WE'LL BRING YOU THOSE STORIES AND MORE AS WE EXPLORE THE CREATIVITY, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY THAT MAKE US WESTERN NEW ENGLAND.

UP NEXT ON "CONNECTING POINT."

>> Announcer: SUPPORT FOR "CONNECTING POINT" IS PROVIDED BY OUR CONTRIBUTING VIEWERS.

¶ ¶ .

>>> GOOD EVENING.

AND THANKS FOR JOINING US FOR "CONNECTING POINT."

I'M ZYDALIS BAUER.

YESTERDAY WAS VETERANS' DAY AND TONIGHT WE'RE BRINGING YOU STORIES OF SERVICE AND SACRIFICE FROM OUR COMMUNITY.

A SAD REALITY OF WAR IS THAT WHEN A LIFE IS LOST IN THE LINE OF DUTY, IT'S NOT ALWAYS BROUGHT BACK HOME.

SOLDIERS MISSING IN ACTION OR SOLDIERS WHOSE REMAINS ARE NOT IDENTIFIED CAN RESULT IN YEARS OF UNRESOLVED FEELINGS FOR THEIR FAMILY.

SOME QUESTIONS IF THEIR LOVED ONE IS REALLY GONE AND MANY HOPE THAT ONE DAY THEY MAY COME HOME.

AS "CONNECTING POINT'S" ROSS LIPPMAN SHOWS US, IN PITTSFIELD, A FAMILY WENT EIGHT DECADES ASKING THIS VERY QUESTION, AND FINALLY RECEIVED ANSWERS ABOUT THE DAY THAT LED TO UNITED STATES TO ENTER WORLD WAR II AND THE 18-YEAR-OLD THEY LOST.

¶ ¶ >> WHEN PEARL HARBOR WAS BOMBED, EVERYBODY IN THE COUNTRY KNEW.

>> PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT SAID IN A STATEMENT THAT THE JAPANESE HAVE ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, FROM THE AIR.

>> WHO THEY DIDN'T KNOW IS WHO'S MISSING, WHO'S ACCOUNTED FOR.

EVERY TOO MANY I ASKED A QUESTION, I GOT TEARS.

NO DETAILS.

I CAN ONLY GET THAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF MY UNCLE'S BETH IN -- DEATH IN PEARL HARBOR.

HE IS DIED AT SUCH IS A YOUNG AGE, 18 YEARS OLD, AND IT WAS GRIEF THAT THE FAMILY NEVER GOT OVER.

>> NAVY ELECTRONICS -- KNOWN AS RAYMOND BY HIS FAMILY, WAS ABOARD THE U.S. U.S. OKLAHOMA.

IT'S RAYMOND'S LAST DAY ON EARTH.

>> IT WAS HARD TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT MY UNCLE RAYMOND.

HIS PICTURE WAS UP ON A WALL IN THE DINING ROOM AND EVERY TIME I ASKED, YOU KNOW, ABOUT HIM, TEARS WOULD STREAM DOWN MY GRANDMOTHER'S FACE.

AND SAME WITH MY MOM.

YOU KNOW, HE WAS CLOSE TO HIS FAMILY.

HE WAS A DEVOUT CATHOLIC.

HE STARTED WORKING AT GENERAL WHREK, WHICH LOCAL, YOU KNOW, INDUSTRIAL TOWN, AND FOR WHATEVER REASON, JOINED THE NAVY.

AT A VERY YOUNG AGE.

AND THAT'S WHAT I KNOW ABOUT HIM.

>> IN PITTSFIELD THEY'RE LEFT WITH A LETTER FROM PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT BUT ROW MAN'S BODY LEFT UNACCOUNTED FOR.

A TALLY THAT WOULD RISE ON -- TO OVER 72,000 SOLDIERS.

>> IT'S VERY DEVASTATING TO THE FAMILY MEMBERS.

THE TREPIDATION THAT CAME WITH THAT HAD TO BE TREMENDOUS.

IT HAD TO BE YOU KNOW, THE WAITING TO HEAR THAT CALL.

THEY WAIT AND WAIT AND WAIT AND WAIT.

¶ ¶ >> THEN, THIS PAST DECEMBER, 77 YEARS LATER, RAYMOND'S REMAINS ARE IDENTIFIED IN HAWAII.

CLOSING A CIRCLE THAT OUTLIVED MOST OF RAYMOND'S MEET FAMILY, LEAVING DENNIS, HIS NEPHEW, DID AND LAST LIVING LOCAL RELATIVITY, WITH THE FINAL PIECES OF THE PASSION.

>> MY FIRST THOUGHTS -- OF THE PAST.

>> MY FIRST THOUGHTS WHEN I SAW THE PURPLE HEART -- HUH.

THAT YOU KNOW, IT'S A MEDAL.

IT -- IT'S -- IT'S MEANINGLESS WITHOUT CONTEXT.

YOU KNOW, HIS NAME IS PRINTED ON THE BACK.

LOOKING AT IT, YOU DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND THE SACRIFICE HE MADE.

IT WASN'T JUST SOMEONE WHO WAS INJURED IN BATTLE.

HE WAS KILLED IN BATTLE.

YOU KNOW, IT -- AT 18.

AT 18.

>> IT WAS IN THE FINAL YEARS OF JESSE'S LIFE.

THE DAUGHTER OF MARY AND VALENTINE, BROTHER OF RAYMOND, THAT SHE GIVES HER SON DENNIS THE PURPLE HEART, BIRTH CERTIFICATE, AND LETTER FROM PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT.

THE WEIGHT OF THESE THREE ITEMS SHE CARRIED FOR A LONG TIME.

>> I WISH THAT MY GRANDMOTHER HAD KNOWN THAT HIS REMAINS WERE IDENTIFIED AND THAT HE WAS TRULY DEAD.

SHE NEVER KNEW THAT.

>> FOR DENNIS, ONE MORE QUESTION REMAINS LEFT UNANSWERED.

THE SURVIVING MEMBERS OF RAYMOND'S FAMILY CAN NOW CHOOSE WHERE HIS REMAINS SHOULD GO.

WHICH INCLUDES HERE IN PITTSFIELD, ALONGSIDE HIS PARENTS.

>> HAVING REMAINS BE PLACED ON TOP OF HIS MOTHER AND FATHER'S REMAINS, TO ME MIGHT NOT BE THE RIGHT PLACE FOR HIM.

YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT HIS -- HIS PLACE IN TIME WAS AT APPARENTLY HARBOR, AND IF -- WAS AT PEARL HARBOR, AND IF AND WHEN I GET A VOTE, THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT I WOULD VOTE -- WHAT I WOULD VOTE FOR.

¶ ¶ .

>>> EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT "CONNECTING POINT" EXPLORES THE CREATIVITY, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY THAT MAKE US WESTERN NEW ENGLAND, BUT IT DIDN'T STOP THERE.

YOU CAN FIND US ONLINE ANYTIME FOR EXCLUSIVE FEATURES AND CONTENT.

THIS WEEKEND THE CRAFTS OF COLRAIN STUDIO TOUR OPENS UP THE WORKSHOPS OF THE MANY CRAFTSPEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE HILLTOWN REGION TO THE PUBLIC, AND "CONNECTING POINT'S" BRIAN SULLIVAN GIVES US AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK.

>> THIS GIVES PEOPLE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO THE DIFFERENT ARTISANS' STUDIOS OR WORKSHOPS AND SEE, SOMETIMES THEY'LL PUT ON DEMONSTRATIONS AND YOU SEE THE ARTIST ON THEIR HOME TURF.

>> MY BASKET STUDIO IS ABOVE MY GARAGE AND IT'S NOT HEATED.

BUT I TRY TO SET UP MY HOME AND MY STUDIO DISPLAY FOR PEOPLE TO COME IN AND SEE WHAT I DO AND CAN MAKE A PURCHASE IF THEY HAPPEN TO BE IN THE SHOPPING MOOD.

>> DON'T MISS THIS DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE AVAILABLE ONLINE RIGHT NOW AT NEPM.ORG/CONNECTINGPOINT.

>>> JIM CRYAN AND DAVE TELE LEFT COLLEGE TO SERVE IN THE U.S. ARMY IN VIETNAM IN THE LATE 1960s.

THE TWO WERE BOTH STUDYING ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY AT THEIR RESPECTIVE COLLEGES WHEN THEY ENTERED THE MILITARY.

BOTH WERE ABLE TO ACQUIRE A CAMERA AND WHEN TIME WOULD ALLOW, SNAP IMAGES, DOCUMENTING WHAT THEY WERE EXPERIENCING DURING THE WAR.

PRODUCER DAVE FRASER SAT DOWN WITH BOTH PHOTOGRAPHERS TO LEARN HOW THAT TIME IN THEIR LIFE STILL AFFECTS THEM TODAY.

>> DAVE TELE WAS A COBRA GUNSHIP PILOT SERVING IN VIETNAM FROM 196 NAN TO 19 STEVENTON.

THE NATIVE SPENT THREE YEARS STUDYING PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION AT ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY.

>> WHEN I GOT TO VIETNAM, MY SKILL FOCUS WAS ON FLYING, NOT PHOTOGRAPHY.

IT WOULDN'T BE UNTIL ABOUT TWO TO THREE MONTHS INTO MY STAY IN VIETNAM THAT I WOULD DECIDE TO GET A KODAK INSTAMATIC CAMERA AND START TAKING SOME GRAPHS.

-- PHOTOGRAPHS.

>> HE TOOK PICTURES FOR SEVERAL MONTHS BEFORE REALIZING WHAT HE WAS DOING AS A PILOT WAS IN SHARP CONTRAST TO WHAT HE WANTED TO DO AS A PHOTOGRAPHER.

>> IT WAS AN ODD TWIST TO BEING IN COMBAT, SHOOTING AND THEN FEELING LIKE I COULD TURN AROUND, BE THIS OTHER PERSON WITH A CAMERA, BE OFF SHOOTING PHOTOGRAPHS, AND THAT WAS JUST NEVER TO BE.

I MEAN, JUST -- ONE DAY I JUST PUT IT ALL AWAY.

JUST IGNORED IT.

>> IGNORED IT UNTIL HIS FRIEND AND FORMER COLLEGE ROOMMATE JOHN McCARTHY FROM THE VALLEY PHOTO CENTER IN SPRINGFIELD CONTACTED HIM AND ASKED IF HE WOULD LIKE TO DISPLAY HIS IMAGES ALONG WITH OTHER VET IN AN UPSHOMMING -- UPCOMING SHOW, CALLED VIETNAM, THEN AND NOW.

>> THIS IS THE VERY FIRST TIME THESE PHOTOGRAPHS HAVE BEEN IN PUBLIC.

VERY FIRST TIME.

THESE PHOTOGRAPHS REPRESENT WHAT I WAS DOING EXACTLY 50 YEARS AGO TODAY.

BECAUSE I WAS IN VIETNAM 50 YEARS AGO TODAY.

AND I HAD ALREADY SHOT A FEW OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS.

AND THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER COUPLE MONTHS AND I SHOOT THE REST OF THEM AND THAT WOULD BE IT.

BUT IT WAS THE VERY TIME PERIOD I WAS OVER THERE.

>> I WASN'T YOUR TYPICAL SOLDIER.

I WAS ALREADY FOUR OR FIVE YEARS OLDER THAN MOST OF THE OTHER DRAFTEES.

>> JIM CRYAN ALSO SERVED.

HIS TIME IN VIETNAM WAS SPENT AS AIN INTERPRETER OF AERIAL INFRARED IMAGES.

>> BEFORE I WENT SOUTH TO NORTH CAROLINA TO FORT JACKSON, FOR BASIC TRAINING, I WAS FILLING UP PADS OF PAPER.

I'M GONNA BE THE NORMAL MAILER OF THIS WAR.

>> ALONG WITH A TYPE WRITE, HE PURCHASED A CAMERA AND BEGAN DOCUMENTING ALL THAT HE WAS SEEING.

>> THE PEOPLE FASCINATED ME.

I WAS NEAR -- I WAS AT MARBLE MOUNTAIN ON THE BASE AND DON CAR WAS A LITTLE TOWN AND THE BUSES WOULD COME THROUGH WITH PEOPLE SITTING ON THE HOOD, ON THE ROOF, HANGING OFF THE SIDES.

YOU KNOW, FEAFNG THINGS.

BUT -- FANTASTIC THINGS.

BUT TROUBLING, TOO.

ACROSS THE STREET FROM OUR BARRACKS IN MARBLE MOUNTAIN WAS THE NSA HOSPITAL.

AND H.R.

VALLEY WAS GOING ON AT THE TIME AND WE COULDN'T SLEEP NIGHTS BASE THE -- BECAUSE THE CHOPPERS WERE COMING IN ALL NIGHT LONG UNLOADING WOUNDED AND DYING AND PROBABLY GONE, TOO.

>> THEY DIDN'T KNOW EACH OTHER IN VIETNAM BUT WOULD BECOME ROOMMATES WHEN THEY ATTENDED GRAD SCHOOL AT UMASS ALONG WITH JOHN.

THEY ADMIT IT WAS A STRUGGLE TO REINTEGRATE BACK INTO SOCIETY BUND THE MEDIUM OF FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY TO BE OF SOME HELP.

>> I GOT INTO MOTION PICTURES INSTEAD OF STILL PHOTOGRAPHY BECAUSE MOTION PICTURE WORK WAS A TEAM EFFORT.

AND THAT GOT ME THROUGH A POINT WHERE I WAS USING FILM INSTEAD OF STILL PHOTOGRAPHY AS A WAY TO GET MYSELF MARRIED BACK INTO SOCIETY.

I WAS USING IT AS A VEHICLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT NORMAL IS.

>> BOTH MEN WOULD GO TO HAVE SUCCESSFUL CAREERS BUT APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THEIR IMAGES AND THAT PART OF THEIR LIVES WITH AN OUTSIDE AUDIENCE.

>> IT'S AN EMOTIONAL CHALLENGE.

AN UNPUMPKINNED -- AN UNEXPECTED EMOTIONAL CHALLENGE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT GETS ME PAST BEING STILL IN THE CLOSET.

AND THAT'S ONE OF THE STRANGE RELEASES ABOUT THESE PHOTOGRAPHS BEING UP.

¶ ¶ >>> SINCE HIS DEATH IN IN 1944, PITTSFIELD NATIVE EUGENES HAS BEEN KNOWN AS -- EUGENE KALINOWSKY HAS BEEN NOUN AS THOUSANDS WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE DURING WORLD WAR II.

THE STORY OF A PLANE CRASH AND HIS SUBSEQUENT DES HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE YOU ARE IS VIEFING MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY.

BUT EARLIER IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE LAST MOMENTS OF HIS LIFE WERE FAR DIFFERENT THAN BOTH HIS COUNTRY AND HIS FAMILY HAD BEEN LED TO BELIEVE.

CPR'S ROSS LIPPMAN TEST US THE TRUE STORY OF HIS FINAL MISSION, AND HOW IT'S BROUGHT TOGETHER TWO PEOPLE WANTING TO KEEP HIS MEMORY ALIVE.

>> THIS COLD MAKE MY EYES WATER.

>> EVERY DECEMBER, BUS BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS -- JUST BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS, CAROL COMINGS TO THE PITS FOOLED CEMETERY TO -- PITTSFIELD CEMETERY TO DECORATE THE GRAVES.

>> WHEN YOU LOSE A CHILD, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT.

>> SOME GONE MUCH TOO YOUNG.

LIKE HER DAUGHTER, KRISTEN.

>> SHE WAS 4 1/2 BUT SHE ENDED UP HAVING A HEART ATTACK.

>> THEN HER GRANDFATHER, SASSALI.

>> HE WAS A GOOD GRANDFATHER.

VERY CLOSE WITH US.

>> SHE COULD SPEND ALL DAY.

>> MY FATHER, MY MOTHER.

>> IN THE COLD.

>> SHE WAS A WONDERFUL MOM.

A WONDERFUL -- MY SISTER ANN.

SHE WAS SIX YEARS OLDER THAN MYSELF.

>> TELLING STORIES ABOUT EACH PERSON.

>> THEY'RE AT PEACE.

THAT'S -- THAT'S THE MAIN THING.

>> BUT TODAY SHE'S HERE TO VISIT A RELATIVE SHE DIDN'T KNOW.

>> JUST ALWAYS THOUGHT OF HIM AS BEING OUR UNCLE THAT WAS KILLED IN THE PLANE CRASH.

>> HIS STORY -- >> THREE, TWO, ONE.

>> THE STORY OF WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO ARMY AIR FORCE STAFF CHARGE UNINE KALINOWSKY -- EUGENE KALINOWSKY, MAY BE THE GREATEST STORY SHE CAN TELL.

>> HE WAS ONLY 24 WHEN HE DIED.

>> GENE WAS ON HIS 50TH AND FINAL MISSION WHEN HIS PLANE WAS SHOT DOWN BY NAZI GERMAN FORCES.

INITIAL OR THES SAID THAT OF THE 10-MAN CREW, TWO DIED WHILE EVACUATING THE PLANE.

INCLUDING KALINOWSKY.

>> FOR YEARS, THE BELIEF AND THE STORY HAD BEEN THAT THE PLANE WAS SHOT DOWN AND THAT'S HOW HE DIED, CORRECT?

>> RIGHT.

THAT'S HOW I UNDERSTOOD IT.

YOU KNOW, THAT'S HOW I WAS ALWAYS TOLD.

I THINK THAT'S HOW THEY THOUGHT OF IT, TOO.

>> BUT GENE IN FACT SURVIVED THE LANDING AND WAS DISCOVERED BY S.S.

SOLDIERS NEAR THE GERMAN VILLAGE.

CAROL I'M LEARNED OF HOW HAD YOU UNCLE TRULY DIED JUST A FEW YEARS AGO.

>> AFTER HE HAD LANDED AND THEY WERE TAKING HIM TO SOME TYPE OF A HOLDING PLACE, HE WAS SHOT BY A GERMAN SOLDIER, S.S.

SOLDIER.

>> SO HE DIES SERVING DURING WORLD WAR II.

>> RIGHT.

>> THE STORY FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS IS THAT THE PLANE WAS SHOT DOWN, THE PLANE CRASH, AND HE DICE DURING THE PLANE CRASH.

THEN YOU FIND OUT THAT AN.

IS S. OFFICER KILLED YOUR UNCLE.

WHAT WAS THAT IMMEDIATE SORT OF GUT FEELING YOU HAD?

>> I COULDN'T REALLY BELIEVE IT.

I DIDN'T KNOW ALMOST IF IT WAS TRUE.

>> IT WAS TRUE.

GENE'S ASSASSINATION WAS WITNESSED BY RESIDENTS IN THE TOWN.

AND IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING THE WAR, THEY HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN, INCLUDING THIS PAST FALL, 76 YEARS LATER, WHEN CAROL LEARNED OF PLANS TO CREATE A MEMORIAL FOR GENE.

IT WAS AROUND THE SAME TIME THAT CAROL LEARNED THE TRUTH BEHIND GENE'S DEATH THAT SHE WAS CONTACTED BY SOMEONE IN GERMANY.

HIS NAME IS YOAHI.

HE WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GENE'S LIFE AND MAKE SURE THE REAL STORY WAS KNOWN.

AND JUST AS HE FOUND CAROL -- >> YOU WANT TO TAP THAT TO TURN YOUR CAMERA ON.

>> WE WANTED TO FIND HIM.

>> HI.

>> HI.

>> TODAY'S THE DAY, HUH?

>> TODAY'S THE DAY.

>> AND GIVE TWO PEOPLE WHO AREN'T SO USED TO ZOOM OR VIDEO CHATTING -- >> HE'LL TURN HIS CAMERA ON IN A MINUTE.

>> A CHANCE TO MEET FACE TO FACE.

>> THERE HE IS.

>> YEAH, HELLO!

>> HELLO!

>> NICE TO MEET YOU.

>> I TAKE IT YOU TWO KNOW EACH OTHER, CAROL?

>> WE HAVEN'T SEEN US -- >> NO, NO.

>> LIVE.

>> NOT LIVE.

IT'S NICE TO SEE A FACE THAT I'VE BEEN TALKING TO FOR A WHILE.

>> HOW LONG HAVE THE TWO OF YOU BEEN EMAILING WITH EACH OTHER BEFORE TODAY?

>> SINCE 2006.

-- 2016.

I TOLD HIM I WAS A BABY WHEN MY UNCLE LEFT FOR GERMANY.

AND THAT HE HAD TAKEN MY BABY SHOES AND PUT THEM AROUND HIS NECK FOR GOOD LUCK.

SO I'VE ALWAYS KIND OF FELT A BOND TO HIM THAT WAY.

>> YOU THINK THAT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THIS STORY LIVE ON, CORRECT?

>> I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE MUST LEARN FROM OUR HISTORY.

LEARNING FOR THE FUTURE FROM THE PAST.

AND WE MUST LEARN WHAT HAD HAPPENED AND THAT THIS NEVER MAY HAPPEN AGAIN.

>> I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING HOW YOUR RELATIONSHIP GROWS FROM HERE AS WELL.

I THINK IT'S VERY EXCITING.

>> LIKE I SAID, I HAVE FRIENDS.

I HAVE A FRIEND IN GERMANY.

[LAUGHTER] >> ME TOO!

ME TOO!

THE WHOLE FAMILY, TOO.

THE WHOLE FAMILY, TOO.

>> THE WHOLE FAMILY.

¶ ¶ .

>>> FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, AIR FORCE VETERAN GENE THEROUX HAS COLLECTED EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ON THE LOCAL SERVICES MEN AND WOMEN INTERRED IN CEMETERIES IN THE CITY OF WESTFIELD AND OTHER SURROUNDING TOWNS.

ALONG WITH HIS RESEARCH, THEROUX TRAINS VOLUNTEERS TO HELP CLEAN AND RESTORE VETERANS' GRAVE STONES, AND IN DOING SO, WORKS TO PRESERVE THE MEMORIES OF THOSE WHO SERVED OUR COUNTRY IN THE ARMED FORCES.

PRODUCER DAVE FRASER CAUGHT UP WITH HIM IN SOUTH WICK PRIOR TO THIS PAST MEMORIAL DAY TO BRING US THIS STORY.

>> TUCKED IN THE BACK OF THE OLD CEMETERY IN SOUTHWICK, GENE AND SOME VOLUNTEERS ARE WORKING TO RESET A MILITARY VETERAN'S GRAVE THAT HAS FALLEN OVER.

YEARS OF NEGLECT HAS CAUSED MANY OF THE HEADSTONESES IN THIS CEMETERY AND OTHERS TO CRACK, TOPPLE, OR JUST BECOME UNSTABLE.

THEROUX HAS TAKEN ON THE HOSPITAL OF RESPO -- RESPONSIBILITY OF REPAIRING THEM.

>> I BELIEVE THE FOUR PILLARS OF SERVICE, THE AMERICAN REGION, AMERICANISM, COMMUNITY SERVICE, AND THAT IS WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT.

AMERICANISM AND CIVIL SERVICE.

>> SOME OF THE MARKERS ARE MADE OF SANDSTONE AND LIMESTONE AND ARE POURUS, SO IT CAN TAKE SOME TIME FOR BIOLOGY MATTER TO BREAK DOWN.

OTHERS MADE OF MARBLE AND GRANITE ARE EASIER TO CLEAN BECAUSE THE DIRT IS MOSTLY ON THE SURFACE.

BUT WHAT THEROUX UNCOVERS IS MUCH MORE THAN NAMES AND DATES ETCHED IN STONE.

>> PROBABLY PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THEIR SERVICE, THEIR SACRIFICE, WHAT THEY GAVE, AND WHEN THANK YOU CONTRIBUTED BACK -- WHAT THEY CONTRIBUTED BACK TO THE COMMUNITY WHY WARDS.

>> IN THE CEMETERY THERE ARE 38 VETERANS FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

THREE FROM THE WAR OF 1812, AND 22 FROM THE CIVIL WAR.

ALONG WITH VETERANS FROM KOREA, VIETNAM, WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II.

>> THERE ARE SOME KILLED IN ACTION ON THE OTHER SIDE, INCLUDING ROBERT WHO ATTENDED WESTFIELD HIGH SCHOOL.

HE LIVED RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE TOWN HALL.

HE WENT DOWN IN AN AIRPLANE IN THE BURMA CAMPAIGN AND HIS REMAINS HAVE NEVER BEEN FOUND.

>> ANOTHER IS PHILIP ATWATER.

HE WAS 22 WHEN HE WENT MISSING IN ACTION IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC DURING WORLD WAR II.

HIS GRAVE STONE HAS BEEN BROUGHT BACK TO ITS ORIGINALCONDITION AND DETECT CRATED BAROMETRIC PRESSURELY -- DECORATED APPROPRIATELY WITH AMERICAN, P -- POW/MIA AND PURPLE HEART FLAGS.

A SPECIAL TRIPOD IS CHAIN AND USED TO LIFT THE STONE, PREPARE A NEW BASE, AND THEN LOWER IT BACK IN.

SETTING IT TO THE PROPER HEIGHT.

>> WE RAISED IT TO BRING IT AS CLOSE TO 22 INCHES FROM THE TOP OF THE HEADSTONE TO THE PLANE OF THE GROUND AND TO DEVELOP IT.

SO -- LEVEL IT.

SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MONUMENT, YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH WAS BELOW THE GROUND AND THEN I WILL BE VISITING THAT HEADSTONE TO PLANT MORE GRASS SEATED AROUND IT, BECAUSE IT'S -- GRASS SEED AROUND IT BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE GOOD GROUND AROUND THE MONUMENT BECAUSE THAT HELPS KEEP THEM IN PLACE.

>> HEIDI IS ONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS WORKING ON THIS DAY AND SHE ALSO SERVES ON THE CEMETERY COMMISSION 9 SOUTH IFS WICK.

WHILE DOING -- COMMISSION IN SOUTHWICK.

SHE DISCOVERED SEVERAL MEMBERS OF HER FAMILY WERE BURIED THERE.

>> I FOUND THE CONNECTION TO THE CEMETERY.

MY GRANDFATHER'S FATHER AND ALL OF HIS RELATIVES AND -- ARE BURIED HERE AND THIS IS MY FIFTH GREAT-GRANDFATHER RIGHT HERE.

>> THEROUX RECOGNIZES THE YEARS OF NEGLECT THESE GRAVE STONES HAVE SUFFERED BUT THE HELP OF OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY, HE HOPES TO BRING THEM BACK TO THE CONDITION THEY DESERVE.

>> I JUST FIND IT SO REMARK ABOUT THE SERVICE AND THE -- REMARKABLE ABOUT THE SERVICE AND SACRIFICE AND THE CALL OF DOCUMENT.

20 YEARS FROM NOW, WE CAN NO LONGER CONTRIBUTE AND PARTICIPATE, WE HAVE TO HAVE -- MAKE SURE THAT OUR COUNTRY IS LEFT IN GOOD HANDS AND THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHAT LIBERTY AND FREEDOM AND WHAT PEOPLE SACRIFICED.

>>> ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, IT'S ESTIMATED THAT JUST OVER 58,000 AMERICANS WERE KILLED DURING THE U.S.'S INVOLVEMENT IN THE VIET -- VIETNAM WAR.

THAT COUNT WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE BEEN HIGHER IF NOT FOR THE ACTION OF MEDDATION, RUSHING IN TO TO LINE OF FIRE TO SAVE LIVES.

AND IT'S THE PICTURE OF A PITTSFIELD NAV THE -- NATIVE ON THE BATTLEFIELDS THAT WOULD FAMOUSLY DEPICT THE STRUGGLES THAT MEDICS FACED EACH DAY IN VIETNAM.

CATHOLIC CHURCH'S ROSS LIPPMAN HAS THE STORY OF THE PHOTOS IN "TIME" MAGAZINE THAT GAVE A NEW FACE IN THE -- TO THE WAR IN VIETNAM AND HOW THE MAN PICTURED IN THEM IS BEING HONORED YEARS LATER.

¶ ¶ >> I SAY THE TOUGHEST JOB IN THE WORLD IS A CORPSMAN OR A MEDIC, BECAUSE NO MATTER HOW QUIET THE DAY IS, IF THERE'S A LITTLE FIRE FIGHT, THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO -- [INAUDIBLE] >> NOT JUST IN THE LINE OF DUTY WHICH IS KIND OF A VAGUE PHRASE, BUT ACTUALLY TRYING TO SAVE THE LIFE OF SOMEBODY ELSE.

¶ ¶ >> IT WAS IF -- UNPARALLELED ACCESS TO THE IMAGES OF WAR WHICH CATAPULTED VIETNAM'S PLACE IN OUR NATION'S MEMORY.

AT THE FOREFRONT OF MANY BATTLES THAT WOULD MAKE THE NIGHTLY NEWS LAST MOMENT, WERE MEDICS.

THEIR JOB, ERASE THE EVIDENCE OF BATTLE AND ULTIMATELY SAVE LIVES.

ONE OF THEM WAS PITTSFIELD'S JAMES CALLAHAN.

>> I DIDN'T GROW UP WITH HIM BUT HE WAS IN MY TOWN FOR YEARS AND YEARS.

I THINK I KNEW HIM BEFORE HE WENT AND -- I WAS -- UNBELIEVABLE WHEN HIS PICTURE CAME IN "TIME" MAGAZINE.

AND HE -- HE WAS A TRUE, TRUE MEDIC.

>> THIS IMAGE, ONE IN A SERIES OF PHOTOS TAKEN IN JUNE 1967 DURING A BATTLE NOSHTD OF SAIGON BY HENRY HEWITT AND LANDING ON THE PAGES OF "TIME" MAGAZINE PERSONIFIED THE RESPONSIBILITY, PRESSURE, AND IN MANY CASES, THE FUTILITY SOLDIERS FACED IN VIETNAM.

>> IT'S CERTAINLY THE CASE THAT MEDICS WERE IN THE YOU KNOW ENVIABLE POSITION OF NOT ONLY BEING VULNERABLE TO AMBUSH AND WAVE ATTACKS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

BUT THEY WERE CHARGED WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY TO GO OUT AND HELP WOUNDED AND DYING SOLDIERS WHO WERE OFTEN UNDER ACTIVE GUNFIRE,PINNED DOWN IN THESE EXPOSED POSITIONS.

PROBABLY THE MOST DANGERS JOB YOU COULD HAVE -- DANGEROUS JOB YOU COULD HAVE IF YOU WERE IN A COMBAT UNIT IN VIETNAM.

¶ ¶ >> IN THE YEARS CALLAHAN WOULD LIVE FOLLOWING VIETNAM, UNTIL HIS DEATH FROM A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT IN 2008, HE'D BE CELEBRATED LOCALLY AS A HERO.

RECOGNIZED AS VETERAN OF THE YEAR, AND WITH THE BIRKSHIRE COUNTY VIETNAM VETERANS CHAPTER NAMING IT IN HIS HONOR.

THE FOLTZ BECOMING A SYMBOL FOR THE -- PHOTOS BECOMING A SYMBOL FOR MANY.

REMEMBERING THE WAR.

>> IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD SAY CLOSE -- I WOULD SAY CLOSE TO HELL.

I'VE SEEN FAMILIES KILLED.

I'VE SEEN -- I SEE MY FRIENDS AND MY FIRST EXPERIENCES.

I'VE SEEN FRIENDS KILLED AND I -- THAT'S KIND OF HARD TO TALK ABOUT.

>> BUT WITH SUPPORT FROM GROUPS LIKE THE VVA, JAMES E. CALLAHAN, CHAPTER 65, VETERANS HAVE A PLACE TO COME TOGETHER.

>>> THAT DOES IT FOR "CONNECTING POINT" FOR NOVEMBER 12TH, 2021.

REMEMBER, YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND THE STORIES THAT YOU SAW TONIGHT, AS WELL AS EXCLUSIVE FEATURES, DIGITAL-ONLY CONTENT, AND MORE ONLINE ANYTIME AT NEPM.ORG/CONNECTINGPOINT.

AND PLEASE BE SURE TO JOIN US AGAIN NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT AT 6:00 RIGHT HERE ON NEW ENGLAND PUBLIC MEDIA FOR MORE STORIES OF THE CREATIVE, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY THAT MAKE US WESTERN NEW ENGLAND.

I'M ZYDALIS BAUER.

THANKS FOR WATCHING.

AND HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

>> Announcer: SUPPORT FOR "CONNECTING POINT" PROVIDED BY OUR CONTRIBUTING VIEWERS.