Cover credit – Matt Meduri
Veterans and their advocacy and support organizations host countless events every year to raise money, awareness, and support for the issues Veterans face upon returning home.
However, an event over the weekend was truly one of significant proportions, as thirty Veterans kayaked twenty-two miles from Bridgeport, Connecticut, into the Port Jefferson Harbor, with the number twenty-two symbolic of the twenty-two Veterans who, on average, take their lives every day in the United States.
The Messenger met with a Marine Corps Veteran and Paws of War Veterans Advocate and Crisis Manager Mike Kilano, who took on the monumental challenge for the first time this year, at Steers Beach in Asharoken last month while he was preparing for the excursion.
“As a Veterans advocate, I’ve been there. I was almost part of the twenty-two a day,” Kilano told The Messenger. “Between Paws of War, who saved my life with my dog, I’ve realized there are other things you can do to clear your mind and that are therapeutic to other Veterans.”
Kilano served in the Marine Corps from 1999 to 2003 and was part of the initial invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Kilano served for five months as a radio operator and helped pave the way for U.S. forces to take Fallujah.
“When I got out, I didn’t know what to do with my life. I couldn’t sleep and I always had that need for action,” said Kilano. “I did very dangerous jobs until I had to go into a VA hospital for my PTSD-related illnesses.”
Kilano says that he experienced significant weight gain due to the complications and hospitalization, one of the problems that was remedied with a Paws of War service dog.
“Someone like me, as a Veterans Advocate, can listen to you and talk to you. I’ve been there, so if I could do it, and you’re speaking and looking at me, I know that someone else could do it as well,” said Kilano, referencing his overcoming of personal obstacles and reintegration to society.
Kilano, a resident of West Babylon, was joined in Port Jefferson Harbor by his wife of sixteen years and his four children. He’s also proud of his four cats and his rottweiler, Nova.
“Those are my lifelines; they’re why I keep pushing on,” said Kilano of his family.
Kilano says that hours of near-daily training for a couple months before the event not only allowed for physical fitness and weight loss, but a moment to enjoy the tranquility of being out on open waters.
“This is my mission away from the battlefield, whether I’m talking to a homeless Veteran who feels like there’s no hope in his life, or driving to someone’s house to deliver a dog to benefit someone,” said Kilano.
Kilano also spoke of the cooperation and camaraderie of the mission across the Sound.
“I had a buddy in my kayak and we were struggling. We had complications with the pedals, we almost flipped over a couple of times. We had a journey within the journey itself,” said Kilano.
One of the kayakers was none other than Suffolk County Legislator Chad Lennon (C-Rocky Point), a Marine Corps Veteran himself and current reservist.
“This year was the most kayakers we’ve had and every kayaker is a Veteran,” Lennon told The Messenger, referencing some of the many groups involved, including, but not limited to, Paws of War, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Project Nine Line, the Marine Corps League, Sail Ahead, and Suicide Awareness and Remembrance (SAR) Flag.
“There should be more awareness of these issues that are ongoing in our country. There are members I served with who took their own lives, and I think every Veteran you talk to probably knows somebody, if not multiple, unfortunately,” said Lennon, who serves as Vice Chair of the Veterans Committee. “But then we come here, we have a resource fair to make sure our Veterans, Blue Star Families, and Gold Star Families can get what they need. This is a symbol so everyone understands that we’re coming together as a Veteran community and as a community of Suffolk County.”
Frank Lombardi, one of the founders of the yearly tradition, said that Veterans are no strangers to such physically grueling challenges for the purpose of raising awareness, such as a bicycle ride from the Pentagon to Gettysburg.
“Our first year was 2016 and we’ve been building each year,” Lombardi told The Messenger.
Lombardi says that his organization, Kinexion, coordinates with the Coast Guard to notify them of the kayakers. The kayakers also had a sailboat in front of them, donning an American flag, to keep the kayakers on course, including chase boats to keep them visually apparent to other boaters and to stock the kayakers with food and water during the trip.
“The trip seems tougher physically, but it’s actually tougher mentally,” said Lombardi. “You spend five, six, seven hours on a kayak and there’s really nothing to do out there, and as soon as you leave Bridgeport, Long Island never gets closer.
Legislator Lennon said that Veterans are no stranger to such types of mental exhaustion.
“In the military, you’re doing humps, you put on one hundred pounds of weight, and just walk for miles. It’s the same mentality, except you’re on the water this time,” said Lennon.
Lombardi also added that the entire event, including the resource fair, is completely volunteer-run by the Veterans’ organizations.
Well over one hundred spectators gathered to welcome the kayakers onto Port Jefferson Public Beach at around 6:00p.m., along with Assemblyman Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson Station), Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency Director Marcelle Leis, and a representative for Suffolk County Legislator Nick Caracappa (C-Selden), who serves as Chair of the Veterans Committee.
The resource fair and event culminated in a well-deserved barbecue for the kayakers, as well as live music, good company, and a well-received message.
