A Life-Changing Weekend for the Warriors

By Katie McFadden

It was a weekend made for heroes. From the moment they arrived in town on Thursday, July 10, to the farewell Mass on the morning of Sunday, July 13, the veteran participants from Hope for the Warriors and their families, had the red carpet of appreciation rolled out for Rockaway Warrior Weekend. But it’s what they took with them that will last a lifetime and will keep them coming back for more.

On Thursday, leaving from Rescue 5 in Staten Island, the nearly 30 warriors and their families, were led by an NYPD, FDNY and Rolling Thunder escort through the Belt Parkway and over the Marine Parkway Bridge into Rockaway, for the start of an epic weekend of fun on the water, lunches, dinners, and even a concert with actor Gary Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band. And here, locally, residents of all ages lined the streets in their red, white and blue best, to give these heroes the welcome they deserve, and one the warriors will never forget.

The turnout even impressed one of the weekend’s organizers, firefighter Richie Cannon, who continued the longtime tradition a few years ago, working with Hope for the Warriors. “Honestly, we haven’t seen the streets lined like that since maybe the first couple years that this event was taking place in the early 2000s,” Cannon said. “Literally thousands of people were lining the streets in Rockaway. St. Francis had bleachers up and it was packed. Memorial Circle was packed. It truly was amazing. We had people texting and calling us before, saying they were having people over their house just for the event. It was a home run. Coming through Roxbury and Breezy Point, again people were lining the streets there and the veterans and their families were really amazed. A lot of them come from small towns, and they were amazed how the streets of New York City stopped for them, how the Belt Parkway moved with a police escort and how the city that never sleeps stood still for these guys coming into Rockaway.”

Speaking to the veterans throughout the weekend, it was clear they were touched by the outpouring of support from the beginning. “The parade was such a great experience. The thing that really got me was each firehouse in Brooklyn and Staten Island, was on the overpasses, standing there, saluting us. That teared me up. They really cared. Especially for first responders to do that, I feel honored,” U.S. Marine Corps veteran Cliff Burgos, who experienced the weekend for the first time, said. Christian B., a U.S. Navy veteran from Orlando, shared similar sentiments about the welcome. “It’s fantastic. It’s a great recognition for veterans. It was very emotional to see so many people out here being patriotic, especially with today’s times,” Christian said.

For many, it was a return trip, but one that was just as emotional and meaningful. For Jason Wheeler, a U.S. Army veteran and double amputee, experiencing his seventh Rockaway Warrior Weekend, it was like experiencing his welcome home from the Army all over said. “I was crying like a baby. It still gets you. It’s just so emotional, like you just came back yesterday,” Wheeler said.

For Jamie Slife, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served for 23 years, including seven deployments, mostly to Iraq, the whole experience of the weekend is “life-changing.” And it’s why he keeps coming back, bringing his children from Ohio, and recruiting fellow warriors to experience the weekend for themselves. But as a humble hero himself, what is most life-changing is learning about the reason behind the weekend and the hometown heroes who host it.

“I came up life-changing. I get asked to come back year after year and I leave it up to my kids, and they want to come back. I’ve been here four times and every time, I bring new people,” Slife said. “That parade changes everything. We only know New York as one way, but then you see all of these people out lining the streets and you get to see the fire department saluting us and I still tear up over it. This is such a life-changing event for me.”

Why? For many of the veterans, it’s what they learn after that first welcome dinner at the Rockaway Point Yacht Club and taking a ride up to the Breezy Point 9/11 Memorial, where the Rockaway Warrior Weekend organizers explain why they put out all the stops for those who took over in the fight abroad, after the FDNY responded to the World Trade Center and lost so many fellow hometown heroes.

“It’s being a part of something bigger. I’m humbled and honored to be here,” Slife said.  “I was in 23 years, and it seems like such a lifetime ago, I retired in 2017. But I keep coming back because they invite me back, which means they believe in me. This is their thanking me, but I’m honored for them to remember me. They do something every day as firefighters. They run in to crap every day when everyone else is running away and it takes a special breed around that and I want my family to see that, for my kids to recognize that.” And it seems to be working. “My son was trying to be a lineman, but he said they’re focused on the money. He said to me, ‘I think I want to do some kind of service, maybe firefighting.’ When they come here, it’s a different way of looking at life,” Slife said. “That’s what’s life-changing. It’s that perspective shift. It’s filling up our cup, being near the servant leadership, being around real men and women who are willing to sacrifice their own lives for other people. I think that’s the key to this whole thing.”

In addition to the parade, the warriors were treated to surfing lessons from AmpSurf on the ocean, bayside activities like kayaking, paddle boarding, fishing and sailing, lunches by Bishops Barn and Russo’s on the Bay, dinner at the Harbor Light courtesy of The Graybeards, a concert featuring Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band at the Breezy Point Ballfield, a luau dinner, and a farewell Mass back at the 9/11 Memorial to send them a reminder of why Rockaway and Breezy Point pay it forward to our heroes.