Page 12 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020 VETERANS | FROM PAGE 7 ished his military career as the North Carolina deputy state fl ight surgeon in 2012. He now works as a certifi ed physicians assistant in Wilmington, N.C. Marcinowski founded the non-profi t Veterans Memorial Reef Foundation last May and has since been working with friends Joe Irrera and Alex Cupernall to put all the pieces of the project in place. “We put a lot of sweat and tears into this,” he said. “We want to do good and give something back.” Although Marcinowski said every veteran who served honorably should be recognized, he is particularly concerned about homeless vets who may not have family to arrange funerals and memorials. “No vet should go unrecognized,” he added. “If you wore boots, you have family.” Unlike cemeteries, which can be cold and unwelcoming, the hope is the reef will be a living memorial not just for marine life, but also for families and friends. Marcinowski said there is a military tradition of cracking open a beer at a buddy’s grave site and pouring it into the ground to share and remember. He said he can see that same tradition playing out from the deck of a boat. Eventually, he hopes there will be opportunities for diving, snorkeling and fi shing tournaments. The Veterans Memorial Reef website will include the names and short biographies of each vet along with their military awards. Marcinowski looks forwards to providing that information and teaching civilians about the meaning and importance of military awards. While the cost of laying a AMERICA RUNS ON DUNKIN’... 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Everett Aluminum loved one to rest within the reef is about $4,000, considerably less than a traditional funeral, the foundation is raising money to help veterans who cannot aff ord it and also to cover some of the many other expenses involved in operating and mainCOVID-19 | FROM PAGE 1 mer programming available for kids as soon as possible. And Arrigo said Superintendent Dr. Dianne Kelly is also looking at what it will take to open city schools in the fall. “We have had a drastic reduction of new cases each day,” said Kong. “That’s all the proof you need to know that social distancing, handwashing and staying at home is working.” Kong said she likes the state’s plan to open gradually while continually to track new cases of COVID-19, the number of hospitalizations and the number of patients in intensive care units. “During the first phase, we are slowly going to allow certain sectors of certain industries to resume operations under severe restrictions,” she said. “One might be limiting capacity; another might be more handwashing stations.” If the numbers look good, the city will move on to phase The Veterans Memorial Reef will be built with concrete domes or markers that commemorate the life and service of individual veterans. taining the project. For more information about the Veterans Memorial Reef or two and phase three until they reach phase four, the new normal, which will include successful medication to treat COVID-19 and, hopefully, a vaccine to prevent it. Kong said if there is a second wave of COVID-19 infections, as many have predicted, there may be a second shutdown. She said the city is relying of people to be tested when appropriate and said all Revere residents can be tested for free at the East Boston Health Center at Suff olk Downs. But Kong said test results will only tell people whether they have the virus when the test is taken. Someone can test negative and stop at a grocery store on the way home and become infected. “A negative test result doesn’t mean you’re immune; you’re still at risk,” she said. “Every day brings about a new risk for potential exposure.” Moore, the director of emergency services at North Suff olk Mental Health, said the virus is taking a toll on the emotional and mental health of many resito make a donation to help a vet in need, go to http://vetsmemorialreef.org/. dents. She said that fear, anxiety, depression and diffi culty sleeping are common among people she sees. “We don’t have answers,” said Moore. “This is not affecting one group or one population.” Moore, who works at the Quality Inn, which has been temporarily dedicated to patients who are quarantining and recovering from COVID-19, said the youngest patient is nine months, the oldest is 96 and the patients represent all races, ethnicities and religions. “People have questions about how long this will continue,” said Moore. “There’s anxiety that there isn’t a cure or an end to the virus in sight.” Staff is available to help patients at the Inn, but Moore said she worries about people who are isolating at home and worrying about jobs, fi nances and the future. “The anxieties people are feeling are very real,” she said. COVID-19 | SEE PAGE 14 Spring!
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