OFF THE WIRE
By Peter Gelzinis
Photo by John Wilcox
ROAD TO RECOVERY: An estimated 1,200 motorcycles clog the streets yesterday near Maverick Square at the end of Boston’s second annual Wounded Vet Ride.
Marine Cpl. Evan Reichenthal, left,
and Marine Cpl. Greg Caron, right,
will benefit from the funds raised.
“Insane!”
It was the only word Evan Reichenthal could think of yesterday, the one he uttered with a humble blend of shock and awe.
This 21-year-old Marine had just arrived in East Boston’s Maverick Square in an open car. Following him was a column of more than 1,200 motorcyclists — some from as far away as Florida and Ohio — who came to ride in his honor.
“This is unbelievable,” he murmured, amid the roar of an approaching tidal wave of Harley-Davidsons.
Evan Reichenthal, a graduate of Wachusett Regional High School who loved to play golf and snowboard, lost his right leg and the use of his right arm after he stepped on a pressure plate while on patrol in Afghanistan.
Reichenthal, along with fellow Marine Cpl. Greg Caron of Ellington, Conn., who lost both his legs in the same theater of war, were the honored subjects of Boston’s second annual Wounded Vet Ride.
The ride is the brainchild of Andrew DelRossi Biggio, a combat Marine from Winthrop, not much older than his two wounded brothers, who has taken it upon himself to raise funds for those things the Veterans Affairs can’t provide to vets who’ve come home severely maimed.
Evan Reichenthal will get a handicapped bathroom in the basement of his mother’s home in Princeton out of a portion of the estimated $65,000 that Biggio guessed he raised yesterday.
Last year, 400 bikers turned out in less than ideal weather conditions so that the family of Vincent Mannion-Brodeur, a young paratrooper who suffered a horrific brain injury in Iraq, could make handicapped modifications to their Cape Cod home.
This year, three times as many bikers stretched from Maverick Square for about a mile down Chelsea Street to Day Square to support young heroes they had heard about through stories relayed along the social media network.
Bobby Lee rode down from Kennebunk, Maine. “As a former Marine, being a part of something like this is just part of my roots.
“I am a proud biker and an even prouder American,” Lee said. “On a day like this, the real joy in my heart is knowing that people who saw us on the road, and watched us rolling in here, understand the love and respect all of us feel for what those two incredible young men have sacrificed on our behalf.”
Eddie Contilli, a former Boston police officer and legend in Maverick Square, rode in honor of the two sons he sent off to Iraq, and thanksgiving for the fact both came back home alive and intact.
“One thing I want to say about people who ride motorcycles,” Eddie said, “they seem to have the worst reputations but the biggest hearts. What you see happening here is just an incredible expression of love and respect. It’s our way of saying thank you for what these two incredible kids have done.”
It took nearly 45 minutes for the procession of motorcycles to make it into the side streets surrounding an ancient veterans post off Maverick Square. Evan Reichenthal and Greg Caron wore shorts to this cookout in their honor. No need to shield their prosthetic limbs from a grateful universe of strangers in leather jackets.
It was the only word Evan Reichenthal could think of yesterday, the one he uttered with a humble blend of shock and awe.
This 21-year-old Marine had just arrived in East Boston’s Maverick Square in an open car. Following him was a column of more than 1,200 motorcyclists — some from as far away as Florida and Ohio — who came to ride in his honor.
“This is unbelievable,” he murmured, amid the roar of an approaching tidal wave of Harley-Davidsons.
Evan Reichenthal, a graduate of Wachusett Regional High School who loved to play golf and snowboard, lost his right leg and the use of his right arm after he stepped on a pressure plate while on patrol in Afghanistan.
Reichenthal, along with fellow Marine Cpl. Greg Caron of Ellington, Conn., who lost both his legs in the same theater of war, were the honored subjects of Boston’s second annual Wounded Vet Ride.
The ride is the brainchild of Andrew DelRossi Biggio, a combat Marine from Winthrop, not much older than his two wounded brothers, who has taken it upon himself to raise funds for those things the Veterans Affairs can’t provide to vets who’ve come home severely maimed.
Evan Reichenthal will get a handicapped bathroom in the basement of his mother’s home in Princeton out of a portion of the estimated $65,000 that Biggio guessed he raised yesterday.
Last year, 400 bikers turned out in less than ideal weather conditions so that the family of Vincent Mannion-Brodeur, a young paratrooper who suffered a horrific brain injury in Iraq, could make handicapped modifications to their Cape Cod home.
This year, three times as many bikers stretched from Maverick Square for about a mile down Chelsea Street to Day Square to support young heroes they had heard about through stories relayed along the social media network.
Bobby Lee rode down from Kennebunk, Maine. “As a former Marine, being a part of something like this is just part of my roots.
“I am a proud biker and an even prouder American,” Lee said. “On a day like this, the real joy in my heart is knowing that people who saw us on the road, and watched us rolling in here, understand the love and respect all of us feel for what those two incredible young men have sacrificed on our behalf.”
Eddie Contilli, a former Boston police officer and legend in Maverick Square, rode in honor of the two sons he sent off to Iraq, and thanksgiving for the fact both came back home alive and intact.
“One thing I want to say about people who ride motorcycles,” Eddie said, “they seem to have the worst reputations but the biggest hearts. What you see happening here is just an incredible expression of love and respect. It’s our way of saying thank you for what these two incredible kids have done.”
It took nearly 45 minutes for the procession of motorcycles to make it into the side streets surrounding an ancient veterans post off Maverick Square. Evan Reichenthal and Greg Caron wore shorts to this cookout in their honor. No need to shield their prosthetic limbs from a grateful universe of strangers in leather jackets.
For here, between the live band, the hot dogs, hamburgers and cold beer, two heroic, young men had indeed been welcomed home.
