Montville — Thanks to the generosity of the community, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10060 has a new, accessible ramp and a chance to continue serving veterans in need.

When the state forced all nonessential businesses to close in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Montville Memorial Post at 91 Raymond Hill Road in Uncasville found itself in dire straits. “All bars got shut down. The only way we generate revenue is from our hall rental and our alcohol sales. That’s the only thing that keeps the lights on,” said Dave Lamirande, post commander.

The post has a mortgage, utilities and insurance to pay for, so "we have to have revenue coming in," Quartermaster John Desjardins said.

"I had to make a quick decision," Lamirande said. Through some ingenuity, the VFW converted its downstairs event hall into a restaurant serving hot dogs, burgers and the occasional chicken parmesan. The post was able to generate enough money to stay open but still was burning through its savings.

At the same time, post officials were struggling to figure out how to replace the old ramp on the front of the building — a project that was expected to cost more than $16,000.

When bars were allowed to reopen, the post's upstairs bar, called the canteen, could not because it was not compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. "It was a vicious Catch-22," Lamirande said. The post needed to reopen its canteen to pay for the ramp, but it needed the ramp to reopen the canteen. 

Post officials tried to get a construction loan, "but the bank looked at our books, and we hadn't made any money in two years," Lamirande said.

The ramp "was unsafe. As you walked up, it was uneven," said Bill Allen, owner of W.R. Allen Co. of Montville. His general contracting firm donated in-kind services and materials for the project.

The post is a service organization. In addition to contributing to the national VFW, the Montville post provides scholarships, hosts flag retirement ceremonies and offers its event hall free of charge for celebrations of life, and at reduced cost to other organizations. Post officials also help plan the town’s Memorial Day parade, and the post hosts a party afterward, in addition to other charitable projects in the community.

For veterans, VFW-trained accredited service officers, such as Desjardins, provide free assistance and advocacy in filing Veterans Administration claims and applying for military separation benefits. Posts also provide camaraderie, especially for veterans who may feel isolated.

“We’re trying to get the new guys that are coming in from Iraq and Afghanistan, give them a place to come where they can be themselves,” Lamirande said. He said he worried every single day for two years about the possibility they would lose the post that provides so much to veterans.

At the end of last year, he mentioned his concerns to his childhood friend, Town Councilor Billy Caron, who knew he had to find a way to help. “If we couldn’t get our veterans up here who were handicapped, where are we?" Caron said. "It’s part of our moral duty."

Caron told Lamirande, “these things take time,” but once he started asking the community for help, “I didn’t get one ‘no.’”

The first check — for $5,000 — came in from the Mohegan Tribe. “There is no greater honor than helping those that have served our Nation admirably," Tribal Council Chairman James Gessner said via email. "When that assistance is right here in Montville, our friends and neighbors for over 13 generations, it’s just that much more special to us.”

Assisting both veterans and the community inspired Home Depot to provide $4,700 in gift cards to purchase materials.

Meg Martellotta, assistant vice president of retail operations for CorePlus Credit Union, said the credit union was proud to provide a $500 donation.

Charter Oak Credit Union gave $5,000 to the project. “We have a branch right across the street here on (Route) 32, so for us it was a no-brainer,” President and CEO Brian Orenstein said. “What’s a better cause than a wheelchair ramp? And without the ramp, they were closed here because they couldn’t come upstairs, so it was just a great opportunity for us to give back.”

The contributions eventually totaled over $15,000.

During this time, the cost of materials skyrocketed due to supply chain issues related to the pandemic, raising the cost of the ramp to almost $20,000. But the community made sure the post got its ramp, with Allen contributing some of the labor costs, design services and materials as an in-kind donation.

Allen was a Marine Corps rifleman “many, many years ago,” he said. Because of his service and his love for the town, he said, “I just felt obligated.”

Lamirande wanted to have a grand reopening, but the post's financial situation was so dire, it had to reopen the canteen as soon as the ramp was done, in late March.

Still, he wants the community to know how grateful post officials are: “I didn’t get the chance to thank them properly.”