REHOBOTH -- The war came home yesterday to this quiet place where
firefighters hold drive-through chicken barbecues. Where a sign reads
"please pray for the USA," people found themselves saying a prayer for
Marine Capt. Benjamin W. Sammis.
People were saddened to learn that Sammis, 29, who grew up in Rehoboth,
was killed Saturday in central Iraq when his Cobra helicopter went down.
Flags were at half-staff all over town. He was the first Rehoboth
resident to die in combat since the Vietnam War and the second person
from Massachusetts to die in the war in Iraq.
Until this weekend, "The war was a war that somebody else fought," said
firefighter Ray J. O'Connell, as he signaled cars into the Martin Street
fire station's drive-through barbecue yesterday. "Now it's a war that
hit right at your doorstep."
O'Connell knew Sammis only indirectly, remembering a young man involved
with a Dighton-Rehoboth High School musical that O'Connell's daughter
was in. He knew Sammis wanted to be a pilot.
Many people -- one estimate was 200 -- stopped by the pretty red house
on Pine Street to be with Benjamin's parents, Steven and Beth, and other
family. Amid the sadness, people remembered how much Sammis wanted to
fly from the age of 10. They remembered sun-splashed days at the
Barrington Yacht Club, when Sammis, a sailing instructor in high school,
took 8- and 9-year-old beginning sailors under his wing.
"They were afraid -- their boats had tipped over," said family friend
Bruce Morris. "And he built up their confidence."
And there were days when father and son competed against each other
while sailing their boat "Beth." There was good-natured ribbing, Morris
said, one of those universals that dads and sons share.
"He and his dad were so close," said Morris.
Morris said that Benjamin Sammis worked his way from flying an F-16
Fighting Falcon fighter to piloting a Super Cobra helicopter.
Later this week, Morris said, the family plans to go to Camp Pendleton,
in California -- where Benjamin Sammis was stationed -- for a ceremony.
Sammis was the middle of three brothers and the husband of Stacy Sammis,
his wife of 18 months.
Yesterday, it hardly mattered how well people knew Sammis. The town is a
close-knit place where some people have lived for generations, where
time seems to slow down because it's the polite thing to do.
"Everybody who doesn't even know him can't believe it happened," said
O'Connell.
"To have someone from Rehoboth -- it affects you," said Catherine
Charbonneau, as she waited to drive through the fire headquarters
property. "If anything, it pulls people together."
A steady line of cars dropped by the firehouse, people smiling,
partaking in the small-town rituals of any other day. A little boy
dribbled a basketball inside the firehouse. A massive metal container
held cold slaw. The sky was blue.
Yet there were differences. The next time the television comes on and
the 24-hour news stations continue their relentless coverage, some
people said the war will seem closer than any embedded reporter can make
it.
"It kind of makes you stop and think," said Dave Horton, 70.
About a week ago, dozens of residents gathered on Redway Plain, a
13-acre property where Colonists once trained to battle the British.
Residents sang the national anthem and rallied to remember the troops
fighting in Iraq.
Norman Spring said people plan to gather at Redway Plain again. They
will add a name to those they honor: Benjamin Sammis. "He will be
remembered," said Spring.
More commemorations are doubtless being planned.
A drive down one country lane yesterday, found a red, white and blue
sign that said "United we stand." But there were also yellow ribbons
tied to utility poles and wood fences. And, in front of the Rehoboth
fire headquarters, a sign that might announce chicken barbecues on any
other day offered this:
"Ben Sammis. Our fallen hero."
To contact Mike McKinney, phone 508-674-8401 or e-mail mmckinne@projo.com
