Hometown Heroes of WWII
Rockwell:Distinguished Service in 2 world wars
By Michael Rocchetti
Francis W. Rockwell served in the Navy for 44 years, from 1904 till 1948. During WWII, he fought at sea to keep the French seaports open and to protect allied shipping. Germany had deployed their fleet of submarines to disrupt trade and supply routes vital to the Allies. The German’s use of unrestricted submarine warfare was especially effective against merchant shipping. The French seaports of Brest, Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkirk had to be vigorously defended in order to keep them open to commercial and military shipping. The sea routes also needed to be protected so that troops and supplies could reach these ports.
The U.S. Navy played an important role in protecting these French ports. One of the ships that was part of this effort was the Navy destroyer USS Winslow (DD-53) commanded by Lt Commander Francis W. Rockwell. The French government was so appreciative of his efforts, that they gave him their highest award – the Legion of Honor “Chevalier”. He was also awarded the Navy Cross, with the following citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant Commander Francis Warren Rockwell, United States Navy, for distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer of the USS WINSLOW, engaged in the important, exacting and hazardous duty of patrolling the waters infested with enemy submarines and mines, in escorting and protecting vitally important convoys of troops and supplies through these waters, and in offensive and defensive action, vigorously and unremittingly prosecuted against all forms of enemy naval activity during World War I.
Francis W Rockwell was born in South Woodstock CT on July 2, 1886, the son of Francis W. Rockwell and Elizabeth (Trowbridge) Rockwell. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1908. He was a career Naval Officer, so after WW1 he had numerous assignments and commands both ashore and at sea – including service as a professor of electrical engineering and physics at the Naval Academy. By the time of WWII, Francis Rockwell was a Rear Admiral commanding the 16th Naval District in the Philippine Islands. In early 1942, he was awarded the Silver Star for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service for safely evacuating General MacArthur after the fall of the Philippines. He was also awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for organizing the orderly withdrawal of remaining US Naval Forces from the Philippines. He would then command the Naval Task Force that invaded Attu during the Aleutian Islands Campaign. Later he commanded the Atlantic Fleet’s Amphibious Training Command until the end of the war.
Rockwell retired as a Vice Admiral in 1948, and lived in Georgia until his death in 1979. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery along with his wife, Mary Allison (Wilmer) Rockwell.
Hometown Heroes is a series published in the Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger with this mission: We owe it to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to make sure that they are never forgotten, and that the memory of their service and sacrifice will forever live on in the hearts and minds of the grateful people of Putnam.
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Espinosa takes 5th in U.S.
CHICAGO — Another annual National Elks Hoop Shoot is in the books and Putnam’s own Bryce Espinosa, a 12-year-old 6th grader at Putnam Middle School, was one of finalists shooting free throws at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Espinosa has been competing for the last five years. The qualifying process requires winning at the Local level (Putnam Lodge #574), then moving on to CT District level, then CT State level, then to The New England Regionals.
He first made it all the way to the New England Regionals in 2023, and this year was the first time to the finals. This is not the first time to the Nationals for Team Espinosa! — Bryce’s older brother, TJ was a finalist back at the 2023 National Hoop Shoot.
Espinosa’s road to Chicago is impressive. At the Locals, he shot 20 of 25. He moved to the District level to score 24 of 25. On to the State level, Bryce hit another 24 of 25. Then it was on to the Regionals in Portland, Maine, where Bryce hit a perfect 25 of 25.
At the Nationals, Bryce scored an incredible 23-25. While it wasn’t enough to win the match, it was an awesome display of the hard work he put in to get there, and showed he had “Grit”!
Overall, his shooting was 116 out of 125 shots, a 93 percent success rate.
In Chicago, there were 12 finalists, representing the 12 Elks Hoop Shoot regions. They each shot 10 shots in the first round. These 12 shooters hit a total of 111 of the 120 shots taken, five of them including Bryce, hit 10 for 10.
Elk Directors noted that this was toughest competition they could remember.
Bryce hopes to qualify to shoot again next year, and Team Espinosa (including his parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends) will be ready to head back to Chicago to cheer him on again. And it wouldn’t surprise many either to see his younger sister, Teagan shooting there as well. The Elks National Hoop Shoot was a great experience and he can’t wait to take this journey again. Bryce and his family extend sincere thanks to all of the wonderful people in the Elks organization, (especially including New England Regional Directors Mike and Sharon Stewart from the Putnam Elks Lodge) for this opportunity and the wonderful work they do.
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New England Regional Directors Mike and Sharon Stewart with Bryce Espinosa.
29th Drug Takeback hits 120+ lbs.
PUTNAM — The 29th Drug Takeback day in Putnam took in 120.2 pounds of prescription drugs.
Substance Abuse Program Director at the Hale YMCA Romeo Blackmar said over the past 28 years Takeback days have averaged more than 120 pounds of unused, expired and unwanted medications turned in for safe disposal.
“This amounts to over one and a half tons of medications that have been removed from possible misuse by teens and adults,” he said.
He added that combined with the Prescription Drug Drop-Off box in the Putnam Police Department lobby since 2012, another ton of medications have been safely disposed of by the Putnam Police Department.
The Drug Takeback days are conducted on the last Saturday in April and in October.
Putnam Police Department Captain Justin Lussier said since the last Drug Takeback last October, the police station lobby box has taken in about 500 pounds.
He said the lobby box has taken in “thousands of pounds of unwanted medications. We routinely empty the box about once a week and they typically weigh anywhere from 25-40 pounds.” The box is available 24/7, no questions asked.
Blackmar said the program started in 2010 with the Putnam Police Department and members of the Local Prevention Council (LPC) beginning with PRIDE and now Hale YMCA Youth and Family Center Drug Prevention. The twice-yearly Takeback is sponsored by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.
Drug Takeback
Despite the rain, at least four boxes of prescription drugs were gathered at the 29th Drug Takeback Day held April 26. From left: Putnam Police Officer Kyle Maheu, Substance Abuse Program Director, Hale YMCA Youth and Family Center, Romeo Blackmar; and Deb Barbour, secretary for the Putnam Lions Club. Linda Lemmon photo.
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Training
The Woodstock EMS members and local fire departments took part in a joint Life Star/UMass Memorial LifeFlight training program at the Woodstock Agricultural Fairgrounds. Linda Lemmon photo.
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