EVERETT – Everett firefighters rallied around one of their brothers, Joe Paterniti, when he was deployed to Iraq in March 2003.
On Saturday, police and firefighters from across the nation rallied around a Ft. Lewis-based battalion with a detachment in Everett.
Paterniti, an Everett firefighter and a reservist, was among dozens of military personnel and first responders who gathered at Navel Station Everett to sign more than 500 hats and T-shirts to be sent to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 18.
The event’s host was Hero to Hero, a program that collects T-shirts from emergency workers nationwide to send to troops overseas.
“It’s kind of neat that here I am now,” said Paterniti, who relied on his coworkers at the fire department to take care of his wife while he served eight months in Iraq. “Now I’m rallying these guys to send stuff to my fellow reservists.”
Firefighters from Marysville, Edmonds, Everett and Mukilteo attended Saturday’s event. They signed and packaged clothing sent from as far away as New York City.
Hero to Hero has sent thousands of pieces of clothing to troops in the Middle East since its inception three years ago. Tacoma resident Liz Jackson founded the program after the 2003 anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. She took Hero to Hero nationwide after a family member in the military died in Iraq in April 2004.
“This is what it’s all about,” Jackson said at Saturday’s event. “It’s people saying, ‘we don’t care about the politics, but we support our troops.’ “
Paterniti knows several of the people in the battalion who will eventually receive T-shirts.
Paterniti, who gave medical aide to Marines in the field while he was in Iraq, trained the Everett detachment before it was deployed. He became friends with some of the troops.
Family members of the Everett unit stopped by the naval station Saturday. Paterniti took breaks from signing T-shirts to visit with them.
Paterniti still remembers when he was in Iraq and Everett firefighters sent him a picture of the USS Abraham Lincoln sailing into port.
It’s comforting for both the troops and their families to know they have the support of others, he said.
“The smallest gestures can really make a big difference,” Paterniti said.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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