General salutes hometown heroes
U.S.M.C. Maj. Gen. John Broadmeadow, a Rhode Island native, to attend Pawtucket’s 21 Heroes dedication
When Marine Corps Major General John J. Broadmeadow, a Pawtucket native, first heard about the city’s 21 Heroes from the Vietnam War, he almost immediately knew what kind of people these soldiers were.
“When reading about the 21 Heroes, what struck me was these were ordinary guys from an ordinary town who sacrificed everything for their country,” the Major General said by phone from his Pentagon office on Wednesday. “The book (They Heard the Bugle’s Call), made an interesting connection to the families, and what they lost, and to the community and what it lost.”
The 55-year-old military man was so moved by the 21 Heroes story, he decided to make room in his packed schedule and return to Pawtucket for the May 21 monument dedication ceremony at Slater Park.
Broadmeadow, who grew up in the Fairlawn section of Pawtucket and graduated from St. Raphael Academy in 1979, understands ordinary people because he is one of them.
“My parents moved to the Fairlawn neighborhood in the 1950s,” he said. “I went to St. Maria Goretti at first and then to public schools, including Nathanael Greene Elementary and Slater Junior High. My father was a St. Ray’s grad and that’s where I went to high school.”
Broadmeadow’s father, Edward, served as a flight engineer on B-17 bombers flying combat missions over Europe during World War II.
“My dad was a huge influence on my life,” he said. “He graduated from St. Ray’s in 1941 and joined the Army not long after Pearl Harbor. He was very humble, a quiet man who did not talk about his military service. My father had some very visible wounds from the war. He participated in the D-Day invasion and was wounded late in that summer (1944). Officially, dad was a flight engineer responsible for the plane during the flight. His battle station was the turret gun located right behind the pilots. His normal duty station jump seat was right between the pilots.”
The Broadmeadow family has a strong military background. Edward’s brother, Joseph, joined the Marines and fought in the Korean War’s infamous battle at Chosin Reservoir.
Because of this family history, it seemed only natural that John Broadmeadow would be drawn to the military while growing up.
“My dad was a little disappointed when I became fascinated with World War II airplanes,” John said. “He was one of those ‘Old School’ guys who didn’t talk about the war at all. Unfortunately, because of that, I only heard a couple of war stories from him, and they were about his buddies and never about combat.”
John Broadmeadow came of age during the 1970s, and his interest in airplanes triggered a desire to attend college at the Air Force Academy.
“I got beat out for the nomination,” he explained. “That’s why I enrolled at Norwich University. I ended up loving it there. Great school. The Corps of Cadets. It was a really formative time in my life. My original plan was to graduate and join the Air Force but instead I graduated and joined the Marines. Norwich changed the direction I was going in my life but not my resolve to serve in the military.”
Broadmeadow also met his wife at Norwich.
“Karen and I began dating 100 days before graduation and were married in July of 1984,” he said with the precise memory of a military man.
The young Marine officer added to his education, attaining a dual Master’s degree in Business Administration and Computer Resources Management from Webster University while also ful- filling his military responsibilities at the time.
“Webster had satellite schools on many military installations in those days,” Broadmeadow recalled. “I was stationed at Camp Pendleton and took classes at night during the late 1980s.”
When the first Gulf War broke out in 1991, Broadmeadow served behind the scenes as a recruiting officer in New York.
“I was assigned to the war zone at the end of the war,” he said, “for cleanup and administrative duties, taking care of the equipment and putting it back on the ships.”
When 9/11 jolted the nation’s psyche one decade later, Broadmeadow’s time to fight had come.
“I would serve four tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan,” he admitted. “I was stationed at Camp Pendleton in August 2001. After 9/11, I was assigned to the First Marine Expeditionary Brigade and to Naval Task Force 58 which did the initial invasion of Afghanistan. I went to work for then-Brigadier General James Mattis, a pretty impressive guy. When he left First Division, I became his Chief of Staff. We did the march up to Baghdad. And then we went into Al Anbar Province. After that, I took command of a Marine Wing squadron and went back to Ramadi and Fallujah in 2004-05.”
Broadmeadow would climb the promotional ladder during this stretch, becoming a Lt. Colonel and then Colonel. He attained the rank of General before heading back to Afghanistan in 2009. The appointment to Major General came in July 2015.
The career military man returns to Rhode Island “three or four times a year.” His son, Benjamin, is a Captain in the Marine Corps.
“My mother died three years ago,” the straight-talking Major General said, “but we have a lot of family in Lincoln and Seekonk. We come back for the holidays whenever we can, for Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
One of Broadmeadow’s Marine comrades, Scott Smith, retired and landed a job advising Tolman High’s Junior ROTC program. The former Command Sergeant Major became aware of the 21 Heroes project this spring and informed the Major General of its upcoming monument dedication ceremony.
“I am going to make my schedule work so that I can get back to Pawtucket for the ceremony,” John Broadmeadow said. “I have always held great respect for soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. I feel our country owes them a lot. Today, we recognize and appreciate our soldiers when they come home from combat. We thank them all. Vietnam vets did not get that kind of respect. I want to show them that respect on May 21 and I also want to meet with the families who sacrificed so much.”
The 21 Heroes monument dedication ceremony takes place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 21, at Slater Park.