Bernie Corona, 85, still helping fellow veterans

HARTFORD, Conn. – Bernard “Bernie” Corona does not like to talk about himself.

But Corona agreed to an interview, hoping that sharing his experiences might spur others to help veterans.

That attitude – doing whatever it takes to help others – is what keeps Corona, 85, volunteering as a veterans’ advocate and driver for those who need a ride to medical appointments.

“I enjoy doing it,” said Corona, a Hartford native who spent 39 years in the military. “I know I’m helping somebody.”

A lifelong sports fan, Corona played varsity baseball as a catcher at Bulkeley High and with the Hartford Cubs, a team made up of teenagers formed in 1946. They racked up a winning record and claimed titles in the East Hartford Twilight League and Hartford playoffs. Corona was voted MVP in 1949, but the Cubs disbanded the following year, when most players left to fight in Korea.

In 1951 at age 20, he enlisted in the Air Force with six friends from Hartford.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” Corona said.

They took a train to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, which was crowded with recruits, and “that was the first time I ever lived in a tent,” Corona said.

He served in Germany and what was then French Morocco, where he again found himself living in a tent during construction of a new base. He returned home for a few months after his service ended before joining the Army Reserve full time in June 1955. He served until mandatory retirement at age 60 on Sept. 30, 1990.

Corona endured painful times during his service and was reluctant to discuss them. Instead, he wrote a note detailing his time as contact officer for the state of Connecticut. The job required Corona to assign active duty personnel to notify families that their loved ones had died.

Corona made notifications himself on two occasions, “the first time alone. Big mistake. The family reacted as though I was involved with the cause of his death,” Corona wrote. The second time Corona had the help of a chaplain.

He wrote that the notification process “is both sad and unpredictable but an honorable requirement that supposedly ends after taps is played. Not so – you never forget the suffering and emotions of the families and friends that takes place before the Army soldier is placed in his final resting area.”

But Corona had good times in the military as well. He played on the basketball and baseball teams for Loring Air Force Base in Maine, and met Louise, who would become his wife, while they were both serving there, she as secretary to a commanding officer. He chatted her up and “she played hard to get,” Corona said. “We played ping-pong to pass the time.”

They fell in love and married on Oct. 24, 1953, in Fort Kent, Maine. Their son, Robert, was born at Mitchel Air Force Base in New York, and they went on to have three daughters, Cynthia, Lynne, and Audrey, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Robert inherited his father’s passion for public service and served in the military before joining the state police. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and was a responder to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

“My granddaughter told me she’d never seen her father cry until that day,” Corona said.

Tragedy has marked Corona’s personal life as well.

His daughter Cynthia, 60, developed Alzheimer’s disease almost a decade ago and now lives in a care facility full time. Corona’s wife also has Alzheimer’s. She still lives at home, but he drives her back and forth to an assisted living facility three times a week so he can have a few hours during the day to take care of their house.

Alhough his daughter and wife’s condition has forced him to cut back on volunteering, Corona still responds to calls from local agencies with veterans who need a ride to medical appointments.

He is a member of nearly a dozen veterans’ organizations, including the American Legion Post 77, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2083, and Disabled American Veterans Unknown Soldier Chapter 12, Greater Hartford, where he served as commander from 2002-09 and adjutant since 2009. He was the driving force behind the establishment of the East Hartford Veterans Affairs Commission and has served as its first and only chairman to date.

The wheelchair-accessible van he helped his DAV chapter purchase helps him transport veterans to their appointments. He’s driven hundreds over the years, from all branches of the military. Men and women of various ages but most over 30, who need to see doctors, specialists, and counselors. He’s been driving some people for years, and “they’re all like friends, really,” Corona said.

Corona said he often gives veterans advice about how to navigate the Veterans Affairs system and informs them of benefits they often don’t know they’re entitled to, like a $1,500 property tax credit from the town.

In return, they often try to pay him for his time, but he always refuses.

Instead, he gives them each a pen and flashlight; small gifts he purchases himself, that have an inscription with the address of his DAV chapter. They can donate money there.

“The only satisfaction I get is when a veteran gets out and they thank me,” Corona said. His greatest reward is feeling “that I accomplished something, helping a veteran.”

Although health care for veterans is improving, and he feels that society has recognized in recent decades the importance of caring for and giving back to veterans, Corona said much more needs to be done.