VA Boston Healthcare System

Veteran standing beside a corvette

What do Corvettes and Veterans have in common? Just as Veterans from all over the country descend on a new city each year to share their stories of using art as therapy at the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival (NVCAF), so do Corvette owners. The South Shore Corvette Club organizes with other clubs as far away as Canada hold Corvette shows for Veterans. For instance, the Vettes for Vets show coordinated through the Bedford VA Medical Center is now going on 10 years.

There were 17 Corvettes at this year’s NVCAF in Boston and you could feel the buzz. “It was cool. I want the yellow one, I just like it,” said Veronica Barrett, spouse of Veteran attendee Johnny Barretta. Richard Leeman, Assistant Chief of Voluntary Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System coordinated the Corvette event. “This is art and expression, these custom Corvettes with their unique paint jobs, reflect the inner person. Most Vettes have similar bodies, but are highly individualized,” Leeman said. “The owners share the same passion for their Corvettes as these Veterans do for their creative arts. They love doing this,” he said. And they do.

Local Corvette owner Dwight Burns, a Marine from 1965 to 1969, was quick in responding to the call for fellow Veterans. His bright red Corvette proudly displays a Marine emblem on his license plate. “These car shows appeal to everyone. My first one was black, but now I own a red one because of my wife’s love for red,” he said. A Veteran that owns a Corvette and participates in car shows is not uncommon.

Erwin “Buddy” Rogers, an Air Force Veteran serving from 1963 to 1967 also likes to participate in Veteran centric car shows. He uses his Corvette to promote the Air Force and Army in parades. Hailing from Weymouth, Massachusetts the Veteran has three good reasons. His three sons are currently serving in the military, two in the Army and one in the Air Force. All of them are officers stationed apart at Fort Campbell, Fort Bragg, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. “I am very proud of my sons, I am very lucky,” he said. He had a picture of his three sons dressed in their in Class A uniforms in his Corvette on the day of the show. “Many people have no idea what they give, they give a lot and these days it is a different ball game.” One of his sons is a trained graphic designer, so he knows how art and military service can interact.

One Veteran participating in the NVCAF soaked up the therapeutic value of the Corvette show. Pamela Panniell, Army Veteran from 1981 to 2003, travelled from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Originally from New Jersey, she loves coming back to the east coast. “You know you are here when you see Poland Spring water and salt water taffy,” she said. “The Corvettes are a wonderful thing. It gives me an outlet to dream. I imagine what it would be like to be driving down the highway again,” Panniell said. She recalls her black Corvette with white interior that she owned years ago. It takes her back to when she would put in a cassette tape, listen to her favorite “road” song, and sing to it while the music blasted.

Corvettes, just like creative arts, help Veterans smile and forget their worries even if only for a short while. At the NVCAF this year, we were fortunate to get both.