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Community mourns Lt. Col. Berrettini
By MARTHA KNIGHT
Era Correspondent
PORT ALLEGANY — Shock, disbelief and loss were words that Port Allegany community members were using as news of the death of Lt. Col. Richard Berrettini sank in over the weekend.
Berrettini, of Eldred, had died Friday morning of wounds suffered Jan. 2 in a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan.
The “folks back home” had been picturing the Port Allegany high school nurse recovering from his wounds at Brooke Army Hospital in Texas. They were stunned and saddened to learn that his struggle for life had been lost.
Brooke Army Hospital is said to be the military hospital of choice for treatment of severe burns, using state-of-the-art techniques.
A former colleague, retired teacher Ron Caskey, said, “He was a very good man — very professional, somebody they trusted. He was a confidante. They could go to him with a problem.
“I had the opportunity to work with him on some delicate issues. He was sensitive to others, never condescending.”
High school teacher George Riley, a close friend of the Berrettini, said most of the teachers found out after school was dismissed Friday. Some students probably knew by means of cell phone messages.
Riley said high school Principal Marc Budd and the guidance office were arranging to have grief counselors on hand today, knowing that students would be trying to cope with strong feelings of grief and loss.
Budd said, “This is a tragedy. He was extraordinary as a colleague and a friend, and he was a great mentor.
“(Mr. Berrettini) always talked about his family,” Budd continued. “My heart goes out to his family. They are in our thoughts and our prayers.”
Guidance counselor Kathy Jeselnick said of Berrettini, “He epitomized professionalism. And he knew his stuff. He was an excellent resource to go to, and shared his knowledge. For example, (he would explain) what we should understand about diabetes and how it could affect a student. He was always really helpful.”
As to the grief counseling, Jeselnick said she and the other member of her department, Dan Eskesen, would be available to students and also have arranged for the availability of other supportive services.
The individuals who provide liaison with The Guidance Center and Crisis services have been contacted, Jeselnick said, and those services would be available to students.
Jeselnick mentioned that for most, grief has a number of stages, usually said to be seven, and support can be needed as the process goes on, not just at first.
Staff Sgt. Michael Nelson of Port Allegany, a National Guard recruiter and a friend of Berrettini, said, “It just hurts. It was a blow.” Nelson, like Berrettini, has been part of the 1st. Battalion/112th Infantry. He noted, “Rich had his 20 years in. He didn’t have to go.”
Another long time National Guard member and recruiter, Steve Appleby recalled meeting Berrettini in the early 1900s. As years went by the two became buddies and colleagues. Appleby sometimes visited him in the nurse suite at the high school.
“He was our battalion’s medical officer,” Appleby said. “He provided the medical coverage when we were in the woods, training.
“I am heartsick,” he continued. “(Berrettini) was a fantastic guy. He had 27 years in the military. He was one of the finest officers I ever met.”
Noting that Berrettini was “the top ranking nurse in the entire Pennsylvania National Guard,” Appleby explained that Berrettini was in charge of all the other nurses, and helped administer the program and train nurses for their vital work, especially in deployment and in battle.
“As a recruiter I wasn’t allowed to go to Iraq, and in his senior position he was not,” Appleby said. “He complained bitterly and insisted that he wanted to go to Iraq or Afghanistan.
“He wanted to go over there, to do his job,” Appleby said of Berrettini. “Sometimes it seems to be the finest among us that we lose.
“This will ripple throughout the National Guard,” Appleby predicted. “He was loved by the soldiers. You train as you fight. He was an excellent officer for developing his younger troops.”
Appleby and others who spoke of Berrettini described him as modest, someone who never sought the limelight. “He was focused on the other person, and on the job,” Appleby recalled.
Appleby noted that Berrettini had doubtless saved a good number of lives, in combat conditions as well as by the excellent training he provided to other nurses who would serve in combat situations. Appleby said that besides the dramatic life-saving work medical staff provide in combat or for the wounded, medical personnel help to maintain the health and fitness of the other troops.
Appleby said his friend “was in great shape. He always kept in good condition.” Berrettini enjoyed outdoor sports, hunting and fishing, as well as running. The Port Allegany High School Web site states that the nurse’s motto was “Carpe diem: seize the day!”
Berrettini’s 12-month tour of active duty would have ended later this month. While in Afghanistan he had also worked with native children.
A South Carolina National Guard soldier and an Afghan interpreter were killed in the same explosion that wounded Berrettini, causing internal injuries, a broken leg and extensive burns. A Maryland National Guard member was injured in the same incident, and was hospitalized.
A roadside explosive device was used against a convoy, which was traveling in the Khost province.
A U.S. Navy veteran prior to his National Guard service, Berrettini and his wife, Jane, have two sons, both alumni of Port Allegany High School where he had served as school nurse for about seven years. Before that he had been school nurse at the elementary school for eight years.
Vincent, 26, is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colo. Christopher, 22, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.
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