Blue-collar boaters on Boston Harbor honor disabled veterans with 65th annual fishing trip

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Massachusetts lobstermen host 65th annual disabled veterans fishing trip

Lobstermen in the historic fishing community of Houghs Neck on Boston Harbor have taken hundreds of America’s wounded warriors fishing every July since the 1950s. It’s a tradition proudly carried on by generations of fishing families.

The sacrifices of America's wounded warriors are honored each year with a patriotic spectacle hosted by the lobstermen of Houghs Neck, a historic 400-year-old fishing community on Boston Harbor. 

The tight-knit neighborhood of blue-collar boaters hosted its 65th annual disabled veterans fishing trip on Wednesday. 

It's a tradition that began with the grandparents and great-grandparents of today's boat captains. 

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"Houghs Neck is a community of patriots," Kevin Gomez, president of Harvey’s Salt Water Fishing Club, which organizes the event each year, told Fox News Digital. 

"We’re just working-class people. Lobstermen, plumbers, bricklayers, electricians. Taking care of our veterans just gets passed down through the generations," he said. 

One of more than a dozen boats are shown manned by American heroes on a fishing trip in Boston Harbor during Harvey's Salt Water Fishing Club's 65th annual disabled veterans fishing trip, on July 19, 2023.  (Windy Berry Hogan)

Some 200 disabled American warriors are bussed into the peninsula community in Quincy, Massachusetts, each year from veterans' hospitals across the state. 

Scores of volunteers help roll veterans in wheelchairs down the ramps and onto the fishing vessels. 

The boats sail out into Boston Harbor with police boat and fire boat escort.

"Houghs Neck is a community of patriots." — Kevin Gomez, Harvey’s Salt Water Fishing Club

Windy Berry Hogan, a Houghs Neck native and mother of four, has participated in the veterans fishing trip since she was a child in the 1970s. 

Volunteers help load people onto boats during the 65th annual disabled veterans fishing trip in the fishing community of Houghs Neck in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 19, 2023. (Windy Berry Hogan)

She was introduced to the event by her fisherman father, Jay Berry, who died when she was just 11 years old. 

She crewed a fishing boat on Wednesday, helping veterans bait hooks and handing out drinks. 

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"The next generation is involved in the tradition. I bet my dad is smiling about this," said Hogan. 

"I believe the love of this day is passed down in our families and that is why it has had 65 successful years."

Houghs Neck natives Randi Gaura Bertoni, Rhonda Gaura and Windy Berry Hogan are shown on July 19, 2023, in Quincy, Massachusetts. They volunteer each year in Harvey's Salt Water Fishing Club's annual disabled veterans fishing trip, now in its 65th year. Each woman is the daughter of a late Houghs Neck fisherman. They carry on the family tradition of fishing with veterans each summer.  (Windy Berry Hogan)

Gomez, the event organizer, said at least one veteran joined the festivities for the first time this year.

Kevin Mulvey of New York was Army best buddies with Gomez's uncle, Raymond West, who was killed in Vietnam on Dec. 13, 1968. 

"I believe the love of this day is passed down in our families and that is why it has had 65 successful years." — Windy Berry Hogan

The West/Gomez family recently found Mulvey on social media and invited him to the fishing excursion. The family met Mulvey on Tuesday night for the first time. 

The open sterns of lobster boats provide an ideal platform to welcome aboard American heroes with mobility issues. The 65th annual disabled veterans fishing trip was held in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 19, 2023. (Michael Cheney/Harvey's Salt Water Fishing Club)

"Kevin tried to resuscitate my uncle when he was hit by a mortar shell," said Gomez. 

"My uncle died in this guy's arms. It haunted him his whole life. Meeting him provided a bit of closure for all of us. My parents took him to Raymond's grave."

He added, "He was so pumped to be here. It was a great day."

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More than a dozen lobster boats line the docks stern to pier. 

The traditional open sterns of lobster boats provide an ideal platform for American heroes struggling with mobility issues to get onboard. 

Kevin Gomez, left, is president of Harvey's Salt Water Fishing Club, which hosted its 65th annual disabled veterans fishing trip in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 19, 2023. This year he welcomed U.S. Army veteran Kevin Mulvey, who held Gomez's uncle, Raymond West, in his arms when he was killed in Vietnam in 1968.  (Kevin Gomez/Harvey's Salt Water Fishing Club)

The patriotic spectacle began in the 1950s when local lobstermen hosted disabled vets from World War II and Korea. 

It continues today with a new generation of lobstermen who take out veterans of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is Houghs Neck at its best, giving back to those who gave the most." — Scott Campbell, neighborhood resident

"This is Houghs Neck at its best, giving back to those who gave the most," neighborhood resident Scott Campbell told Fox News Digital.

A U.S. Navy veteran enjoys a day out on Boston Harbor during the 65th annual Harvey's Salt Water Fishing Club's disabled veterans fishing trip on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. (Windy Berry Hogan)

"Our fishing community, our veterans, our American way of life — it's always been this way in Houghs Neck." 

Hard-working lobstermen donate their time, gas, money, sweat and labor each year, despite daunting challenges such as over-regulation from government that make it nearly impossible for individual fishermen to live off the sea.

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Harvey's Salt Water Fishing Club raises thousands of dollars each year to help fund the event by selling paper flounder placards at local pubs. 

For a donation of $5 or $10, supporters write down the name of a friend, family member or other loved one and tape the tribute to the barroom wall. 

Harvey's Salt Water Fishing Club helps support the annual disabled veterans fishing trip by selling fundraising flounder each summer at pubs and bars around Quincy, Massachusetts. (Kevin Gomez/Harvey's Salt Water Fishing Club)

The walls of pubs around the city are filled with the fundraising flounder each summer. 

It's a cap tip to local lore. 

Houghs Neck was once known as the Flounder Fishing Capital of the World, attracting anglers from across North America each summer to harvest its bounty of delicious flaky white meat flatfish. 

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The City of Quincy, located next to Boston, is best known as the birthplace of great patriots John Adams and John Hancock, the two men who ignited the American Revolution.

Teams of volunteers guide veterans in wheelchairs down a ramp to the fishing docks of Houghs Neck during the 65th annual disabled veterans fishing trip in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 19, 2023.  (Mike Cheney/Harvey's Salt Water Fishing Club)

Adams left America under the cover of darkness in 1778 to seek the aid of France in the American Revolution. 

He departed from the very same spot where the disabled veterans set sail to fish each summer in Boston Harbor. 

The spirit of patriotism forged by the hometown Founding Fathers permeates the city today. 

About 200 wounded warriors were invited to fish on Boston Harbor during the 65th annual disabled veterans fishing trip in Quincy, Massachusetts, on July 19, 2023. (Windy Berry Hogan photos)

"There is something very special about this community that dates back to the inspiration of the Adams family," Quincy Mayor Tom Koch told Fox New Digital. 

"Despite being an international figure, he [John Adams] remained firmly entrenched here in his hometown."

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Added Koch, "He referred to it in letters as ‘that remarkable place’ even as he traveled in Europe."