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By LINDSAY OLIVIER
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NORTH KINGSTOWN — The day before Veterans Day, Donna and Richard August of North Kingstown placed a gold star on the bridge over the new Quonset freeway on Devils Foot Road in memory of their son, Capt. Matthew August, who was killed on Jan. 27, 2004 when a roadside bomb exploded next to his convoy in Khalidiyah, Iraq.
But now that memorial, bearing a message to their son, is missing.
Matthew’s wish was to be buried at West Point in New York, but since his family doesn’t get to travel there much, they wanted to put something on the bridge to remember him by. In 2006, Rep. Kenneth Carter asked the August family’s permission to have the bridge on Davisville Road dedicated to Matthew. “We were very happy. We had a memorial for Matt in the park across from the town hall, but Ken wanted to push for the bridge. Plus this bridge was a major engineering project by the DOT and Matt majored in civil engineering,” Richard said. “That location fit Matt, he went to Forest Park, Davisville Middle School and St. Francis de Sales Church. The bridge is in the area that Matt knew so well,” Donna said. In 2007 the bridge was formally dedicated to Matthew and a permanent plaque was attached to the railing. The Augusts frequently leave wreaths next to the plaque but this Veterans Day, they wanted to do something different. “I wanted a star so I went out and searched for the biggest star I could find, the ones people hang on the outside of their houses and Dick painted it gold,” Donna said. On the back they wrote “Placed on this bridge by the family of Captain Matthew J. August November 11, 2008.” “I drove by on either Thursday or Friday and it was there. Saturday morning I asked Donna if she wanted to drive by and see the star. And that’s when we noticed it was gone,” Richard said. The two scoured the surrounding area to see if it had fallen or been thrown. The Augusts think it was stolen because Richard attached it with electrical ties that lock in place and are made of strong plastic. “For someone to have taken that star, they had to cut the three ties. You look at it now and it looks like nothing was ever there. It just makes me angry that someone could have done this. Our son fought so people could have freedom in this country,” he said. The Augusts ask anyone who know anything about the missing star to please contact the North Kingstown Police Department or for the person(s) responsible for taking it to please return it to the bridge or bring it to the police station - no consequences. “I means so much to me to have that star returned,” Donna said. Capt. August went to Davisville Middle School and graduated from Bishop Hendricken High School in 1993. At the time of his death, he served as Commander of B Company, 1st Engineer Battalion out of Fort Riley, Kan.
If you have any information on the disappearance of the star please call the North Kingstown police department at 294-3316. |
