It's been warmer than usual in much of the northeast this year, but New Englanders know that winter is coming. That's why the New England Center and Home for Veterans distributed heavy winter coats to 60 former servicemembers on Sunday morning, along with gift bags full of hats, socks and sweatshirts.
According to the Boston Globe, a big crowd of veterans and volunteers gathered together for the annual giveaway event. Some volunteers were surprised by just how much the donations meant.
"Most people aren't grateful to have a jacket," volunteer Kelsey Murphy told the Globe. "They just expect to have one. And then you come here and you see all these people who don't."
The event was put together by Rolling Thunder, an advocacy group dedicated to bringing the plight of prisoners of war and those warriors still missing in action to light.
Rolling Thunder had a busy weekend. Before their Boston chapter distributed coats on Sunday, another chapter assisted Wreaths Across America at the Somerset Hills Memorial Park in New Jersey on Saturday. MyCentralJersey.com reported that at noon, the group helped adorn the graves of 1,400 veterans after local students sang the National Anthem.
Many Rolling Thunder chapters participated in the annual event, which commemorates the sacrifices of the fallen with hundreds of thousands of wreaths.