By Rod Lee

You might say that Hunter Lavigne is literally rocketing toward a meteoric career in the newly formed U.S. Space Force, on the wings of a celebratory sendoff event held for him at the Grange Hall in Charlton on June 25th.

 Brig. Gen. Sean Collins, World War II Army veteran Howard Seifert Sr. and Mr. Seifert’s great grandson 

Hunter Lavigne enjoy a moment together in celebration of Hunter’s recent graduation from Norwich University.

A graduate of Shepherd Hill and more recently Norwich University, where he was commissioned as an officer, Hunter, who is twenty-two years old, received well wishes from family, friends, veterans and USAF Brig. Gen. Sean Collins in a brief, upbeat ceremony on a warm Saturday morning in Charlton Center.

Looking on, and standing to shout “attention!” and offer a salute at one point, was Hunter’s great grandfather Howard Seifert Sr., an Army veteran of World War II who, at 104, is still spry and, as Hunter put it,  “full of lots of cool stories.”

Hunter and his great grandfather enjoy a strong bond. “Making him proud gives me a feeling I can’t even describe,” Hunter, ramrod straight as he watched people come into the Grange Hall, said.

Like Hunter, Mr. Seifert’s loved ones hold him close to their hearts, “first granddaughter” Ginger said, while waiting for the recognition of Hunter to start.

“We drove in from the Vineyard,” she said. “Today is going to be a pretty historic day. Grampa is always our first stop, once a month. Hunter’s sister Jaqualyn and her husband Rob Flynn are in the Air Force too. They are stationed in Montana.

“Grampa,” she said, referring to Mr. Seifert, “was presented with a golden cane” recently. “We have done Sunday dinners at his house here in Charlton forever. Grandma (Dorothy Seifert) died at age eighty-seven, sixteen years ago. They had three children together, Judy, Stanley and Howard Jr.”

Arriving to offer congratulations to Hunter, Brig. Gen. Collins, in meeting him for the first time and shaking his hand, said “you are a tall glass of water I see.”

In bestowing praise on Hunter for his choice of the U.S. Air Force and a military career, Brig. Gen. Collins said “I am so pleased to be in the company of greatness. It is privilege to stand on the shoulders of those who went before us. Our veterans are precious. It is an honor and a privilege to be here.”

He then gave the freshly minted lieutenant a piece of the “coaching advice” that he in turn received as a young airman; which is, “I found out who gets the work done is the enlisted corps. As a lieutenant,” he told his audience, “Hunter already has an awesome responsibility as an officer in the U.S. Space Force, which is only two years old. And he has grown up in the shadow of his great grandfather’s story.”

When it was time to exchange salutes, Hunter returned the brigadier general’s and then said “I messed that up big-time!”

Brig. Gen. Collins laughed the remark off.

 “We are all family,” he said. 

Contact Rod Lee at [email protected] or 774-232-2999.