By ROD LEE

With determination and grit, and in a short amount of time, Michael DeFazio of Northbridge has grown his business—An Officer and Two Gentlemen—into a vital resource for veterans and first responders.

Mr. DeFazio is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, as was his father Frank; his sister Nicole is currently on active duty with the Navy.

The name he chose for his nonprofit venture, An Officer and Two Gentlemen—or AOATG—is an interesting one, and apropos.

Mike DeFazio’s last deployment was to Somalia in 2019. He returned home from that tour as a self-described “desert sailor,” tired and suffering from PTSD. But also with a desire to help people in the military—or in law enforcement or fire safety work.

Founder and executive director of his organization, Mr. DeFazio is “unpaid,” as he told Harry Berkowitz during an appearance on May 11th on NCTV’s “About the Valley” program.

He relies heavily on donations to underwrite his outreach efforts, and is pleased to include first responders in that initiative.

“There are not a lot of organizations for first responders,” he told Mr. Berkowitz.

There is also always a need for more services for retired and active-duty military personnel. 

“We are vets helping vets, from as far south as Texas and as first west as Chicago,” he says.

Mr. DeFazio says “we do a lot of fundraising.” One of the current examples of this is a “No One Rides Alone Motorcycle Rally” planned for Saturday, June 17, with a rain date of June 18.

“The rally will be at NCTV and the American Legion Post (in Rockdale) and is open to not just motorcycles but classic cars, anyone who wants to get involved,” he said on May 31st. “Registration is at 9:00 a.m. and the ride will start at about 10:00. There will also be a band and a barbecue.”

Members of the American Legion are stepping up to assist AOATG in other ways, too.

Mr. DeFazio is keenly aware of the problems men and women returning from tours of duty face; including suicide.

“Many people locally don’t think it affects them, but it does,” he says.

“We have single-handedly saved lives,” he told Mr. Berkowitz. “We have a big suicide issue in this country. The ‘3 % serving’” out of a population of millions are saddled with a suicide rate of “twenty-two a day,” he said.

AOATG “was just an idea” when he came out of the service but “having PTSD myself it seemed like a healthier job choice and I have always been about helping others. I know we are making an impact. I am also working with Phil Cyr and Wally Smith in getting markers for unmarked veterans’ graves here in town. There are more than people realize and some date back to the Civil War.”

Mr. DeFazio’s team at AOATG’s includes his dad Frank, honorary co-founder, disabled U.S. Navy vet and guide; Michael Elkin, disabled firefighter, “our parts and oil guy,” and guide; and Charlie Jackman, disabled U.S. Navy vet, firefighter, lead mechanic and guide.

Programs AOATG offers enable veterans to “experience reintegration” with, for instance, a trip to AOATG’s lodge and vast snowmobile trails and system in the area of Pittsburg, New Hampshire, and a deep sea fishing adventure.

The organization also has a retail component, providing such merchandise to consumers by way of its website and a trailer as No One Rides Alone shirts and caps, patches, heavy-duty flannels, masks, neck gaiters and thermal boot socks.

The objective, Mr. DeFazio says, is to work with active-duty military, veterans and first responders with rehabilitation; to “help others.”

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