Veteran keeps Stars and Stripes forever
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By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
For 17 years Bernard Bourcier hasn't taken down his American flag. And he doesn't plan to any time soon.
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"I'm very, very patriotic," said the 73-year-old Korean War veteran. "I'm proud of my country. That's why I fly these flags."
Bernard Bourcier, a former Navy aircraft mechanic, served in the Korean War. He joined the Navy when he was 20 years old and says being in the military was "the greatest experience I could have had in my young life."
But one flag wasn't enough.
This year Bourcier put up eight more flags at his home in Pearl City, one for each brother, brother-in-law and son-in-law who has served in the armed forces.
It's one way he shows his appreciation for other war veterans — not just on Memorial Day but all year long.
"I say this to all veterans: They were proud to serve in whatever branch, in whatever war, and I'd like to see every one of them fly a flag," Bourcier said. "That would be a dream come true."
But putting up the additional flags was also a statement of his own.
Tired of protests against the U.S. war on Iraq, Bourcier wanted to show his neighbors he wasn't just proud of his country, but he supported the war as well.
"I said, 'I'm going to do something. I'll put up more flags,' " he said. "I was going to show everyone I love my country."
And his neighbors responded.
They wave and honk as they drive by his home on the corner of Ho'omalu and Pu'uponi streets. His may be the only house on the block adorned with American flags, but Bourcier doesn't care.
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"My flags never come down," he said, arms firmly across his chest. "They stay up and that's it."
Bourcier's American flags honor relatives who have served in the military. The 73-year-old Pearl City resident says he would like to see all other veterans display the Stars and Stripes, too.
Born in Ludlow, Mass., in 1930, Bourcier is one of eight children, the second-youngest of six sons. The devout Catholic family of 10 shared a five-bedroom, one-bath homestead.
The oldest son, Lionel, joined the Navy and fought in World War II. He was aboard the USS Canberra when it was struck by an enemy torpedo on Oct. 13, 1944. He survived, but 23 crewmembers died.
The next three brothers — Frank, Eugene and Charlie — also joined the service toward the end of World War II. Frank was a master sergeant and interpreter in the Army stationed in Europe. Eugene taught swimming and diving to Navy recruits. And Charlie was an aircraft mechanic in the Navy.
All of them survived the war.
Though their two sisters didn't serve in the military, they married Navy men.
When he turned 20, Bernard Bourcier joined the Navy, working as an aircraft mechanic with his brother aboard a carrier during the Korean War.
Bourcier remembered waiting in agony on deck for his brother, who would go on rescue missions behind enemy lines.
"I used to pace that deck," he recalled, "just waiting for that chopper to come back."
Four years in the service gave him a lifetime of memories and stories to tell his two children and three grandchildren.
Like the one about seeing POWs from the war at Tripler Army Medical Center, their faces burned into his mind. Or how Lt. J.B. Welsh took Bernard's place on the carrier so he could go home with his brother. Welsh was captured by the North Koreans during a failed rescue mission and died in a prison camp.
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"It was the greatest experience I could have had in my young life," he said of his time in the military. "I wouldn't give that up for anything ... We were proud of our country, and it was the thing to do."
Bernard Bourcier says the American flag will always wave at his Pearl City home.
In 1961, Bourcier moved to O'ahu, where he raised a son and daughter.
All of his war buddies have died, and only two of his brothers are still alive.
He spends his mornings in his garden, which flourishes with eggplant, tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers. He shares his harvest with neighbors and friends at Our Lady of Good Counsel, where he has been singing in the choir for nearly 40 years.
Friends from church call him "generous" and "altruistic."
He believes in helping others, in giving back, in service — even after death. He has already donated his body to the University of Hawai'i Department of Anatomy for teaching and research purposes. He's got the card to prove it.
"Why put me in the ground when I can be of use when I'm gone?" he said matter-of-factly. "If I can help, that's what I want to do. To the end."
His steadfast Catholic faith has kept him strong and has given him perspective.
He may have lost three brothers and two brothers-in-law, but he's thankful for what he still has, for everything around him.
"It's been a long road," he said between drags from his cigarette. "If the Lord wants me, He can have me anytime."
