Retired Army Col. Dominic Ruggerio (right) talks with retired Army Military Police officer Henry Kim about the Rolling Thunder veterans assistance group during a chance meeting outside a Starbucks in Lombard. Ruggerio is vice president of Rolling Thunder Illinois’ Chapter 1. (Photo by Kevin Beese/for Chronicle Media)

Retired Army Col. Dominic Ruggerio has jumped out of airplanes as a paratrooper, recaptured a building from the Vietcong during the Vietnam War and served as deputy chief of staff for personnel at the Pentagon.

However, one of the toughest jobs the 30-year serviceman ever had was delivering word to fathers and mothers that their son had died serving their country.

“During the Vietnam War, one of the unfortunate jobs we had to do was what they called a survival assistance officer. You had those who took care of all the paperwork and those who went knocking on doors saying ‘I’m sorry to have to inform you … .” Ruggerio said, who was on the message delivery end of the job. “I shared that with five other guys in my group and we did the northern part of Maine. I did 15 alone from 1969 to 1972. That tells the toll that was taken on the state of Maine.”

That former job always staying with him, coupled with a presentation he gave to a high school history class as a member of Rolling Thunder, a national veterans support group, got him working on raising public awareness of those still listed as prisoners of war and missing in action.

“We talked about Vietnam. We talked about what’s going on in the world,” Ruggerio remembered about that day in the classroom. “One of the kids saw the prisoner of war flag we had and he said, ‘What is Powmia?’ We went through that process and said, “We really have to make an effort to educate the public.’”

Rolling Thunder’s efforts to raise awareness of the 91,000 POWs/MIAs from all wars, including 71 Illinois residents who served during Vietnam, led to the first Chair of Honor being installed at Gillette Stadium in New England in 2012. The three Illinois chapters of Rolling Thunder have gotten Chairs of Honor installed at Soldier Field, the Joliet Jackhammers’ stadium, the Kane County Cougars’ stadium, the Chicago City Council Chambers, the Illinois State Capitol, and, most recently, the Cook County Board Room.

Ruggerio, vice president of Rolling Thunder Illinois Chapter 1 said the group hopes to further the public awareness effort by getting a chair of honor installed at Wrigley Field.

“We find the families (of POWs/MIAs), pay tribute to them and find a place to install a monument,” Ruggerio said.

The Oak Brook resident noted that 97 cents of every dollar raised by the all-volunteer group goes directly to veterans, noting that over recent years Rolling Thunder donations have gone to the LaSalle and Manteno veterans homes, Wheaton’s Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans, Hines Veterans Administration Hospital in Maywood, Northlake’s Concord Place for Homeless Veterans, POW/MIA issues, Honor Flight in Chicago, various Veterans of Foreign War posts and troop support organizations, and veterans assistance.

Members of Rolling Thunder, many of whom are bikers, have two major fund-raisers a year — a gun drawing and a motorcycle run. Every member of the organization is given a nickname. Ruggerio’s is “Hard Core,” gained when in a motorcycle accident on the way back from Rolling Thunder’s national bike run, being misdiagnosed with bad bruises when, in fact, he had a broken collarbone, and completing the ride stopping every hundred miles for a new bag of ice.

Ruggerio, 77, did not start riding a motorcycle until 57 years of age and is the oldest member of his chapter. He said Rolling Thunder is often the last hope for struggling veterans.

“If a veteran is facing some crisis and he has exhausted all efforts to get some assistance, the last group he’ll be referred to (by veterans commissions) is us,” Ruggerio said.

For information about Rolling Thunder, email RollingThunderIL1@gmail.com.

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— Rolling Thunder stands with families of POWs, MIAs —