Lynner among vets honored by Pats, CVS

The pros make it look easy, but Miguel Fana of Lynn can attest to the fact that kicking a football through the uprights at Gillette Stadium is much more difficult than it appears from the comfort of your living room couch.Fana was one of 50 veterans from across New England invited to participate in a special football skills camp put on by CVS Caremark and the New England Patriots on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Gillette?s Dana-Farber Field House as part of an early Veterans Day tribute.?I tried to kick the ball from the 20-yard line,” Fana said. “It?s not as easy as it looks.”Fana retired from the National Guard in 2012 after 21 years of service. The US Army veteran was on active duty his first eight years in the military. He spent the rest in the National Guard and in that capacity, served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.This was the second time CVS Caremark worked with the US Department of Veterans Affairs Boston Adaptive Sports program — a program of the VA Boston Healthcare System — to bring the veterans together for the skills camp.Fana said the veterans taking part in the program ranged in age from early 20s to about 80 years old. He said there were a lot of disabled veterans and some were doing the skills even though they were in wheelchairs. Fana said he came as part of a group out of Brockton Hospital that includes veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other related issues.Fana said the invited veterans were provided transportation to Gillette and lunch, and in addition to trying their hand at skills such as blocking, kicking and throwing, they were given tickets to visit The Hall at Patriot Place. The skills stations were run by Patriots alumni Max Lane, Jon Williams, Pete Brock and Eric Alexander. Participants could also have their pictures taken with the former Patriots, Patriot cheerleaders and the team mascot, Pat Patriot.?It was a great time,” Fana said. “For me, it was great to see. I think the youngest person I talked to was a kid who was in Afghanistan. He has some problems. There was an older guy, almost 80, and a couple of guys from the Vietnam (era). I got to interact with veterans from all different conflicts.”The Lynn resident is currently volunteering at the VA and taking classes in network security at Bunker Hill Community College. He and his wife, Yovanny, who works as a counselor/navigator at Union Hospital, have two sons. Miguel played football at St. Mary?s and graduated in 2004, and Janmichael graduated from Classical High.CVS Caremark has also done a similar program twice at Fenway Park where veterans get to work with Red Sox coaches on their skills and enjoy a day at the park.