Massachusetts former and present army servicemembers flooded the Corridor of Flags within the State Home to be acknowledged and honored for his or her service in an annual Veterans Day custom Tuesday morning.
“Today is a day of reverence,” stated Gov. Maura Healey. “It’s a day of respect. It should also be a day of celebration, I believe, for the willingness of men and women to come forward, over the years, through decades, through centuries, from Massachusetts and around this country, to do something for the greater good. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
State leaders highlighted the service of Massachusetts’s veterans on Tuesday and the work the state has achieved for many who have served. The vacation marks 107 years for the reason that finish of World Struggle I, when the day which might be referred to as Veterans Day, Armistice Day, was based.
The ceremony Tuesday included addresses from state leaders, an Honor Guard presentation from the Historic and Honorable Artillery Firm, a POW/MIA Remembrance ceremony and Faucets introduced by the Gold Star Wives of America, and a drill efficiency by the Lynn JROTC.
The Captain Thomas Hudner Jr. Valor Award, introduced annually to veterans who “exemplify extraordinary courage and selflessness,” was additionally given to Marine veteran and Boston police officer Andrew Biggio.
Biggio is a former infantry rifleman who based Boston’s Wounded Vet Run to lift cash for these severely wounded and wrote the guide “The Rifle: Combat Stories from America’s Last WWII Veterans” documenting the tales of 200 who served in WWII.
The group Soldier On, a Pittsfield nonprofit devoted to ending veteran homelessness and supporting these dealing with housing instability, was awarded the Captain Thomas Kelley Neighborhood Engagement Award.
“Soldier On has also stepped up big to feed hungry veterans in recent days and weeks,” Healey famous. “21,000 veterans were receiving SNAP in Massachusetts alone, 9 or 10% of our veteran population.”
Veterans Companies Secretary Jon Santiago, who is about to step down this fall after practically three years, famous the administration’s work together with the lower in veteran homelessness, passing the HERO Act to broaden veteran advantages and modernize companies, and rebuilding of veterans houses after the tragic hit of COVID-19.
“It’s really the stories that have really inspired me the most, whether it’s the homeless veteran who finally got his pair of keys, who could get the care that he needed to move on with his life,” stated Santiago. “Or the Gold Star families, a Gold Star mother in particular, who lost her son in Iraq and devoted her life to supporting next generation of soldiers.”
Santiago advised the gang Tuesday he couldn’t be “prouder be your secretary.”
John Driscoll, an Military veteran of 33 years and member of the Historic and Honorable Artillery Firm of Massachusetts, cited the work the state Treasurer’s workplace did this 12 months to get Purple Hearts discovered by the unclaimed property division again to their houses this 12 months.
“Every veteran has a story,” stated Driscoll. “And those medals mean something on our chests. Really the story has to be told to the family members, and the public get to appreciate it more. So that’s what I took away. Was a good reminder of that today.”
Col. Paul Murphy, an Air Drive veteran from Hyde Park, stated he’s “proud to be from Boston on Veterans Day, because we started it all.”
The Marines hit their 250th anniversary on Monday, and Healey famous although Pennsylvania could declare their founding, it was “Gen. George Washington who was the first to order soldiers in the Continental Army to serve aboard ships in Massachusetts.” The governor cited Massachusetts because the birthplace of the Nationwide Guard, Navy, and Coast Guard as effectively, noting the state’s “proud military tradition.”
Donald Mofford, an Air Drive vet who volunteers on the Nationwide Guard Museum in Harmony, stated “today is always special.”
“We try to think about veterans every day,” stated Mofford. “But this day brings us out and gives us a special meeting just to say thank you to all who have served and especially those who lost their lives.”
