North County, Pittsfield Remember the Fallen on Memorial Day
This Memorial Day, Mayor Linda Tyer put on a commemorative bracelet featuring the name of Marine Capt. Francis E. Visconti with the date of Nov. 22, 1965.
The bracelet was her mother's and it was supposed to be worn until the serviceman whose name is inscribed returns home, or his remains do.
At age 2, her father was deployed to Vietnam but she was too young to understand exactly what that meant. But a few years later, when she was age 6 or 7, she felt the "sad tug" at her heart.
"My mom and I were watching TV. There was video footage of returning soldiers disembarking from a military cargo plane, one after the other, after the other, thin and carrying their heavy duffel bags swung over their shoulders. I was transfixed with what I saw and in my young mind, I imagined that one of those men was her soldier, the one named on her bracelet," Tyer said.
She asked her mother if Visconti was home. But, he wasn't. Visconti had been the pilot of a helicopter in Vietnam and weather forced him off course. It was assumed that he, and his three fellow Marines, were shot down.
"The casualty is listed as battle-related, meaning the aircraft was probably hit by enemy fire. The United States believes that the Vietnamese could account for the four men. However, there has been no word and the Vietnamese have denied any knowledge," Tyer said.
"Capt. Visconti may never, ever come bounding off a cargo plane and be hugged back into the loving arms of his family and friends."
Tyer reflected on all of those "fallen heroes" similar to Visconti. She said most will never understand how losing someone overseas can break a family's heart. Servicemen and -women all leave families and lives behind and many are never able to come home.
"They all share this in common: they love America and the promise of freedom and blessings. There is nothing they wouldn't do to honor their country and they rely on each other," the mayor said.
"We owe them something. We owe them at the very least one hour, once a year, our solemn, collective, and a heartfelt remembrance. And a promise too, that they will never be forgotten."
Pittsfield gave the fallen soldiers more than an hour on Monday. A parade stepped off from City Hall at 9 a.m. and went down North Street, ending at the Pittsfield Cemetery. There veterans groups, city officials, and residents gathered to honor all of those who died while serving.
Fran Tremblay of the Veterans of America Chapter 65 served as the master of ceremonies. First Church of Christ's the Rev. Carol Killian gave an opening prayer before Tyer's remarks.
Marine Corps League Detachment 137 Cmdr. Lou Robesch was the keynote speaker, recognizing the years of conflict the United States has been involved in.
"Still today we are in conflict in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. Our brothers and sisters in arms are still fighting and dying for our great country and way of life," Robesch said.
The veteran asked the crowd numbering around 75 at the rainy ceremony to remember all veterans this weekend.
"Memorial Day also means a wonderful time to get together and celebrate family and friends. In doing so, I'd like you to remember there are 8,500 flags that we place at Pittsfield, St. Joe cemeteries. Each flag represents a veteran that honorably served our country," Robesch said.
At the cemetery, veterans read proclamations, the Pittsfield High band played the national anthem, patriotic songs, and taps. Just before a rifle salute and taps, Veterans Service Officer James Clark presented two additional plaques: one for Ronald Lively and the other for Peter Gregory.
Lively is a longtime director of the PHS band, which marches in the parade and plays at the ceremony every year. Gregory is the pastor of St. Charles' Church and has said prayers at the ceremony for years. Both are retiring and Clark honored them for their efforts.
Rabbi Josh Breindel provided the benediction.
Clarksburg held its ceremony at Town Hall, where several military memorials are located. See more pictures of the event here.
King was killed in action in the Solomons, one of the first, if not the first, from the Berkshires to make the ultimate sacrifice in that war.
"He joined the military in January of that year and was killed in March of the same year," McKinney said, holding a newspaper item from the time. "He was 18 years old. He did not even have time for a furlough ... one cannot help but wonder what he thought as he boarded the train in North Adams en route to his heroic destiny."
Did he look at the snow-covered mountains and the bustling North Adams and wonder if he'd ever see his home again? Did he already miss his parents and his home on West Road?
"As that train gathered steam and groaned and creaked along the those familiar tracks, his story became our story," McKinney said. "A story of a young nation marshaling its resources of men and treasure and industrial might to fight the good fight for an enduring peace, for liberty and the freedoms we have come to know and enjoy."
Joe Bushika of Peter A. Cook VFW Post 9144 was master of ceremonies. A color guard of veterans and members of the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Company gave the salute and Clarksburg School band members and music teacher Tom Crean played several patriotic selections selections. Keynote speaker Rachel Branch also sang "America the Beautiful" and bagpiper David Rennie performed.
Bushika also read the names of residents lost in war. Clarksburg School students Dakota Hayes and Justin Denette read the Gettysburg Address.
Branch reflected on the cost of war and the fear that comes with it, recounting her own fears when she was evacuated from Wheelus Air Base in Libya during the Six-Day War. She had been secretary to the chief of information and civil affairs at the U.S. base.
"On Jan. 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke of the Four Freedoms -- freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear," Branch said. "That's what those who serve and die for our cherished freedoms for all Americans ... we must remember and we can never break faith."
She said the town mourns especially the 18 Clarksburg residents who died in the wars of the last century
"The cost is immeasurable. ... spouses and partners who shoulder the unthinkable loss and courageous children in whom the legacy of their parents live on," Branch said. "Our nation will never forget the valor and distinction of the women and men who defend freedom justic and peace."
Because of rain, the North Adams held its Memorial Day ceremony at the American Legion.
Keynote speaker Vice Cmdr. Jodie Pajak of the Massachusetts American Legion said Memorial Day and commemorating veterans is an important part of the American experience.
"In our country, we do a terrific job building and creating physical memorials… they are solid symbols of our nation's desire to physically commemorate our fallen heroes," she said. "At these hollowed places, we can see and even trace with our own finger tips on the names of those uniforms who have given their lives in defense of our country."
"On this day, we see the face of those who over the years sacrificed their lives in defense of freedom."
Pajak added that she sensed Memorial Day's meaning and importance was beginning to fade from the minds of Americans, however she said this sentiment is shifting and Americans have a new awareness of the sacrifices veterans make and have made.
"A clear component of our nations greatness lies in our ability to honor, appreciate and cherish through our actions and memories all of those who have died to ensure our freedom," she said. "We often hear that freedom has a price every generation must pay and today is our day to say thank you to those generations who paid that price with their lives."
Mayor Richard Alcombright also spoke and thanked the Drury High School band and band front for providing patriotic music at the ceremony.
He added that he recently visited the Veterans Circle at Southview Cemetery and was overwhelmed with how lucky Americans are to be so well protected.
"War is a horrible ugly thing but the hundreds of thousands who have died over hundreds of years are the most honorable people this country has ever known," he said. "While today we remember with great reverence and respect those who died we must remember they did so to protect and continue to provide the freedom we so cherish."
Drury High School eighth-grader Megan Gamache-Nehring read the Gettysburg Address and was the recipient of the George Angeli Award.
Dennis St. Pierre, past commander of American Legion Post 125, was the master of ceremonies.
Adams, too, held its ceremonies inside after a short parade in the rain from the Memorial School to the Fire Station. Marching was the Hoosac Valley High School band, police and firefighters, veterans, American Legion Post 160 Honor Guard, the Girls Scouts, Boy Scouts and children on patriotically decorated bicycles.
Tom Brown and Hannah Koczela performed several songs and Koczela stepped in to give the Gettysburg Address; the Berkshire Highlanders and the band also performed.
Master of ceremonies was Paul Hutchinson and the memorial address was given by retired Army Lt. Co. John Bianchi, a 35-year military veteran who retired in 2007 after serving seven years as an enlisted man and 28 years as an officer. He served with Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
Bianchi said it was important to remember those who gave their lives in war, such as those who now lie in Maple Street and Bellevue cemeteries.
"Those lost men and women should not be strangers to us they should be familiar to us," he said. "A part of the DNA of this community and other like it across the United States. We gather to remind ourselves of their sacrifice and the freedoms their efforts have purchased and to recognize the strength and connection to them."
Holidays, events both happy and sad connect people and families generation after generation, Bianchi said, "but when that loss is in sacrifice on duty for honor and country, surely it makes that loss extraordinary."
He urged those present, especially the crowd of children, to think about that sacrifice and remember something from Monday's ceremony.
"Maybe you'll remember that 100 years ago, the 26th Yankee Division of the Massachusetts Army National Guard was the first whole division to receive the Croix de Guerre in 1918 [for service in World War I]," Bianchi said. "It was the first American unit ever awarded a foreign decoration."
A stone's throw away was the Adams Armory that a generation ago was the base of Company M, a unit of the Yankee Division.
"This is part of the proud history of many men and women in Adams," he said, and recommended they go to the Historical Society's exhibit of Adams in World War I currently on display in the Adams Free Library.
The flag was at half staff to remember the dead but at noon, Bianchi said, "the flag is raised by the living who resolve not to let their sacrifice to be in vain but to rise up in their stead and continue to fight for liberty and justice."
As scores of spectators huddled beneath umbrellas on Williamstown's Field Park on Monday morning, retired Army Reserve Col. James Brosnan reminded the gathering that a little rain was nothing compared to the sacrifices made by those they assembled to honor.
"These are the men who endured the misery of a World War I trench, the freezing winters at Valley Forge or the Arden, the battlefield of Gettysburg and the mud and misery of Italy, the teeming humidity of the jungles of Asia and Vietnam and the heat and dust of desert warfare," said Brosnan, a 36-year veteran who served tours in Iraq and Kuwait. "And through it all, they gave every measure of themselves, including their lives.
"They endured it all because of a belief in freedom and a devotion to their comrades. They never quit, never left a comrade and willingly gave their life so that others may live."
Brosnan set the tone for a 30-minute ceremony that began with the arrival of the annual parade up Main Street and ended with a 21-gun salute provided by members of American Legion Post 152.
The day included musical performances by Mount Greylock Regional School student Jaedin King and American Legion Kathleen Toohey Carbone, an invocation from Post 152 Chaplain Kevin Hamel and ceremonies honoring the service of town residents currently serving their nation and those who have fallen.
The families of Williamstown residents Rudy Goff and Erin Dooley, who are serving in the Navy, received Blue Star service banners to recognize their loved one's service and their family's sacrifice during the nation's current conflicts.
And families of six recently departed Williamstown veterans received their burial flag from Ron James, the vice commander of Post 152.
"Although there are undoubtedly many more, we honor today some veterans with local ties who either never received these honors or who have recently received these honors which we would like to highlight," Post 152's Adam Filson said.
Flags were presented to the families of: World War II veterans James R. Beall, Charles E. Kochenour and Ralph C. Mason; Korean War veterans Peter B. Schryver and Richard D. Cota; and Vietnam veteran Frank D. Kozik.
Kozik died in March after a 20-year battle with Agent Orange-related diseases.
"One of the all too common casualties of a war that ended with 58,220 U.S. troops killed in action," Filson reminded the crowd. "Petty Officer Kozik had hoped to live long enough to see his grandson graduate from high school, but sadly, that wasn't to be. Therefore, in his honor, we will be presenting his flag to his grandson, Brian Adelt."
Selectmen's Chairman Robert Ciskowski lead Memorial Day observances in the Cheshire Elementary School auditorium after rainy weather canceled the parade and usual ceremony at the memorial in Cheshire Cemetery.
Ciskowski said with the anticipated closing of the school, it has been a tough year for Cheshire but he hoped the town's fallen soldiers will look favorably on how they move forward as a community.
"I hope you along with the Cheshire officials will try to maintain the high quality of life we have here and I hope that our efforts will be looked upon favorably by the Cheshire war dead," he said. "There judgment is important to us because they gave it all to maintain the way of life that we have today in Cheshire."
He added that even though outside forces have voted to close the school, events like the Memorial Day ceremony will continue to happen and Cheshire fifth-grade students will continue to read essays at the event.
"Listen to the words of our young speakers today," he said. "We will always have essay winners in Cheshire but these three may be the last pick from Cheshire Elementary School for a while."
Shaun Astorino gave a history of Memorial Day and said it is more than just a day off from school.
"We celebrate Memorial Day in several ways. Many towns have parades or families have picnics or barbecues but what really needs to be remembered are the fallen soldiers who gave their lives for us to be free," he said. "I really think Memorial Day is the most important holiday because we remember the fallen soldiers who defended our nation."
Sean Ginthwain also read an essay and suggested that attendees visit a soldier's grave after the ceremony to pay respects.
"Memorial Day is important and was made to honor fallen soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice it is a solemn holiday ... but a day to be celebrated," he said. "To me, it is important to honor those who sacrificed everything for us."
Hannah Walsh read the Gettysburg Address and the Hoosac Valley High School band played the national anthem inside of the auditorium.
Staff writers Tammy Daniels, Jack Guerino and Stephen Dravis all contributed to this report.
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