Kiwanis Club Fills Park Square With Flags To Honor Veterans
 The Park of Honor will stay up in November. |
The Kiwanis Club of Pittsfield sold the flags for its first annual "Park of Honor." With the sale of the flags, the club also started a scholarship for the children and grandchildren of local veterans.
Chairman Real Gadoury said the club adopted the idea from a similar program in Danbury, Conn. The goal was to sell between 200 and 300 flags but the Pittsfield club exceeded expectations with more than 500. The sales with corporate sponsors gave the scholarship a $12,000 start.
"Our main goal was between 200 and 300 flags. But the Berkshires did much better than Connecticut. We sold more than 500 flags in the first year," Gadoury said.
The flags fill Park Square and will stay throughout the month of November. Dozens of volunteers started bright and early on Saturday installing them. Each flag features a ribbon dedicated to a local veteran.
"This is a beautiful display of red, white and blue. It is very touching and very moving," said Mayor Daniel Bianchi of the hundreds of flags waving in the chilly November wind. "Anybody who drives by here can't help but to be moved."
The mayor described the array as a "symphony" honoring veterans. At Saturday's ceremony, which drew more than 50 people, a table was set up honoring prisoners of war and those who are missing in action. Vietnam veteran Tyrone Belanger explained the symbolism of the single table setting and each feature to it.
Iraq veteran Jack Roy spoke at the ceremony, thanking veterans of all of the wars for their contributions. Roy also said that veterans returning from conflict areas committing suicide at an "alarming rate" and he encouraged all veterans to reach out to local organizations that can help.
Soldier On founder Jack Downing said the services and benefits for veterans are still subpar. The benefits systems are too bureaucratic and many veterans have to travel out of town to receive them.
"Veterans are still not well served in our community," Downing said.
Downing started Soldier On to help homeless veterans. On Saturday, Berkshire Bank donated $5,000 to Soldier On.
"We are huge supporters of Soldier On and all that they do," said Lori Gazzillo of the bank.
The support for the soldiers is one of the things Kiwanis Club Gov. George DeLisle says they do all over the country. The club's mission is to improve communities, he said.
"The club has done phenomenal work in this community but there is so much more we can do," he said.
Kiwanis officials say they hope to double the amount of flags sold next year. But with 500, local veterans appreciate the support.
"This ceremony is unbelievable," said Army Sgt. Michael Case, who was surprised by Kiwanis Club officials when they asked him to speak. "I'm so proud of my community."
The crowd at the ceremony included numerous city councilors and state legislators. Jack Nogueira and Cheryl Tripp Cleveland were the masters of ceremony, Mary Verdi sang patriotic songs, Dick LaFlamme performed taps and the Dalton American Legion did a 21-gun salute.
Tags: field of flags, park square, recognition event, veterans,
