Veterans Thanked for Service on a Snowy Veterans Day
Snow was falling over the county as communities held Veterans Day observances. Above, the honor guard at the North Adams ceremony. More photos here.
"As we stand here shivering and wishing we were home with a coffee, just remember what our soldiers went through," said Mayor Jennifer Macksey. "So we can make it."
Mitchel Keil, American Legion Post 125 adjutant and master of ceremonies, said there had been a debate Tuesday morning about holding the services inside.
"But in true fashion, as a reminder for what current service members are going through, we decided to hold it out here," he said.
Keil noted that the percentage of Americans who have served is about 6 percent, half or less than during the World War II era.
"As a [Global War on Terrorism] veteran myself, a part of the all-volunteer force, let's hope and pray that men and women, mostly young men and women, continue to step forward to keep our country safe," he said.
Keynote speaker Drew Pajak, Massachusetts Department of the American Legion vice commander, reminded the gathering that on Nov. 11, "our nation pauses not to celebrate war, but to honor those who step forward in times of uncertainty, danger and need. We remember those who left their homes here in communities like North Adams, to defend liberty, to stand guard for peace and to preserve the freedoms that are so often taken for granted."
The city has always stood by its veterans, he said, the memorial behind them "reminds us that freedom is not free. It is earned through courage, sacrifice and an unwavering devotion here in North Adams, patriotism isn't just spoken, it's lived. You are a proud community with a deep respect for service. ...
"On this Veterans Day, I ask each of you to more than simply say thank you. Let us show our gratitude through action, by volunteering, by advocating for better care and opportunities for veterans and by teaching our children that it truly means to serve something greater than oneself," Pajak continued. "Whether you served in World War Two, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan or here at home from every branch, every era and every walk of life, I salute you. You have upheld the values that define our great nation, duty, honor, courage and commitment.
"You have kept the flame of freedom burning bright. You have kept faith with your community, with what your country and with one another, you have shown what it means to put service above self."
The annual ceremonies, held at 11 a.m. to mark the 11th hour of the 11th day of November when World War I ended in 1918, was preceded by a small parade down Main Street from the American Legion accompanied by the Drury High School band, Northern Berkshire EMS, police and the Fire Department's antique fire truck. Officials included state Rep. John Barrett III, City Councilors President Bryan Sapienza, Lisa Blackmer and Andrew Fitch, and Councilor-elect Marie McCarron.
The Sons of the American Legion, Squadron 125, passed out small American flags for attendees to wave, and veterans marched along with members of the American Legion and its auxiliaries, American Legion Riders Post 125, Scouts and the Wreaths Across America chapter.
Michael Kennedy American Legion Post 152 Chaplain Ron James delivers the invocation at Tuesday's ceremony in Williamstown. Below the firing detail salutees.
But it also marked the beginning of what Legionnaires hope will be a new tradition: an intergenerational ceremony that includes some of the town's youngest veterans.
One member of the firing party on Tuesday morning was Williams College senior Daisy Rosalez, who, along with several members of the school's Military Scholars organization, joined the local American Legion chapter for the first time in honoring the sacrifice of our nation's veterans.
A Williams senior majoring in physics and biology, Rosalez, a California native, served in the Air Force for six years before enrolling at Williams and still is in the reserve.
The campus's modest veteran community of nine students includes seven undergrads who have prior active duty service and two transfers from the U.S. Military Academy, Rosalez said. The local chapter of the national Student Veterans of America organization started a couple of years ago.
"The goal is to unify community members and military-affiliated students and family members with the organization," she said. "If you think about it, we have nine military-affiliated students whereas schools like Columbia have 500 or Yale has 100. So building community here is extremely important — finding a way to connect with other people who care about military members or have an interest or an affinity toward military members has been important to providing support to our student veterans that are here and live here year-round."
Rosalez saw first-hand how much that sense of community was needed at Williams when she arrived on campus.
"When I first came here, I actually had a memorial for the service members that were killed in Kabul [Afghanistan], and, at that moment, I was kind of met with — I wouldn't say resistance, but there was definitely a caution because it had been so long since there had been a military presence [on campus]," she said. "Although there had been military students before, they hadn't really congregated or been more, I guess, out in the open. And, for me, I was hoping to bring my experience and myself to this campus.
"I came from active-duty orders. I was on leave when I got here. And that same week, that's when we had the suicide bombings in Kabul [in August 2021]. I have friends, who I consider family members, in the Marines, so that was very impactful to me. Coming here to Williamstown, it seems like we were so disconnected from the sacrifice and loss of those people. So it really pushed me to hold that memorial."
Wood Vaspra was honored as Veteran of the Year by the Berkshire County Veterans Coalition at Pittsfield's observances. More photos here.
Director of Veterans Services Jim Clark explained that the day honors those who have served, living and deceased.
"The holiday originated as Armistice Day to mark the end of the fighting in World War One at the 11th Hour of the 11th day of the 11th month on Nov. 11, 1918, 107 years ago, just about at this very moment, but it was officially renamed Veterans Day in 1954 to recognize the service of all veterans from all branches of the military," he told more than 100 people standing under snowfall.
"Today is the day for us to show gratitude for the courage, patriotism, and sacrifice of all who have served in the military, to all veterans who took the oath to defend our country's way of life, regardless of the war or conflict."
This was Clark's last Veterans Day as director, as he will be retiring in a few months after 13 years with the city. Mayor Peter Marchetti thanked him for always taking care of Pittsfield's veterans.
Lenwood "Woody" Vaspra was presented the Veteran of the Year Award by the Berkshire County Veterans Coalition. "Woody is a very humble person, and anybody that knows him knows that," said Clark.
Vaspra, a former Air Force B-52 pilot, flew more than 250 combat missions during three tours of duty in Vietnam, ultimately retiring as a major. He has concurrently been the American Legion Post 68 commander for the past four years, commander of the Berkshire Veterans Coalition for the past two, and is the president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Berkshire County Chapter 65.
Vaspra's efforts in working with veterans nearing the end of life were highlighted, and his work with the Building Bridges Veterans Initiative to create an event that brings veterans together around a campfire and dinner to talk about their wartime experiences and paths to healing.
"It's my honor to work with the veterans and the family, because a lot of people realize that it's not just a veteran, but the families go through the same thing," he said.
"And it really just fills my heart to see when the families all come together and especially in hospice care, when they're close to the end of life, and you're there to give them some assistance and everything else for all that they have done for this country."
He thanked his wife for being patient with his busy schedule, "and also to my brothers and sisters and all the veterans in Berkshire County."
"A lot of this would not happen if it weren't for them, and I do it for them, because it's what we do," he added.
William "Smitty" Pignatelli, former state representative, was presented a plaque for his dedication to bringing the Vietnam Traveling Wall to Lenox and in erecting the Gold Star Family Memorial in the town's center this year.
Pignatelli said 2025 was the "year of the veteran" for him. He helped to privately fundraise for 50 banners in Lenox to recognize servicemen and hang more than 100.
"We counted 1,000 visitors a day who came to visit this wall," he said about the traveling Vietnam War memorial that came to Lenox in July.
"It took on a whole different feeling this year compared to previous years, because 390 Vietnam veterans are dying every day in America. The average age is 78 years old. If we waited five more years for that wall to come here, so many of these brave men and women would not be here today to say thank you to them."
He pointed out that the Gold Star Family Memorial is the second in Massachusetts, and reported that he is working on another project for next year.
"Every day is Veterans Day," Pignatelli said.
"I wear my dad's dog tags from World War II every day as a remembrance of his service and sacrifice. The name Smitty came from his best friend, who is forever 19 years old, having been killed in World War II. So every day I wake up, I think of you folks."
Marchetti thanked all veterans, in person and watching on Pittsfield Community Television, for their selfless service to the community and country.
He extended that thank you to the families of service members, adding, "I know it isn't always easy having to manage everything at home on your own, but know that there is a network of support here for you too. No one should ever do this alone, and there are many of us here to help."
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