image description — Veterans Service Officer Mark Pompi is trying to find the family of a World War II soldier who received a Purple Heart citation.

Pittsfield VSO Looking to Reunite Purple Heart Award to Family

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:39PM / Sunday, September 20, 2026Print Story | Email Story

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Veterans Service Officer Mark Pompi is trying to reunite a World War II Purple Heart citation to the soldier's family.

Pompi recently started in his new role as the officer just a couple of months ago and when looking in his office closet, he found the citation belonging to Arthur Poulton.

"I really feel strongly that it should go back to the family if we can locate the family, and I have not been successful in doing that," he said.

Poulton was a 25-year-old resident of Pittsfield who was killed in action in France on Nov. 22, 1944. The citation notes he was awarded the medal for military merit and wounds received in action resulting in his death.

According to the Fields of Honor database Pfc. Arthur L. Poulton attended Pittsfield High School and was employed at the Wyandotte Mill before he enlisted in Springfield on March 17, 1941.

He also had a brother, Lionel, who was wounded in the same attack but survived. Poulton had married the former Pauline Fortin on Nov. 3, 1942; she died in 1993. He also left another brother, Robert.

"He was a young man drafted into the Army, and he served his country, and he went into battle in the European theater, and did his duty, and was killed in action in in enemy in combat with the Germans in France in 1944," Pompi said. "1944 was the deadliest year for the U.S. Army in Europe in history."

Mark has attempted to locate living relatives to return the heirloom but has had no luck. He conducted a search on Facebook and reached out to potential contacts without success.

He says this honor is very important and it should be honored and kept in the family to keep his legacy.

"It's a very personal thing, and usually these are like family heirlooms, heirlooms that they would keep forever and hand down generation to generation.”

Pompi said if he does not find someone he will proudly display it in his office until it is claimed.

I'm going to display it proudly in my office, and until such time that they want to until somebody reclaims it, it can't just be sitting on a shelf, and it can't be thrown in a landfill. It's too personal and too important of an award.

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Free Vaccinations Available Throughout Berkshire County

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
10:30AM / Saturday, October 10, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fall season is also the flu season, which means vaccine clinics are now available.

The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative will provide public vaccination clinics in Berkshire communities this fall, including the influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. There are about 49 clinics.

The collaborative began during COVID-19 to help vaccinate people across Berkshire County. Berkshire Health Systems started the Get Vaccinated Berkshires website and still manages it. The group works with the Pittsfield Public Health Department, Community Health Programs, and the Southern Berkshire Public Health Collaborative.

"The majority of people will always get the flu [vaccine] because, as I said, if you've ever gotten the flu, you will always get a flu vaccine because it's so bad. And just so you know, the flu is already in Berkshire County. It's an early season this year," said Leslie Drager, who is the senior public health nurse at Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.

Drager said last year they issued 2,705 vaccines, with more than 1,100 of them being for COVID-19 and more than 1,500 being flu. In total, they were able to vaccinate 1,669 people in Central and North County, in addition to Pittsfield.

Drager also said she will be carrying three types of COVID vaccines this year, which is in high demand.

"We have a high demand of COVID vaccine, which is awesome," she said. "So we're doing a lot of COVID vaccines. Also, I provide Pfizer, and this year I have Moderna and the Novavax, which I think is real important to get out there because the Novavax, a lot of people want, people with long COVID. So I'm carrying all three vaccines this year, which I normally only carry the Pfizer."

Public health departments also can help people access other vaccines such as for measles or meningitis when they cannot get them through a pediatrician, she added.

Using the website, people are able to get vaccines even if they are homebound by filling out a form.

All public Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative clinics are free of charge, but registrants are asked to provide insurance information, when available, in order to defray costs. The clinics are open to anyone 6 months of age or older, the age group recommended to receive an annual flu vaccine and the latest COVID-19 vaccine.

"I always encourage everybody to wear a short sleeve shirt because it makes it a heck of a lot easier to get at," Drager said. "And children, we do carry the nasal flu, the live virus of nasal flu for kids that are afraid to get needles."

Registration is highly recommended for the clinics. Walk-ins may be accepted depending on the number of vaccine doses available at each clinic, with preference given to those who are registered.

"It's really important. I'm really encouraging vaccinations for the schools, because not only you know if the kids are vaccinated and the teachers are vaccinated, the schools won't have the flu go wild right through it," Drager said. "And of course, the best way to prevent infections: washing your hands. So don't touch your face, and wash your hands."

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