Massachusetts former and current military servicemembers flooded the Hall of Flags in the State House to be recognized and honored for their service in an annual Veterans Day tradition Tuesday morning.
“Today is a day of reverence,” said 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 done for those who have served. The holiday marks 107 years since the end of World War I, when the day which would be known as Veterans Day, Armistice Day, was founded.
The ceremony Tuesday included addresses from state leaders, an Honor Guard presentation from the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, a POW/MIA Remembrance ceremony and Taps presented by the Gold Star Wives of America, and a drill performance by the Lynn JROTC.
The Captain Thomas Hudner Jr. Valor Award, presented each year to veterans who “exemplify extraordinary courage and selflessness,” was also given to Marine veteran and Boston police officer Andrew Biggio.
Biggio is a former infantry rifleman who founded Boston’s Wounded Vet Run to raise money for those severely wounded and wrote the book “The Rifle: Combat Stories from America’s Last WWII Veterans” documenting the stories of 200 who served in WWII.
The organization Soldier On, a Pittsfield nonprofit dedicated to ending veteran homelessness and supporting those facing housing instability, was awarded the Captain Thomas Kelley Community Engagement Award.
“Soldier On has also stepped up big to feed hungry veterans in recent days and weeks,” Healey noted. “21,000 veterans were receiving SNAP in Massachusetts alone, 9 or 10% of our veteran population.”
Veterans Services Secretary Jon Santiago, who is set to step down this fall after nearly three years, noted the administration’s work including the decrease in veteran homelessness, passing the HERO Act to expand veteran benefits and modernize services, and rebuilding of veterans homes 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,” said 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 told the crowd Tuesday he couldn’t be “prouder be your secretary.”
John Driscoll, an Army veteran of 33 years and member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, cited the work the state Treasurer’s office did this year to get Purple Hearts found through the unclaimed property division back to their homes this year.
“Every veteran has a story,” said 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 Force veteran from Hyde Park, said 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 noted though Pennsylvania may claim 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 as the birthplace of the National Guard, Navy, and Coast Guard as well, noting the state’s “proud military tradition.”
Donald Mofford, an Air Force vet who volunteers at the National Guard Museum in Concord, said “today is always special.”
“We try to think about veterans every day,” said 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.”
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