Westfield veterans groups observe Patriots Day at Parker Memorial Park
WESTFIELD — Members of the American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America Liberty Chapter 219 of Westfield, the Westfield River Detachment 141 of the Marine Corps League, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 872 and the 40/8 participated in a Patriot's Day ceremony on April 21 in Parker Memorial Park.
Guest speaker was Richard 'Rich' Howell, a member of the Lexington Minutemen and an early American historian, who gave the history of the Battle at Lexington and Concord in honor of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution and also participated in a reenactment of the battle over the weekend.
'It was amazing,' said Westfield Veterans Services Director Julie Barnes, who said the ceremony and talk were taped by Westfield Community Television for those who were unable to attend.
Master of ceremonies Gene Theroux, a member of the Pomeroy Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, past commander of American Legion Post 124, a past past commander of the Sons of The American Legion Detachment of Massachusetts and the commander of the Westfield Squadron 124 of the Sons of The American Legion, thanked the veterans groups that attended.
He offered a special thanks to state Rep/ Kelly Pease and his son Riley in his Scout Troop 821 uniform and Westfield City Councilor Cindy Harris.
Representing Scout Troop 124, chartered by the American Legion Post 124, was Eli Hanechak of Russell, who was presented with an Eagle Scout Certificate by the Department of Massachusetts American Legion and a U.S. Mint 2010 Boy Scouts of America Silver Dollar proof coin as a personal gift from Theroux.
'Eli accomplished two Pope Francis Preparatory [School] National Honor Society projects for the city of Westfield veterans graves officer,' Theroux said. Theroux, the city's veterans graves officer, was very familiar with Hanechak's work.
Hanechak will be graduating from Pope Francis Preparatory School later this spring and attending Brandeis University as a double-major in biochemistry and biological physics, and was named a Brandeis Presidential Fellow and Quantitative Biology Research Fellow.
She is a junior member of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 124. Her eligibility for membership is through her grandfather Joseph A. Hanechak, who served with the 104th Tactical Fighter Group and deployed to Phalsbourg Air Base, France, from October 1961 to May 1962 during the Berlin Airlift Crisis.
Read the original article on MassLive.
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