Remembering the perils of the past

Boston Globe

26-05-2025

'We couldn't see them (but) we knocked them out one at a time. We went down and we looked inside their tanks. They had armor-piercing ammo, but they were firing high explosion. They didn't know the difference. They thought, if it didn't make a big boom, they're not doing anything. They didn't know what they were doing.'
Leo J Vaillancourt, 95, was a gunner on a M46 Patton tank in Korea. The sight of the old WWII tanks behind him makes him reflective.
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He says the same thing about the current commander in chief.
'He doesn't know what he's doing. He didn't even serve a day in the service. He doesn't have a clue what's going on. It's all me, me, me, me.'
'I don't like anything he does. I never did. He has broken everything he's ever touched.'
He also is upset that the president, in 2018 allegedly, referred to American war veterans buried in France as 'suckers' and 'losers,' according to a
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M-36 Jackson, a WWII Tank Destroyer, fires a blank round with its 90mm gun.
(Retired General John F. Kelly, a Boston-born Marine who served as chief of staff in Trump's first term,
'He has no respect for those who paid their dues,' says Vaillancourt.
Outside Beverly High School, everyone seems to respect those in uniform. Everyone is having fun, especially the kids. Vintage WWII tanks spit out smoke and fire. A helicopter lands. There are old jeeps and military apparatus, healing horses and various reenactment troops going back to the Revolutionary War.
It's a chance to say thank you to the military for their brave service. Just don't ask anyone in uniform if they approve of the current president. Only one in a dozen uniformed men or reenactors asked
would respond.
William Franklin Roosevelt, 4, shares a laugh with Marine Corporal Cody Vogts. He is the great grandson of FDR. Roosevelt's grandfather was FDR Jr.
'I think the commander in chief is doing just fine,' Marine Corporal Cody Vogts says, before quickly adding 'I don't answer political questions.'
In an unlikely coincidence one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's speeches is broadcast by the reenactors while his great-grandson, who lives on the North Shore, is climbing military transport units.
William Franklin Roosevelt, 4, says he wants to join the Coast Guard as a para rescue jumper. In typical Roosevelt fashion he says he has nothing to fear.
'No, I'm not scared,' says William.
But his mom, Cameron, worries about the current president.
Exploring a Humvee at Warrior Weekend at Beverly High School.
'I find him unstable at times, unpredictable. If that is a strategy, it is a very different one than has been taken by those that have served in the office before,' she says.
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She says the family stresses the importance of democracy.
'It is an office we respect, so whoever is there, we're still respectful of that office. We teach them about the democratic process' and how change can be 'meaningful.'
She trusts the Constitution. '(It's) set up to protect us, the people. But it is for the people by the people.'
But unlike FDR who was elected four times, she doesn't support the president who has hinted about a third term. 'No, there's probably a reason why after FDR, we set (two term) limits,' she says with a smile.
Edward Thomas, 4, of Beverly, pretends to fire a replica 50-caliber machine gun.
Nearby, Patrick Thomas watches his 4-year-old son, Edward, put on an Army helmet and play soldier. Edward is joyous, his dad worried.
'I would say we're in a bit of a pickle, would be the nice way to put it. I mean, just quickly sliding towards a dictatorship.'
Thomas is also critical of the June 14th military parade to celebrate the Army's 250th anniversary birthday.
It is also Trump's 79th birthday. He calls the estimated $25 million to $45 million price tag 'wasteful, and useless. Self-aggrandizing, I guess, would be the perfect phrase for it.'
Adrian Perz Del Pulgar of Peabody camps out as a WWII reenactment Marine, stationed in Okinawa. 'I don't have any opinions on what the (current) president wants to do. I don't have anything to say politically," he says. "I'm just a reenactor."
His advice is simple. 'Just look out for each other. Be a good person. That's about all you can do.'
Most people here avoid political questions like they are hand grenades.
'I haven't been paying all that much attention right now. I've been watching a lot of Judge Judy. She's been matching my vibes about now. Sorry,' says one mom.
Bella Kaldera from Hubbardston dresses in Revolutionary War garb. He is complaining about the leader: King George III, whom he calls as 'mad as a hatter.'
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Hubbardston Militia reenactor Bella Kaldera secures his tricorner Revolutionary War hat as a modern day Coast Guard helicopter lands at Beverly High School.
'If you don't learn from history, you will repeat the same mistakes as we see in this very day,' he says.
Asked if he is talking about the current president, he is interrupted by one of the reenactors who says he's a commanding officer.
'We shouldn't be talking about the commander in chief,' he says.
Shouldn't that be up to him? 'He can, but …. we're not going to get into a political warfare,' he says.
Jeremiah Manion of the Globe staff contributed to this story.
A Coast Guard helicopter heads in for a landing at Beverly High as a stiff breeze unfurls Old Glory.
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Stan Grossfeld can be reached at