Latest news with #AmericanLegionPost124
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Westfield Middle School continues 56-year Memorial Day Assembly tradition
WESTFIELD — For 56 years, the Westfield Middle School has observed Memorial Day with an assembly inviting area veterans to be recognized for their service, and this year's assembly on May 20 was part of the grand tradition. Local veterans, many from American Legion Post 124 in Westfield and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 872 in Southwick gathered in the library, where they were teamed up with students to be escorted into the auditorium. Among the dozen or more veterans who attended was Steve White, American Legion Post 124 adjutant and bugler, who was escorted by his eighth-grade grandson Nicholas Battaglia, a member of the band who also played the taps echo during the assembly. Cindy Lacoste, a retired U.S. Navy chief petty officer, who works at Mestek, told her student escort that each stripe on the arm of her jacket represents four years of service. She has 22 years of service to the U.S. Navy. Troy Henke, district commander of VFW Post 872, who was accompanied by his daughter Katherine, 2, was joined by Sterling Elmer, vice commander of Post 872, Curtis Elmer, Matt Egerton and Mark Goodniss. Organizers for the event were Patrick Dufraine, a STEM teacher, retired U.S. Air Force colonel and keynote speaker, librarian Sarah Scott and Assistant Principal Jennifer Leveille, who all welcomed the veterans. Dufraine was also keynote speaker in the assembly. The veterans entered the auditorium behind the student color guard, and were shown to their front row seats as the eighth grade band, conducted by Ryan Emken, played a patriotic selection. The seventh and eighth grade chorus, directed by David Gomes, sang the National Anthem for the veterans following the Pledge of Allegiance. Masters of Ceremony Max Gallagher and Madison Hess welcomed the veterans to the assembly. Madison called it a 56-year tradition at the school, and said the school was proud of having Parker Memorial Park, which recognizes fallen soldiers from every war, across the street. 'We are here today to honor those who have given the supreme gift of their lives so we can be free,' she said. 'This is one of the best days in my school year,' Dufraine said, adding that he still has memories as a student at Abner Gibbs and in South Middle School. He said, 'Sitting in those seats, I had a sense of Memorial Day.' Dufraine told a moving story from his days in the service. He said In April 2013, already a teacher, he was called up with very short notice. He said in three weeks he went from being a tech teacher to a lt. colonel in the Air Force. He said normally, WiFi was a wonderful real-time connection for the soldiers back home to the people they loved. But, during one attack on the base, on June 21 that year, a large explosion hit nearby the base, followed by more. After the last explosion, Dufraine said he got off the floor of his tent, donned his vest and helmet and ran to the Emergency Operations Center, where he led the Air Force side. He checked the points of origin and impact, and realized the bomb hit on a road he had driven about an hour before. The four U.S. Army personnel who were wounded were transported to the hospital by the Security Police, not a good sign, Dufraine said. Two passed away on the road, and two were brought in for immediate surgery, but could not be saved. 'I could tell that news had made an impact on those present; the fact that four members of our base had succumbed so suddenly hung heavy in the room,' Dufraine said. A major from Public Affairs recommended to Dufraine that he take the WiFi down until the families could be notified by an in-person visit from an official notification team, usually an officer, chaplain and another member. 'We didn't want word getting to these families through online posts, given how fast word spreads,' he said. Dufraine said it took longer than expected, and he was asked repeatedly why the WiFi was down for so long, which he brushed off to technology not always working, even under the best of circumstances. He said he attended the fallen soldiers ramp ceremony as they began the long trip home. 'It was the saddest I felt during my time in Afghanistan,' he said. Now, every morning, when he puts the Stars and Stripes up on the flagpole in the front of the school, he pauses for a period before saluting it, thinks about those four soldiers and thanks them and others that he knew for their service and the ultimate sacrifice they made. Dufraine said those who didn't come home should be remembered. He asked the students during their day off on Memorial Day to pause at 3 p.m. and think of all those who gave their lives serving this country. Leveillee then asked the veterans in attendance who were in the front row to stand and be recognized as she read their names. Afterwards, the veterans were invited for refreshments in the library conference room, where they took a group photo with their student escorts. Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Restoration work on American Legion Post 124 is advancing
WESTFIELD — Al Masciadrelli, who serves on the building committee for American Legion Post 124 said the work to renovate the historic home at 124 Broad St. is going very well. The post received $600,000 from the Community Preservation Commission one year ago to make badly needed repairs to save the building. Currently, the work, being done by Sacred Oak Homes of Stockbridge, is focused on the front entrance on Broad Street where a temporary ramp has been installed. 'Right now, we're really focused on the front to meet the requirements of the Historical Commission,' Masciadrelli said. He said the front porch was more rotted out than expected, and had to be disassembled and pieces remade to keep the historical look. He said Sacred Oak Homes does a lot of historical restoration work. There has also been electrical work done to the front of the building, and a new sign installed. 'Once we get the front entrance [completed], we're putting in a memorial gas light to honor both past and present members of the veterans. Then, hopefully, we're going to have a stone marking what that represents,' he said. Other plans include new fencing on two sides of the building, and masonry repair throughout. He said a lot of the old shrubbery has been taken out. 'We're trying to simplify it, and keep it very tasteful,' he said. Phase 2 of the project will be work done on the rear main entrance, where plans are to install an accessible lift. Masciadrelli said on Friday he had just gotten off the phone with the architect, who has simplified the prior plans due to changes in the laws. He said the cost for the lift is going to be substantially lower than previously expected. Masciadrelli said Post 124 plans to remain open throughout the construction, barring brief interruptions as required by the building inspector. 'The general contractor is very mindful of that. Like all businesses, when you do expensive work, there are interruptions,' he said, acknowledging that people are getting 'antsy,' and keep asking when it is going to be done. 'We've got a good construction team we put together a couple of years ago to do the work — everyone is on the same page,' Masciadrelli said. 'The city was so gracious to give us this money, we've got to make sure we do it justice. The Community Preservation Committee was really great to us,' he added. Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
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.
