Latest news with #MauraT.Healey
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WMass honors its war dead (Photos)
AGAWAM and SPRINGFIELD — Residents came out to honor the fallen who defended and fought for the United States at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam on Monday and on Friday at Springfield City Hall. Army veteran, Eugene Brace, 76, of Springfield greet the Gov. Maura T. Healey at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam after the service, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Sherry Carter (Red shirt) and her daughter Laura Van Deusen, (grey shirt) came to visit grandparents, Robert Curren, Norbert Carter, and Lois Carter all buried in the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam. She was joined by her children George Van Deusen, 5, and Thaddeus Van Deusen, 2. Robert was in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and Norbert Carter was a Marine in Korea. They came to visit their relatives on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Bill Hearn, a former soldier in the U.S. Army is now lead rider for the Patriot Guard Riders in Massachusetts. It is a group that was founded in 2005 to shield families of fallen heroes from those that would disrupt the services of their loved ones. Hearn catches up with the firing detail before the ceremony at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Retired Marine and honor guard commander Alan A. Ardito, left, directs the firing detail during the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Maj. Jon Santiago, secretary of veterans and Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey lay a wreath at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Families, friends and Western Massachusetts residents came to the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam Monday to pay their respects to those that have sacrificed their lives for the United States in one of the five military services, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Martin Kwatowski, came to visit his father, Raymond Z. Kwatowski, with his grandson, Tyler Mulville, 11. Raymond Z. Kwatowski was in the U.S. Army in the Second World War and said that he has two uncles buried in the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam along with his father, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Army veteran, Eugene Brace, 76, of Springfield greet the Gov. Maura T. Healey at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam after the service, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Air Force veteran Marvin Howard, 88, spoke at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam during the Memorial Day service. Gov. Maura T. Healey thanks Howard who she had met in November 2024 after presenting him with the Captain Thomas Hudner Jr. Valor Award. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Families, friends and Western Massachusetts residents came to the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam Monday to pay their respects to those that have sacrificed their lives for the United States in one of the five military services, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Families, friends and Western Massachusetts residents came to the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam Monday to pay their respects to those that have sacrificed their lives for the United States in one of the five military services, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Alyssa Sealander, from south Windsor, CT, came to Agawam to visit her great grandmother, Dolores C. Sealander and great grandfather, Richard J. Sealander Sr. The latter served in the U.S. Coast Guard in the Second World War, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Sherry Carter (Red shirt) and her daughter Laura Van Deusen, (grey shirt) came to visit grandparents, Robert Curren, Norbert Carter, and Lois Carter all buried in the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam. She was joined by her children George Van Deusen, 5, and Thaddeus Van Deusen, 2. Robert was in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and Norbert Carter was a Marine in Korea. They came to visit their relatives on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Mayor Domenic J. Sarno lays a wreath at the war memorial in the city center. Springfield hosted its Memorial Day ceremony outside city hall, Friday, May 23, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Vietnam Veterans of America Minority Affairs National Chair, Gumersindo Gomez had tears in his eyes as he spoke outside Springfield City Hall of the friends and colleagues he lost during his time in Vietnam. Gomez joined the U.S. Army in June 1966, and deployed to Vietnam to serve in Company D, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade. After a one-year tour, he stayed in the Army for another 19 years. He was one of the veterans to lay a wreath, Friday, May 23, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Vietnam Veterans of America Minority Affairs National Chair, Gumersindo Gomez had tears in his eyes as he spoke outside Springfield City Hall of the friends and colleagues he lost during his time in Vietnam. Gomez joined the U.S. Army in June 1966, and deployed to Vietnam to serve in Company D, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade. After a one-year tour, he stayed in the Army for another 19 years. He was one of the veterans to lay a wreath, Friday, May 23, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Springfield officials have lined the sides of Veterans Way for the Memorial Day weekend, Friday, May 23, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Springfield Police Department Honor Guard fire two shots at the Memorial Day ceremony, Friday, May 23, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Springfield Police Department Honor Guard fire two shots at the Memorial Day ceremony, Friday, May 23, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) State Rep. Carlos González walks over to the memorials on Veterans Way with Vietnam Veterans of America Minority Affairs National Chair, Gumersindo Gomez. Gomez had tears in his eyes as he spoke outside Springfield City Hall of the friends and colleagues he lost during his time in Vietnam. Gomez joined the U.S. Army in June 1966, and deployed to Vietnam to serve in Company D, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade. After a one-year tour, he stayed in the Army for another 19 years. He was one of the veterans to lay a wreath, Friday, May 23, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Springfield Police Department Honor Guard fire two shots at the Memorial Day ceremony, Friday, May 23, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Springfield Police Department Honor Guard fire two shots at the Memorial Day ceremony, Friday, May 23, 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Healey at Mount Holyoke: ‘This is a moment that clarifies our values'
SOUTH HADLEY — Massachusetts, like the graduates of Mount Holyoke College over the past 188 years, will stand for science, democracy and inclusion, Gov. Maura T. Healey said in a commencement address Sunday. 'This is a moment that clarifies our values,' she said to the more than 600 graduates gathered on the lawn on the South Hadley campus. 'It may feel as though you are graduating in the worst timeline. But the crisis of this moment, the challenge of this moment, also offers a huge opportunity. … In a time like this, how you live makes a statement. Who you are makes a difference.' Healey — a Harvard graduate who identified herself to Mount Holyoke graduates as 'a Radcliffe woman' — said the history of women's liberal arts colleges, beginning with Mount Holyoke, is 'a legacy of leadership, a legacy of courage' that informs her own values. Without mentioning President Donald Trump or members of his Republican administration, the Democratic governor described 'starkly different visions of America (that) are in conflict: A democracy defined by pluralism versus a system of hierarchy and domination. Constitutional rights which are universal versus the privileges of power. An economy of innovation and opportunity versus greed and inequality. A social vision that is rooted in freedom versus fear and hate. And a vision of higher education as the foundation of our leadership in the world, not as a domestic enemy to be torn down.' Addressing the graduates, she added: 'I know which vision I stand for. I know you do, too.' Introducing Healey, college President Danielle R. Holley described the governor's vision as 'opportunity for all,' and said her status as a woman and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community has 'galvanized' the students of Mount Holyoke. In her remarks, Healey told the graduates that this moment is 'yours to confront.' 'Values and people we hold dear are being attacked and vilified,' she said. 'It's a frightening time in many communities.' Healey noted that 2025's graduates enrolled in college during a moment of uncertainty, as the world was emerging from the COVID-19 state of emergency. She said they will rely on that aspect of their educational career, in addition to their formal course of study. 'You also learned something about resilience,' Healey said. 'It's a good thing, because you face another test now. You graduate in a time of political upheaval. In a time of great uncertainty about the future.' Healey didn't dwell on the specific political debates of 2025, but advised graduates to stay true to their values and to live lives of care and compassion in everything they do. 'Life is about the little things, the daily engagements,' she said. 'In this world today, where so many are feeling dislocated, apart, experiencing some alienation, the more you can do to reach out and engage in the smallest of ways, with a smile, with a gesture, with a hello — trust me — it'll do amazing things.' One of the graduates in the audience, Bee Mayberry of Texas, said after the ceremony that Healey's remarks pointed in the right direction. Mayberry — who majored in American politics and studied the beliefs and tactics of the far right — would have been open to a more forceful condemnation of Trump policies, but recognized that Healey tailored her remarks to the non-political nature of the event. A graduate from one of the more than 50 countries represented in Mount Holyoke's class of 2025, Fei Yang Liu of China, said she felt Healey hit the right tone for a graduation speech. In her remarks, Healey drew a connection between this political moment and the American Revolution that began 250 years ago, with volunteer militia standing up to British troops. 'Some ordinary folks in our state stepped forward to defend their right to self-government and due process,' Healey said. 'They started the revolution that gave us our country. … In times of choosing, Massachusetts has always understood the assignment. That will not change. Massachusetts will not be silent. We will not back down. As long as I am governor, we will stand up for our students, neighbors, workers, communities. We'll stand up for the rights guaranteed by the constitution. We'll stand up for a vision of America where freedom is not just for the few, but for all.' Exhibit explores Springfield's witch panic that occurred years before Salem Speed bumps petition gains support after child killed by car in Springfield Number of older homeless adults increased nearly 20% this year in Hampden County 'His mercy was never returned': Jordan Cabrera sentenced to 12-15 years for fatally shooting Jahvante Perez Read the original article on MassLive.
