Above: Southborough scouts were among those who honored fallen soldiers on Monday morning (photo by Beth Melo)
Over the weekend, the town held its annual Memorial Day Services. Below are some shared images from the events. (Click thumbnails to enlarge.)
On a beautiful Friday night, volunteers flocked to the cemetery to place and refresh flags at the graves of veterans in the rural cemetery.
Prior to the flag placing, Commander Steve Whynot reminded the crowd of the valiant service of Southborough’s Medal of Honor recipient, Civil War veteran Corporal Osgood Hadley.
(You can find out more about the soldier in an old My Southborough post and this geneology website.)
On a cool, misty Monday morning, a crowd of Southborough residents turned out to honor the town’s veterans and remember those lost in battle. The annual Memorial Day parade passed through downtown and then wound its way to each of the town’s cemeteries and war memorials.
At each stop tribute was paid to Southborough residents killed in battle, from the Revolutionary War through Vietnam. Names were read, prayers were said, speeches were given, a gun salute was fired, and Taps was trumpeted. In addition to the marching scouts, school bands, and officials, the ceremonies were observed by many residents who followed the parade to honor soldiers’ sacrifices.
In keeping with long tradition, Trottier 6th grader Riya Mahanta read the Gettysburg Address at the Civil War Memorial. At the final stop, the All Wars Memorial on the Common, musical tributes were paid by Algonquin singers, the Trottier band, and the Algonquin marching band.
The ceremony ended with a celebration at the VFW/American Legion Headquarters and the traditional handing out of Hoodsie Cups.
During the final ceremony, Commander Steve Whynot presented a special gift to Korean War veteran Dick Varney, who will be taking an HONOR FLIGHT this summer. I followed up with Commander Whynot for more details.
He told me that Varney flew more than 40 missions over Korean during that “Police Action”. He did photo recon in a B-29, sometimes flying 28 straight hours from his base in Japan over Korea.
On June 17th, Varney will fly out of Boston as one of 60 WWII and Korean Veterans visiting Washington, DC. via the HONOR FLIGHT program that day. The program flies the veterans at no cost. But escorts must pay $600 to cover travel. On Monday, Whynot presented Varney with a check to cover the cost for his son to accompany him on the trip.
Whynot explained:
Southborough VFW Post 3276 – which I am the Commander – elected to cover those costs as a tribute to Dick and his service. Not only to our nation during the Korean War but also as a member of the VFW Post which he is a life member.
Dick [has] never been to DC – and will have the opportunity to visit the Korean War Memorial, WWII Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. They treat the men and women as the real heroes that they are.
(You can learn more about HONOR FLIGHT here.)
