Bedford residents observed Veterans Day 2019 locally (click this link to see images from Veterans Memorial Park) and in Washington, DC.
In the Nation’s Capitol
Teresa Harrington, a member of the Volunteer Services staff at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital on Springs Road, won the VA’s annual Veterans Day poster contest (learn about her design and read a PDF of her father’s diary) and traveled to Washington on Veterans Day.
A lifelong Billerica resident, Harrington’s father, James Michael Battcock, received medical care at the Bedford VA, and his daughter often accompanied him to appointments. When she applied for a position with the VA some 18 years ago, she brought both her professional background and a deep-seated understanding of the VA’s mission to her work.
The winning poster has deep local connections. Designed by Harrington and incorporating a photograph by Laurel Holland, Chief, Voluntary Service at the Bedford VA, it was used as the cover for the ceremonial program at Arlington National Cemetery and has been shared with VA installations around the world. Harrington said that she was certain from the start that her poster would win because “It shows real things – my father’s diary and my brother’s dog tags – direct connections to their service.”
A guest of honor in Washington on November 11, Harrington was seated beside Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie at the official Veterans Day breakfast and during ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, along with Vice President Pence, Medal of Honor winners, and decorated generals.
Wilkie had read James Michael Battcock’s journal online, and in his remarks noted that Battcock had been one of the ordinary men thrust into extraordinary circumstances during World War II. Harrington always treasured her father’s journal and her poster honored his wish that it be kept safe in the hope that someone would ‘do something’ with it.
“It was the experience of a lifetime,” Harrington said, “the best that it could be!”
At Veterans Memorial Park
Led by an honor guard from the Bedford Police and Fire Departments and keeping the beat set by the Bedford Minuteman Company’s fifes and drums, Bedford’s local ceremonies began with a brief parade of dignitaries marching from the Minuteman statue to Veterans Memorial Park.
Mike Rosenberg, Chair of the Selectmen, shared his remarks focused on Bedford’s multiple connections to the military. “Is there any other place in the United States that hosts a Veterans hospital on its north side, an active Air Force base on the south end, and a colonial heritage that connects us to one of the world’s most famous battlefields,” he asked. “This heritage is embedded in our community’s DNA and is reflected in our patriotic ceremonies like today’s.”
Click this link to read Selectman Rosenberg’s full remarks.
Vice-Chair of the Patriotic Holiday Committee Joe Piantedosi thanked each of the speakers: Jon O’Connor, Commander, American Legion Post 221; Al Chisholm, Senior Vice Commander, VFW Post 1628; Mike Rosenberg, Chair, Bedford Selectmen; State Representative Ken Gordon; State Senator Mike Barrett, and American Legion Chaplain John Cooper.
He also thanked the Bedford High School Marching Band and the Bedford Minuteman Company; members of the rifle squad from Hanscom Air Force Base’s 66th Security Force Squadron and the Woburn Sportsman’s Club; Bedford’s American Legion and VFW posts as well as the American Legion Auxiliary; members of the Patriotic Holiday Committee; and the DPW grounds crew.
The traditional annual program featured memorial wreaths with flags placed by attendees to honor special veterans who touched their lives; a sing-along, “God Bless America”; rifle volleys and TAPS sounded by two trumpeters from the BHS marching band.
At the Bedford VA
As a special event on Veterans Day, the Boston Red Sox dispatched all four of their World Series trophies and Manny Delcarmen, Red Sox relief pitcher for the 2007 series, to the Bedford VA for the enjoyment of residents and patients alike.
The trophies were on display after a patriotic concert starring Kevin Dougherty and Hanscom Air Force Base spouse Shannon Shultz.
Click here to see more Veterans Day images from the Bedford VA.
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