Veterans' honor roll restored in Lakeville By ERIC MOSKOWITZ, Standard-Times staff
writer
LAKEVILLE -- A slice of post-Sept. 11 Americana was served in Lakeville
yesterday, a living conflation of Norman Rockwell canvas and Staff Sgt.
Barry Sadler soundtrack, as a crowd of more than 150 gathered outside Town
Hall for a "Salute to Those Who Serve."
Temperatures settled comfortably into the 60s and the sky was all but
cloudless as Girl Scouts earning their "hometown history" badge carried
the colors; small children waved tiny flags and tugged at pantlegs; and a
town quartet performed a medley of star-spangled tunes.
But the highlight came at the rededication of the Lakeville Honor Roll, a
wooden memorial first erected outside Town Hall just after World War II.
That sign had fallen into disrepair by the 1970s, the names worn away and
the corkboard centerpiece rotting. It lay abandoned in a maintenance shed,
all but forgotten until last October. At
that time, the town's Historical Tour Committee was working on ideas for
events leading up to Lakeville's sesquicentennial, in 2003. Wanting to
create a day honoring town veterans, they seized the opportunity to
refurbish the sign, Historical Tour Committee member Kathleen Barrack
said.
The ceremony culminated with the unveiling of the restored sign, made
possible by a number of town organizations and funded by a contribution
from Jose Sardinha, proprietor of the local Dunkin' Donuts. The paper
wrapping was removed as town veterans came forward, the crowd behind them
clapping, saluting and snapping photos aplenty.
The veterans cut across decades, members of the Greatest Generation
saluting alongside dewy-eyed Boomers, among them a group of leather-clad
bikers, patches reading: "POW-MIA," "1st Marine: 1966-1971, Vietnam," even
"Jane Fonda: Communist at heart; traitor by choice."
The honor roll bears its slate of World War II names, but plans are in the
works to add veterans from other wars.
"Lakeville residents have served in every war in American history, from
King Philip's War to Desert Storm, and now the war on terrorism,"
Selectman Gerald R. White said in his dedication. A U.S. Army Airborne
Ranger from 1958-64, he serves as the town's director of veterans
services.
Nearby, 77-year-old Joe O'Brien stood at attention. Outfitted with a
number of medallions and wearing an American Legion bolo tie, he'd driven
to the ceremony in a sparklingly restored 1928 Model A Ford. His name
wasn't on the list because he moved to Lakeville in 1954, a decade after
the war, but he showed nothing but pride. "I
am proud, proud that I'm alive," he said, showing a bit of scrap metal on
his key chain. It blew off a kamikaze fighter he helped bring down as
pointer for a 40-millimeter gun aboard the USS Bennington. "Because a lot
of my friends, they died not only in World War II, they died of disease
afterwards. So I'm very thankful I can be a part of the patriotic
process."
The ceremony began with songs from the service branches -- "You're in the
Army Now," for example -- with the respective veterans rising for each.
And a handful of residents spoke, including high school senior Lindsey
Liberatore, reading her "What Price Freedom" essay which won the Veterans
of Foreign Wars national Voice of Democracy contest.
Later, just before trumpeter Robert Hill blew taps, Mr. White closed his
dedication: "One thing I have to say, from one veteran to another, is
welcome home." He
was speaking literally, facing his fellow servicemen. And figuratively,
too. From town green to dustbin and back, the Lakeville Honor Roll is home
again.
This story appeared on Page A1 of The Standard-Times on May 20, 2002.
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Standard-Times
LAKEVILLE -- A slice of post-Sept. 11 Americana was served in Lakeville
yesterday, a living conflation of Norman Rockwell canvas and Staff Sgt.
Barry Sadler soundtrack, as a crowd of more than 150 gathered outside Town
Hall for a "Salute to Those Who Serve." 
