Middleboro salutes veterans on Memorial Day
A man salutes during the ceremony. Photos by Nick Mossman
Historic reenactor Stephen DelSignore pays tribute.
Mary Standish pays homage to Deborah Sampson, who served in the Revolutionary War while disguised as a man.
A wreath honors fallen veterans.
A man salutes during the ceremony. Photos by Nick Mossman
Historic reenactor Stephen DelSignore pays tribute.
Mary Standish pays homage to Deborah Sampson, who served in the Revolutionary War while disguised as a man.
A wreath honors fallen veterans.
MIDDLEBORO — Residents gathered at the Middleboro Town Hall on Monday, May 25 to honor the town’s veterans of many different types, places and eras for Memorial Day.
“This weekend is not about the veterans sitting here in this room,” said Bob Burke, Vice Commander of American Legion District 10. “It’s about our brothers and sisters who did not come home.”
Burke told an audience of veterans, military family members and attendees to thank a veteran if they love their freedom.
“Freedom is not free,” Burke said. “It was the veteran, not the reporter that gave us freedom of the press. It was the veteran, not the public who gave us free speech. It was the veteran, not the campus organizer who gave us freedom to demonstrate.”
The Memorial Day ceremony was moved indoors due to the rainy Monday morning, forcing organizers to cancel the town’s annual parade. Still, residents and veterans showed up to support the town’s veterans.
Middleboro resident and U.S. Air Force veteran Mary Standish was dressed in attire from the American Revolutionary War for the ceremony. Standish said that her outfit paid homage to Deborah Sampson, a Middleboro resident who famously disguised herself as a man so she could fight in the war.
After searching through her ancestry with her sister, Standish said that she discovered that she was actually a distant relative of Sampson’s.
“So that’s why I’m proud to do it,” Standish said.
Standish said that people should remember Sampson for her determination, loving her country and being proud of it.
American Legion Department of Massachusetts Vice Commander Drew Pajak said he came across the state for Middleboro’s ceremony.
Pajak said that he had an “odd little connection” to Middleboro. His wife is from Idaho, he said, where he moved and lived in a small town for 20 years starting in 1994. Pajak said the first person he met and made friends with in Idaho was a Middleboro native.
Before coming to town, Pajak said he contacted his Idaho-based friend, who told him about many of the town’s veterans.
“Middleboro has always been extremely well-dedicated to its veterans,” Pajak said about the town’s Memorial Day ceremony. “This is done right.”
