2024 Veterans Day Parade & Closing Ceremony

good afternoon and welcome to Fall River government television's coverage of the annual Veterans Day Parade my name is Renee kotchman I'm actually the director of operations for quite a few years now but um historically we' we've actually had the experience and expertise of Pamela Martin who would cover these events she's not able to be here today but I am joined by former city councelor R hay

who is the current commander of the war council correct that's correct Vietnam veteran and longterm Fall River so welcome and thank you for joining us today um we are going to be covering the uh festivity not the festivities but the events that are going to be taking place today uh to honor our veterans um and uh we have the parade which will be coming down Main Street but um we're going to

now just throw it over to a tape that was uh filmed prior to the parade and that was up at Kennedy Park um at the monument at the monument at the world war to all monuments I think okay yeah so they must have just did that okay so we're going to go to that tape now join each other in the pledge of aliance please Al to the flag of the United States

of good afternoon everyone and welcome to the Veterans Day celebration kickoff I would like to all right good afternoon everyone and welcome to the Veterans Day celebration kickoff I want to thank all of the veterans organizations support organizations and those family members that came out to support the veterans of Fall River we're going to kick off our parade today as we have for many years

recognizing the sacrifice of those that have come before us and those still serving I appreciate you all thank you for coming out give me just a moment to move on to the next section we'll be playing Taps here back

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I'd like to say thank you to all the elected officials that came out to celebrate Veterans Day with us as well well we'll have a couple of words given to us by father Rob at this time let us pray Lord God As We Gather on this sacred day to honor our veterans we give you thanks for the self- sacrifice and the service of these dedicated men and women that have fought for protected and

at this time we prepare to release the

dubs so we're back and as always these parades start out with the Fall River Police Department motorcycle division they clear the streets and just make sure everybody's safe on the sidewalks and the parade underway and yes we're underway and uh wonderful day for a parade today coming down the parade route seems to be a lot of people turned out today and uh beautiful weather and that's most

veterans we all appreciate that of course absolutely and um I see a lot of flags we were giving out some flags on the way down so um I saw a lot of Youth here too and that's a good thing because uh we want to be teaching the youth about what veterans stand for and what's going on so uh a little encouraged today with the amount of people I've seen here

yeah as you said I mean this is a teaching moment right I mean we want our young people to really realize our history and and what veterans in particular have went through so um we do have the first Division I believe this is the colonial Navy marching band under the direction of James Murray and uh we'll uh we'll just give that a listen and and

well actually I believe the first group you're seeing is the uh Fall River Police Department colard and um rifles yes the colonial marching B right there's just a little bit of a gap in between but uh what you're seeing right now is the uh Fall River Police Department uh hogard and uh other officers uh it's good to see them participate in

today the music you're hearing now is the Colonials coming I always like that music isn't it great absolutely kind of makes you feel and drum yeah you know and we're coming up to a a big event on the uh uh 2026 which is going to be the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and there's a lot of storied history in our area from the Minute Men that's served uh in

those battles up been conquered so we're going to have a lot of history going on in the next couple of

years yeah so that's a colonial Navy marching band headed up by uh director James Murray uh they attend a lot lot of the local parades and uh they're always a uh welcomed attraction

coming into viw now is the uh parade Marshall Paul Pacho and uh he's being uh escorted by uh soon nator from WS he's a longest uh serving um DAV Commander here US Navy veteran and uh he's led the troops for a long time here in Fall River followed up by the veterans of uh Foreign Wars this is post 486 Commander James Gonzales yes we have two vehicles here uh Jimmy's

been the commander of the uh BFW for a long time and uh Mr hay driving the uh other uh thing no relation but uh so so this VFW uh is the most senior of all the city veteran organizations 104 years old 104 years old and uh it's over there on Bedford Street where they have their head quarters I'm sure a lot of people have been there before and different events that they have well represented today another

vehicle from the uh VFW with the auxiliary it's Paul's wife is uh Joyce is the uh head of the auxiliary over there and uh here are the uh members of the uh organization and they're still able to get down the road here and uh that's great yeah in my time in Fall River I've always seen that the veterans are very active in terms of coming out for their own yes yep it's a good turnout today

and like I said the uh amount of people that came here and disabled American veterans again following up the uh VFW the American veterans are headquartered over on Pine Street along with the other veterans organizations and the DAV van uh it's a good organization to belong to if you're a disabled vet I belong to it I'm a life member and uh most of the members are life members that

join now we have is this the Lebanese uh American veterans I believe it says on our notes Amanda edier or this is still the DAV it was one in between but I'm still seeing DAV so and now we have the uh Polish American veterans

the anets post is uh now from Dan for street is now in your view been around for a long time

and the tin can sail is uh in line today and they're a group that's also been around for a long time all Navy U another group federally recognized uh charted group

and the Vietnam veterans association of Bristol County over there on Pine Street they do great work and they've been around for a long time there they are a lot of the uh members and uh people that uh show up on a daily basis they have a a food pantry there they have lunches and um just a great organization was found by Vietnam veterans um in the 70s I've been around for a long

time looks like their ranks are grown they have a couple of more Vehicles here uh coming down vehicles that they use on a on a daily basis I know they transport disabled veterans to different appointments and hospitals and uh other things uh throughout the course of the Year very good organization many veterans out there looking for services uh give them a call and and here comes a

Jeep uh that former uh city councelor and county commissioner ill gordet you would see a running but the sons his two sons have decided to continue the family uh history and there they are the two getts are taking their dads dad's place and uh very nice of them to do

that and this is the sheriff's department always has a presence in the parades and I don't see any of their big assets today sometimes they have a real big truck but uh today they've got it and a veteran's kitchen uh that's a Fall River story about five years ago that kitchen was started I had to help in hand in that and um they do uh uh lunches on Wednesday to now headquartered at the Liberal Club and

it's open to any and all veterans for a free lunch they've done a fantastic job uh headed up by uh Dawn Teran and uh the board of directors uh another Fall River success story

it says on that truck William Walsh truck repairs that goes back a long time I I think I know the Walch family that that uh uh truck belonged to and uh the Wales so they're still running around I don't know if it's their truck or not anymore but I remember them fixing cars and trucks back believe it or not in the 50s

and here's the group that I'm the commander of the Fall River Veterans war council and it also has the Vietnam veterans association of Fall River uh headed up by Commander uh bill dearis and his wife uh Paula uh driving Billy dearis certainly does a lot for veterans in this area and um he runs a uh Food Pantry on Sunday mornings on Alti Street for veterans and families uh I think it's 10:00 it starts and uh

coming up now is the uh Vietnam Wall uh trailer and um we used this while we were building the Vietnam Wall down in a park which you've seen and those are some of the people that uh work with me on that committee and uh done a fantastic job it's what a monum to have in Fall River and uh we very did a very nice job on that very enjoyable thing to

do yeah I mean the Waterfront has been transformed because of that oh absolutely that's one of the things that in my tenure here I was able to get done and um other than the schools we built here that's probably the best and here we are with the uh rooc uh maybe some future uh service men and women coming down here and it's a great program they run a lot of

discipline and uh I think the ranks are growing it's becoming more popular again uh to be in these programs absolutely I'm I'm up at dery high school and I've I've seen uh the numbers grow over the years they're actually right adjacent to us in the new building and uh they've been active since since I've been in this city 87 is when I came they've been around for a long time and and now it's

uh more people to join up and uh getting into it and I'd recommend it for anybody going to school if they could uh get into that and this would be the uh dery band right here dery High School Marching Band also been around for a long time long time a great program and coming into view I mean everybody probably knows or maybe they don't as tip O'Neal used to say not

everybody knows who you are so so uh we have representative Paul Smith who gave uh many years of service he's retiring uh State represent Carol fola State Rep Allan Sylvia mayor Paul uh pel kugan counselors uh school committee Shelley Vera and uh Paul hot city council Paul hot St rep State Rep elect how are you how you doing all right hang yeah good for you good luck hi guys how's everybody yeah the camera's on that

side I know okay so um we have a metac outfit here and um we're not going to have that it's another division this is another division now and um this is the division that the city put together I I think this is I don't know if it's one of the karate groups or do you know I I don't I don't have it on here so really can't tell you but again getting young people

involved getting young people involved coming down to see what the veterans are all about and here we have the four of a fire department always a uh a great group to come down they got some time and I don't know who's in the firehouse but somebody's got to be there got some nice equipment yeah yeah wow they've really done well with their equipment well with all this dry weather

we've been having sure they've had their work cut out for I think so yeah just about everything's ready to light up leaves are so uh dry that's it's a nice hooking ladder

yeah this usually closes out the parade and maybe one more run of the Fall River Police Department you think at the end I think this is the end with the uh different um early response vehicles coming through now I don't see um yes we do want you to stay tuned there is a ceremony at Fall River Government Center uh in the atrium uh following the parade so uh if you it's usually a solemn ceremony and

yeah well not as solemn as Memorial Day it's more of a you know recognizing veterans and they'll have some speeches of course you know everybody's lined up here to get their speeches um so at probably about a half hour ceremony oh and I do see some people in back of the uh trolley yes I think another marching band possibly could be yeah maybe

number of City Vehicles Emergency Management rolling through trolley is that the full River trolley don't

no yes that's fall R his trolley with the transformation of Route 79 I think that trolley is going to be busy next year right yeah it was an addition this year and they also had the water taxi uh which is uh made the Waterfront uh very attractive for summer months I know they had even had uh trolley karoki I don't know if you heard about that I have not heard about that I

have to get out there and uh do a run with them yeah I don't think my voice would be there but but they have had some great concerts down at uh on y yeah they had a great summer it's a base State band right now and uh marching along playing a nice

tune there's quite a bit left in back but I guess they put the emergency people in the middle this time it's an upgrade

and the South Coast n anag

God yeah one wouldn't really uh think of nurses but metac and nurses were integral during the war well in Vietnam they had what they call doughnut dollies they actually served in country and they would be there for support of the veterans in uh in country a lot of them in Saigon uh using the support services um I'm not I'm not sure I think they may have changed their name by now because

they have their own Rank and they are now combat veterans so but the uh the T for them during in Vietnam was donut dollies and not to take away from the uh actual uh offices and the uh other uh women veterans that did serve there absolutely looks like we have the scouts coming through now we got some uh Scouts and families and what a great turnout uh to get them involved in

Veterans Day uh I I think it's been a while since we've seen this kind of participation pretty

good and that's nice to have the youth we thank you for your service I'm sure all veterans appreciate that they put the time and effort into that and uh I know it's well appreciated

I don't see their bner so trying to think of who this is the colors look like Swansea but I'm not sure case Swansea I'm not right that often but I hit that one can I I don't know I think that may be it yeah I think that might be it I well I think that you did an outstanding job well thank you I'm glad I could help you today and that definitely helped us out it's a

wonderful service you have here and the people at home get to see it and I'm sure there's a lot of them yeah and um I hope they enjoyed it you we'd like to thank you for watching today and stay with us we're going to go upstairs to the to the atrium for the ceremony following the parade uh for Fall River government television with support of FR FRC media uh and the crew upstairs in

the control room I'm Renee kotchman we'd like to thank you and enjoy your day and remember your veterans out there thank you okay

good afternoon everyone and welcome to our Veterans Day celebration here at City Hall uh my name is taor Ferris and I'm the director of veteran services for the city uh we are fortunate today to welcome our veterans elected officials as well as the mayor at the city of Fall River and our guest speaker General lassi yes um Veterans Day is extremely important history teaches us that the

warrior should be the center of our foundation in our society the warrior steps forward in times where we need them to protect us from some of the most perilous things our world has to offer In This Very Room we have Vietnam era veterans global war on terror era veterans that have served this country and sacrificed in so many ways thank you for being here and thank you for the things that you have

endured as a veteran myself I do understand I would like to welcome Miss Linda Pereira to lead us in the pledge of

allegiance to the of the United States of America and to the Republic for stands one nation under God indivisible liy and justice for

all next I would like to welcome father Rob to lead us in prayer let us pray Lord God we come to you on this Veterans Day filled with gratitude and humbled by our freedom for we know that freedom is not free and in order to grant our country's Freedom millions of men and women have submitted their lives to serve on our behalf help us to remember that their service meant sacrifice time spent away from loved

ones eyes that cannot un see war and memories that do not seem to fade Lord may we we may not know the hardships that they have endured but you do you see all you know all and you are with all we pray that these men and women would cast their burdens on you and find Everlasting peace in your presence let our hearts be stirred by the selflessness of our veterans let

their sacrifice motivate us to serve one another as they have served us help us also to remember the sacrifice of their families the parents who exchanged last hugs before deployments never knowing if they would see their child again the moms and dads raising the children of our military personnel willing to take on the role of both mother and father the kids who wait patiently by the door day after day

just waiting for their hero to come back home freedom is not free and we appreciate our veterans families for their sacrifice to Lord we pray that you would open our eyes to see the needs of veterans in our communities open our mouth to uplift our veterans with honor and kindness open our hands and generosity to serve and to care for them let us not be too busy are too distracted to forget to honor their

sacrifices this we ask in your holy name

amen and now pay mayor Paul kugan will give us a few words

it's nice because it's light so we have a proclamation here from the governor and as everyone knows uh Veterans Day in the city of for is a special time to off offer our congratulations our thanks and our acknowledgement to the service of all of our veterans who fought for this country to keep it free this Proclamation from the governor reads as follows whereas since the Commonwealth's

earliest days thousands of men and women have served our country in defense of freedom and liberty and whereas on November 11th 1918 after four years of conflict the Armistice was signed in the forest of compan by the Allied nations in Germany ending World War I the war to end all wars and whereas since that day every November people from around the nation have gathered to honor our vet

and whereas in November of 2024 the world will commemorate the 106th anniversary of the Armistice that ended the fighting in World War I at 11:00 a.m. November 11th the 11th Hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and whereas there are approximately 300,000 veterans living in Massachusetts and whereas in recognition of the sacrifices made by those who have served our great nation Massachusetts

remains committed to supporting its veteran community Through the hero act honoring empowering and recognizing our service members and Veterans whereas today we are reminded of the great sacrifices and contributions our veterans have made to our country and whereas we honor and salute those who served our country throughout the generations with honor patriotism and courage whereas it is appropriate that

all Massachusetts residents Remember The Bravery of those who served their country so that their dedication and sacrifices serve as a reminder to The Cost of Freedom therefore I Mara Healey governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts do hereby Proclaim November 11th 2024 to be Veterans Day and urge all residents of the Commonwealth to take cognizance of the events and participate fittingly in this

observance given at the executive chamber in Boston this 11th day of November in the year 2024 and of the independence of the United States of America the 248th signed respectfully Mara Healey governor of the Commonwealth

at this time we will have the national anthem please come forward

see by the dawn what so proudly we at the Twilight last who stripes and bright stars through the the parts we watch were so G

The Rock red glare the boms bursting inir G proof through the night that a flag was still there oh say does that

starled or the of the free and the home of the

bra thank you very much for that rendition I would also be remiss if I did not recognize our Grand Marshal of today's parade Paul Pico yes please stand

up I want to thank everyone for this great honor bestowed upon me being here award the Grand Marshal of the 2024 Veterans Day parade and I am humble and this highlight of my life excuse me was officers of four River uh excuse me lost my place uh delegates to the Department of the daav numerous occasions and the balance and yeah obtaining a wheelchairs scooters Walkers needy veterans in order to to

better make their lives better in other words I am a veteran of veterans seeking to make better for all veterans I also active on a la also active with my wife in a DAV auxillary in an effort to strengthen and enforce the disabled American vs chapter 9 and their activities and their auxiliary has been valuable during the Forget Me Not fundraisers I served in Vietnam from 1969 to

1970 I was assigned to a self-propelled Heavy Artillery 8 in and 175 m MIM guns I was also a radar specialist with my unit had attached a loading and an intercepting incoming artillery in order to protect my Army and Air Force units my air drums were busted and in a gun blast and a physical profile and was service connected hearing loss and back injuries upon receiving returning to stat

side I was stationed at Ford hood also I was discharged from the also I was discharged from the Army I married my wife Joyce and we have recently just celebrated our 54th wedding anniversary I have three children Paul Jr Jeffrey and Jason I also have many grandchildren and great grandchildren and I say many I mean many there's like 17 or so uh thank you for this great honor bestowed upon me today and I am

gratefully appreciative of it thank

you thank you sir now at this time I would like to recognize our guest speaker B General Lisa hasse is the assistant agitant general of the mass Air National Guard as you can read in your programs Brier General Lisa Assie is the assistant adant general for the mass a National Guard at hansam Air Force Base she advises the adant General on command control in operations and management of

the Air National Guard and Joint programs previously she served as director of staff and commander of the 104th Mission support group at Barnes Air National Guard Base overseeing mission support for the 104th Fighter Wing iass he enlisted in the Massachusetts National Guard in 1988 After High School and served in public offices achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant before Commission in

1997 she has held key roles including Wing public affairs officer State Police state public affairs officer becoming the first Air National Guardsman to serve as director of public affairs for the Massachusetts National Guard her operational experience includes two deployments for operation enduring Freedom where she directed strategic Communications in Africa and served as the lead information operations officer

in Afghanistan please welcome our guest

speaker thank you thank you everyone please I'm standing for you I'm I'm standing for you all thank you so much I want to thank you mayor kugan it's wonderful representative Sylvia F fola uh Linder per thank you so much for everything and to our h a guard is just just doing God's work out there I just really appreciate all that you do for our veterans and I see it in full River

and uh really do appreciate you all so much and and thank you that's a wonderful remarks PR Marshall it is an honor and one that's well earned thank you for for your service I I want to go off script just for a second can everyone hear me am I hear now you can okay so that that's my husband in the back an Air Force veteran my two daughters recently joined um to e4s in the Air

Force so and I say that because they tell me I'm too loud so I wanted just to tell them that you all thought I'm not too loud so you're all my Witnesses so that's great and then I also want to uh introduce a special friend that I have here today and um she is just an extraordinary young woman uh her name is uh Paige La Liberty and she is a senior at BMC dery

High School um and I met Paige just a couple of months ago uh because she I was told that she was interested in joining the Air Force and they said would you talk to her and I go I love to talk to talk about the Air Force can we meet at Starbucks so we met at Starbucks and what I found out and it it brought and it could be because I'm a mom and a

grandom but it brought tears to my eyes that she didn't want to join the Air Force she had already gone to MEPS to willing to raise her right hand to join as a young senior in high school just starting her senior year at BMC Jeffrey high school and not only that she's the commanding officer for the junior rhc you see that big Huges contingency she led them all in there she's in charge so

I want to thank you for your heart of service and for what the great things I cannot wait to be on the sidelines and watch all the great things that you and those that you're going to serve with to do but I want to give you a round of applause for your harder

service so good afternoon my fellow veterans military families and to the citizens of the city of Fall River before I start I think we need another round of applause for our new vso tallos Doc far for a fabulous parade and all that you

do it was an absolute honor to march with division one this this afternoon uh with my new friend Joe and Army and Marine Vietnam veteran who it was just an honor to meet you today and to walk with you thanks for keeping me in Step that whole way I appreciate you so much I may be biased because I was born and raised here here but Fall River is by far the most patriotic city in

Massachusetts and it is a privilege it is my privilege to stand before you as We Gather to honor and pay tribute to the men and women who have served and continue to serve in our nation's military and that includes people like me that are still in and people that are out and continue to serve each and every day to include those that support us and serve with us every day so thank you for

all that youve do so on this Veterans Day we come together as a community United by Deep gratitude and respect to those who have sacrificed so much to protect those freedoms that we hold dear last month I celebrated my 36th anniversary uh which is the day that I joined the Air Force as a newly graduated BMC dery High School senior um and it's hard to believe that 36 years have passed so quickly when you're

having this much fun and then I go to one of my appointments at the Providence VA I think you can all relate and they remind me that a quarter of my body is now made of titanium and the rest is fighting one form or another of arthritis that's trying to slow me down after after a few Decades of of serving right um but we all know that you can't slow a veteran down right we just keep

going not one with a purpose that's for sure and now that I'm ending going that toward the end of my career I have about three years or so left right now I consider my service to serve those that I work with to serve those that are serving to serve the families that support them and continue to serve alongside of them I can tell you my husband Dan stood home with our our

little girls when I deployed twice and I stayed when he went and sometimes it's harder I will say it is harder to be on the home front waiting for that door to open for our loved ones to come home and and to keep everything going so thank you to the families from the bottom of my heart um I I know and I feel what you go through every day and you are very much

appreciated so I stand here before you not as anyone special I'm a woman who as a young girl walked into the recruiting station in Fall River at President Avenue and volunteered to serve her country I was a youngest of seven children raised on the south end so I had to work a few part-time jobs during High School to help out to help out the family a bit my first job I was hired my

16th birthday a sophomore year um I worked at the Battleship Cove so for almost three years I worked uh giving self-guided tours every weekend every Monday that was a holiday um we would pass out these remotes to go through the USS Massachusetts and teach people about the ship as you can imagine in the winter time it got really really slow so I would wander on the ship to you know either on having that good old

Battleship burger if you've never been to had one it's fantastic right and I would walk around the ship with some of the visitors well many of those visitors who just came uh very very Faithfully were veterans who actually served on her when she was in commission so I will tell you I learned more about the battleship than any device could offer but most most importantly I learned what

it meant to Have a Heart for Service it made me want to be part of something more meaningful and I wanted to do exactly what those men who had served did I wanted to be part of that Veterans Day is a time to reflect to give thanks and to remember it's a day when we recognize that the liberties we enjoy every day were not simply handed to us but earned through courage dedication

and sacrifice countless individuals many of who are gathered here today and I also want to give a shout out to our Young Marines who I was Ron Reagan that said freedom is not inherited it's taught so thank you to those that are commanding and leading these fabulous young people um thank you for what you're doing and teaching them what it is to serve I promise you like me they

will carry that for the rest of time so thank you for all that you do from the battlefields of World War II to the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan every conflict in between all River sons and daughters have answered that call to duty our community has produced generations of men and women who have served in every military branch showing the strength and

resolve we all know so well in the city each of these veterans has a unique story a unique journey and unique set of experiences that have shaped their time in service today we also take a moment to especially remember those who gave their lives those who made that ultimate sacrifice and service to our country many are friends who we hold dear to our heart every day the families and friends

of those who have fallen bear heavy weight and we stand with them today in solemn remembrance we remember the courage of each Fallen Warrior whose lives were cut short in service to their country their sacrifice and the sacrifice of countless others is a powerful reminder of the cost of Freedom their names live in our hearts and in the proud history of Fall River and we will honor them today and we will honor

them always

it's also a day Veterans Day to honor the living anyone that's in this room hopefully rck and to honor the men and women who served and continue to serve with Valor and commitment fortunately this city has a so a solid and very vibrant veterans community you are our neighbors our friends our parents our children our co-workers many of you served in in distant lands far from home but you never have been far from the

hearts of those you served you are the pillars of our community and it is thank to your sacrifices that we can live with the freedom and security that we very often can sometimes take for granted veterans also often return from their service with visible and invisible wounds but they still returned with something invaluable experience resilience and a deep understanding of service and commitment right here

there's veterans on our on our uh local government we have First Responders teachers business owners and volunteers you continue to serve Us in countless ways even after your time in uniform has ended thank you while we honor and thank our veterans today we must also recognize that their service is an ongoing Legacy we must continue to support and care for our veterans every day to ensure that

those who served have access to the resources they need Health Care Mental Health Services and of course job opportunities we must support the local organizations like the men and women who make up the FL of a war council and the fabulous Veterans Association of Bristol County who work tirelessly to provide assistance and a sense of community for all veterans but perhaps the most

important thing we can do as a community is to show that respect and appreciation for our veterans in our everyday lives it's our responsibility to recognize them and thank them and stand by them as they have stood by us I am grateful for the support and appreciation of our community which is a testament to the unity and shared responsibility we all have to our veterans I always get a bit embarrassed

when my golf Bas in uniform uh maybe to come even I got it a few times today after all these years people are still surprised to see a woman in uniform i s sometimes get mistaken for a flight attendant and just last week as a Salvation Army Minister it happens it does but I never really know what to say when people thank me for my service it is such a heartfelt expression of kindness but I

will admit it sometimes makes me feel uncomfortable because I'm not sure what to say in response because the truth is that I am the one that is grateful I'm the one that's grateful to serve the military has taught me more about the world than any classroom I am blessed to have traveled 47 States within our borders uh five continents so far and a dozen countries around the world I deployed in service of many

contingencies including two overseas tours in support of operation enduring Freedom where I had two very different experiences my first tour was to Africa in 2009 where I led a joint combat camera team throughout 13 countries along the east coast of Africa I spent time with hardworking teams of Navy CBS as they built clinics and schools where they were none and erected Bridges to enable children to walk to and from

school without having to walk 10 miles to get there I assisted Medics while they treated thousands of our African Partners who stood in line for days for dental and medical care and with military veterinarians while they treated animals and taught Farmers how to vaccinate their herds to keep them safe so that they had healthy and safe food to heat to eat my team worked alongside Defense Forces and our partner

Nations to counter violent extremism to stop the terrorists that from claiming their land as training ground there in Africa I saw the lighter side of the American warrior as they played soccer at the Children's camps and volunteered at orphanages while always at the ready to react in the need that it was needed then from 201 2011 to 2012 I deployed to Afghanistan as part of a joint Special Operations task force

I was attached to the Army's Elite 75th Ranger regiment as his combat camera lead and j3 iio which is information operations I went off to combat skills in Wyoming and then straining at Fort Brag in North Carolina for more training before heading over to Afghanistan and as a mass Guardsman I I left as what they call an individual augmente which basically means I went alone and was

attached to a team that i' had never met and I didn't train with I was partnered with it wasn't long that I was brought into their team and I formed bonds during the worst of times with the best people that I've ever met jck is a high-speed component of the department offense it's responsible for overseeing and coordinating the elite special forces operations from all branches of the US military during high-risk

missions in other words they go after the really bad guys in the most dangerous and volatile environments to support US military objectives as you can imagine while deployed to Afghanistan I saw the harder side of the American warrior men and women weighed down with heavy weapons and Ruck sacks filled with gear they were headed toward objectives with zero hesitation and without regard for themselves their own

well-being or their safety they had none of their own interests they put those aside to focus on the mission and their team and I've witnessed extreme acts of bravery and sacrifice and this is why I am grateful to serve while I have seen the worst of humanity and looked into the eyes of evil the kind of brutal coldness that would be hard hard to forget if it wasn't for the

men and women that I served alongside of my brothers and sisters have taught me that I am way stronger than I often feel and that we're getting it done no matter how hard that task was or how difficult that mission was as a member of the VFW Post 8500 I attend monthly post meetings with fellow veterans that Spann many different Generations just like we have here in this room I look forward to our

time together because I reminded that while we're Ser served during different conflicts even some decades apart time melts away our differences through shared stories and experiences and I usually leave with stomach pains from all the laughing at all the very inappropriate jokes that every time that only a fellow veneran would understand or appreciate see I had a couple of Chuckles you know in the room right so

as We Gather here today let us remember that the freedom we cherish the freedom to speak to worship to live without fear are not free they result from the sacrifices of those who have served in our military we owe everything to the veterans who put their lives on the line for us past present and future to the veterans of Fall River and to all the veterans across our nation thank you for your service and

sacrifices you have ensured that we continue to live in a country where Liberty Justice and peace Prevail let us stand together as a community to honor the legacy of all the veterans not just today but every day let us be inspired by their courage and commitment to something greater than themselves may we never forget their sacrifice and continue to uphold the values they fought to protect thank you and may God

bless our veterans their families in the United States of America thank you thank you very much thank you

although not very funny uh the last couple of moments I've been staring at the front row in the mayor and you guys are reminding me of what Iraq and 150 degree weather look like uh the the sun is coming through the glass and kind of cooking everybody so we'll move this right along um I would like to say this as we begin to get ready to part um resiliency for a veteran is our main

characteristic that gives us the opportunity to move forward in difficult times and in some of the most darkest times as the veterans in this room very well know as the gold star families that stand to my right also very well know resilience is the one thing that pushes us on no matter what we face so remember that always please uh as a thank you to the general for coming to Be our guest

speaker today uh I've worked with a couple of different uh organizations to provide care packages to those of her troops that might be deployed forward and they sit there in the middle of the room I also have a appreciation letter for you for choosing to spend your Veterans Day with us here in Far River thank you my my daughter Julia senior am in Hay she is leading an effort to put

together care packages that she sent when you're sending those over Julia when you're sending the care packages over 85 deployers overseas she's putting together so we'll make sure those get into the hands of those that serve with us awesome awesome thank you Julia uh to to close things out I would like to invite father Rob to offer us more words let us pray almighty God as we conclude this

day of celebration in our city of Fall River honoring our veterans we know that you know every Veteran by name you know their deeds their hard work their perseverance you know their needs both material and spiritual please draw each one closer to you and Grant them that peace that surpasses understanding and the joy of your presence Lord you know that it can be difficult for a person who has returned

from Battle or stressful military service to reintegrate into normal everyday life you know that at times veterans can feel isolated and alone even in the midst of their friends and families because there are so few around who understand their experience so I ask you to place in the path of our veterans those who do understand or who strive to that they may feel less alone remind them often

that while their fellow human beings may never fully comprehend you see you know and you identify with them as we show them our respect gratitude honor and praise this Veterans Day we pray that you will watch over these special people and bless them with peace and happiness this we ask in your most holy of names amen uh and to close things out I would like to give a special thank you to all

the staff here in City Hall that helped make today possible uh your insti knowledge was key in making this a wonderful day uh and I'm appreciative of it and I'd also like to say a last thank you to the absolute sharpest police onor guard in the state of Massachusetts this concludes our ceremony please join us you want a word Miss Linda you want to word yes okay uh this concludes our cere

Cy please join us in the back we have Refreshments there uh and thank you all for coming out supporting

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women have submitted their lives to serve on our behalf help us to remember that their service meant sacrifice time spent away from loved ones eyes that cannot unsee war and memories that do not seem to fade Lord may we we may not know the hardships that they have endured but you do you see all you know all and you are with all we pray that these men and women would cast their burdens on you

and find Everlasting peace in your presence let our hearts be stirred by the selflessness of our veterans let their sacrifice motivate us to serve one another as they have served us help us also to remember the sacrifice of their families the parents who exchanged last hugs before deployments never knowing if they would see their child again the moms and dads raising the children of our military

personnel willing to take on the role of both mother and father the kids who wait patiently by the door day after day just waiting for their hero to come back home freedom is not free and we appreciate our veterans families for their sacrifice too Lord we pray that you would open our eyes to see the needs of veterans in our communities open open our mouth to uplift our veterans with honor and

kindness open our hands and generosity to serve and to care for them let us not be too busy or too distracted to forget to honor their sacrifices this we ask in your holy name

amen and now pay mayor Paul kugan will give us a few words

okay so we have a proclamation here from the governor and as everyone knows uh Veterans Day in the city of for is a special time to off offer our congratulations our thanks and our acknowledgement to the service of all of our veterans who fought for this country to keep it free this Proclamation from the governor reads as follows whereas since the Commonwealth's earliest days thousands of men and women

have served our country in defense of freedom and liberty and whereas on November 11th 1918 after four years of conflict the Armistice was signed in the forest of compon by the Allied nations in Germany ending World War I the war to end all wars and whereas since that day every November people from around the nation have gathered to honor our veterans and whereas in November of 2024

the world will commemorate the 106th anniversary of the Armistice that ended the fighting in World War I at 11:00 a.m. November 11th the 11th Hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and whereas there are approximately 300,000 veterans living in Massachusetts and whereas in recognition of the sacrifices made by those who have served our great nation Massachusetts remains committed to supporting its

veteran community Through the hero act honoring empowering and recognizing our service members and Veterans whereas today we are reminded of the great sacrifices and contributions our veterans have made to our country and whereas we honor and salute those who served our country throughout the generations with honor patriotism and courage whereas is appropriate that all Massachusetts residents Remember The

Bravery of those who serve their country so that their dedication and sacrifices serve as a reminder to The Cost of Freedom therefore I Mara Healey governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to hereby Proclaim November 11th 2024 to be Veterans Day and urge all residents of the Commonwealth to take cognizance of the events and participate fittingly in this observance given at the executive

chamber in Boston this 11th day of November in the year 2024 and of the independence of the United States of America the 20048 signed respectfully Mara Healey governor of the country

he this time we will have the national anthem please come

forward see by the what so proudly we at the Twilight last Stripes Bright Stars through the par F the parts we watch were so G streaming and the rocket red glare the boms bursting in air gave proof through the night that a FL was still there oh do that Star Spangled

or the of the free and the home of the

bra thank you very much for that Rend I would also be remiss if I did not recognize our Grand Marshal of today's parade Paul Pico yes please stand

up I want to thank everyone for this great honor bestowed upon me being here awarded the Grand Marshall of the 2024 Veterans Day parade and I am humble and this highlight of my life excuse me officers of four River uh excuse me lost my place uh delegates to the Department of the DAV numerous occasions and the balance and yeah obtaining a wheelchairs scooters walking needy veterans in order to to

better make their lives better in other words I am a veteran of veterans seeking to make better for all veterans I have also active on a long also active with my wife in the DAV auxiliary in an effort to strengthen and enforce the disabled American vs chapter 9 and their activities and their auxiliary has been a valuable during Forget Me Not fundraisers I served in Vietnam from 1969 to

1970 I was assigned to a self-propelled Heavy Artillery 8 in and 175 mm guns I was also a radar specialist with my unit had attached a loading and an intercepting incoming artillery in order to protect my Army and Air Force units my air drums were busted in in a gun blast and and a physical profile and was service connected hearing loss and back injuries upon receiving returning to stat side I was stationed at Fort

Hood also I was discharged from the also I was discharged from the Army I married my wife Joyce and we have recently just celebrated our 54th wedding anniversary I have three children Paul Jr Jeffrey and Jason I also have many grandchildren and great-grandchildren and I say many I mean many there's like 17 or so uh thank you for this great honor bestowed upon me today and I am gratefully appreciative of it thank you

thank you sir now at this time I would like to recognize our guest speaker briger General Lisa hasse is the assistant adant general of the mass Air National Guard as you can read in your programs Brier General Lisa Assie is the assistant agant general for the mass a National Guard at hansam Air Force Base she advises the agitant General on command control and operations and management of the Air National Guard and

Joint programs previously she served as director of staff and commander of the 104th Mission support group at Barnes Air National Guard Base overseeing mission support for the 104th Fighter Wing I ask he enlisted in the Massachusetts National Guard in 1988 After High School and served in public offices achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant before Commission in 1997 she has held key roles including

Wing public affairs officer State Police state public affairs officer becoming the first Air National Guardsman to serve as director of public affairs for the Massachusetts National Guard her operational experience includes to deployments for operation enduring Freedom where she directed strategic Communications in Africa and served as the lead information operations officer in Afghanistan please welcome our guest

speaker thank you thank you everyone please I'm standing for you I'm I'm standing for you all thank you so much I want to thank you mayor kugan it's wonderful representative syvia uh fola C fola uh Linda per thank you so much for everything and to our Anor guard is just just doing God's work out there I just really appreciate all that you do for our veterans and I see it in Fall River

and uh really do appreciate you all so much and and thank you those a wonderful remarks PR Marshall it is an honor and one that's well earned thank you for for your service I I want to go off script just for a second can everyone hear me am I hear now you can okay so that that's my husband in the back an Air Force veteran my two daughters recently joined um two e4s in the Air Force

so and I say that because they tell me I'm too loud so I wanted just to tell them that you all thought I'm not too loud so you're all my Witnesses so that's great and then I also want to uh introduce a special friend that I have here today and um she is just an extraordinary young woman uh her name is uh PA and she is a senior at BMC dery High

School um and I met Paige just a couple of months ago uh because she I was told that she was interested in joining the Air Force and they said would you talk to her and I go I love to talk about the Air Force can we meet at Starbucks so we met at Starbucks and what I found out and it it brought and it could be because I'm a mom and a grandom but it

brought tears to my eyes that she didn't want to join the Air Force she had already gone a MPS to willing to raise her right hand to join as a young senior in high school just starting her senior year at BMC Jeffrey high school and not only that she's the commanding officer for the junior rhc you see that big Huges contingency she led them all in there she's in charge so I want to thank

you for your heart of service and for what the great things I cannot wait to be on the sidelines and watch all the great things that you and those that you're going to serve with to do but I want to give you a round of applause for your heart of service

so good afternoon my fellow veterans military families and to the citizens of the city of Fall River before I startop I think we need another round of applause for our new vso tallos do Farris for a fabulous parade and all that you

do it was an absolute honor to march with division one this this afternoon uh with my new friend Joe and Army and Marine Vietnam veteran who it was just an honor to meet you today and to walk with you thanks for keeping me in Step that whole way I appreciate you so much I may be biased because I was born and raised here but Fall River is by far the most patriotic City in

massachusett and it is a privilege it is my privilege to stand before you as We Gather to honor and pay tribute to the men and women who have served and Contin continue to serve in our nation's military and that includes people like me that are still in and people that are out and continue to serve each and every day to include those that support us and serve with us every day so thank you for

all that you do so on this Veterans Day we come together as a community United by Deep gratitude and respect to those who have sacrificed so much to protect those freedoms that we hold dear last month I celebrated my 36th anniversary uh which is the day that I joined the Air Force as a newly graduated BMC dery High School senior um and it's hard to believe that 36 years have passed so

quickly when you're having this much fun and then I go to one of my appointments at the Providence VA I think you can all relate and they remind me that a quarter of my body is now made of titanium and the rest is fighting one form or another of arthritis that's trying to slow me down after after a few Decades of of serving right um but we all know that

you can't slow a veteran down right we just keep going not one with a purpose that's for sure and now that I'm ending going that toward the end of my career I have about three years or so left right now I consider my service to serve those that I work with to serve those that are serving to serve the families that support them and continue to serve alongside of them I can tell you my

husband Dan stood home with our our little girls when I deployed twice and I stayed when he went and sometimes it's harder I will say it is harder to be on the home front waiting for that door to open for our loved ones to come home and and to keep everything going so thank you to the families from the bottom of my heart um I I know and I feel what you

go through every day and you are very much appreciated so I stand here before you not as anyone special I'm a woman who as a young girl walked into the recruiting station in Fall River at the president Avenue and volunteered to serve her country I was the youngest of seven children raised on the south end so I had to work a few part-time jobs during High School to help out to help out the

family a bit my first job I was hired my 16th birthday sophomore year um I worked at the Battleship Cove so for almost three years I worked uh giving self-guided tours every weekend every Monday that was a holiday um we would pass out these remotes to go through the USS Massachusetts and teach people about the ship as you can imagine in the winter time it got really really slow so

I would wander on the ship to you know either on having that good old Battleship burger if you've never been to had one it's fantastic great and I would walk around the ship with some of the visitors well many of those visitors who just came uh very very Faithfully were veterans who actually served on her when she was in commission so I will tell you I learned more about the battleship than any device could offer

but most importantly I learned what it meant to Have a Heart for Service it made me want to be part of something more meaningful and I wanted to do exactly what those men who had served did I wanted to be part of that Veterans Day is a time to reflect to give thanks and to remember it's a day when we recognize that the ities we enjoy every day were not simply handed to us but

earned through courage dedication and sacrifice countless individuals many of who are gathered here today and I also want to give a shout out to our Young Marines who I was Ronald Reagan that said freedom is not inherited it's taught so thank you to those that are commanding and leading these fabulous young people um thank you for what you're doing and teaching them what it is to serve I promise you like me they

will carry that for the rest of time so thank you for all that you did from the battlefields of World War II to the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan every conflict in between Fall River sons and daughters have answered that call to duty our community has produced generations of men and women who have served in every military branch showing the strength and

resolve we all know so well in the city each of these veterans has a unique story a unique journey and a unique set of experien that have shaped their time in service today we also take a moment to especially remember those who gave their lives those who made that ultimate sacrifice and service to our country many are friends who we hold dear to our heart every day the families and friends

of those who have fallen bear heavy weight and we stand with them today in solemn remembrance we remember the courage of each Fallen Warrior whose lives were cut short in service to their country their sacrifice and the sacrif rice of countless others is a powerful reminder of the cost of Freedom their names live in our hearts and in the proud history of Fall River and we will honor them today and we will honor them

always it's also a day Veterans Day to honor the living anyone that's in this room hopefully and to honor the men and women who served and continue to serve with Valor and commitment fortunately this city has a so a solid and very vibrant veterans community you are our neighbors our friends our parents our children our co-workers many of you served in distant lands far from home but you never have been far from the

hearts of those you served you are the pillars of our community and it is thank to your sacrifices that we can live with the freedom and security that we very often can sometimes take for granted veterans also often returned from their service with visible and invisible wounds but they still returned with something invaluable experience resilience and a deep understanding of service and commitment right here

there's veterans on our on our uh local government we have First Responders teachers business owners and volunteers you continue to serve Us in countless ways even after your time in uniform has ended thank you while we honor and thank our veterans today we must also recognize that their service is an ongoing Legacy we must continue to support and care for our veterans every day to ensure that

those who served have access to the resources they need Health Care Mental Health Services and of course job opportunities we must support the local organizations like the men and women who make up the floor of a war council and the fabulous Veterans Association of brol County who work tirelessly to provide assistance and a sense of community for all veterans but perhaps perhaps the most important thing we can

do as a community is to show that respect and appreciation for our veterans in our everyday lives it's our responsibility to recognize them and thank them and stand by them as they have stood by us I am grateful for the support and appreciation of our community which is a testament to the unity and shared responsibility we all have toward our veterans I always get a bit embarrassed when my golf Bas in

uniform uh maybe to come even I got it a few times today after all these years people are still surprised to see a woman in uniform i s sometimes get mistaken for flight attendant and just last week as a Salvation Army Minister what happens it does but I never really know what to say when people thank me for my service it is such a heartfelt expression of kindness but I will admit it sometimes makes me

feel uncomfortable because I'm not sure what to say in response because the truth is that I am the one that is grateful I'm the one that's grateful to serve the military has taught me more about the world than any classroom I am blessed to have traveled for 47 States within our borders uh five continents so far and a dozen countries around the world I deployed in service of many contingencies including two overseas

tours in support of operation enduring Freedom where I had two very different experiences my first tour was to Africa in 2009 where I led a joint combat camera team throughout 13 countries along the east coast of Africa I spent time with hardworking teams of Navy CBS as they built clinics and schools where they were none and erected Bridges to enable children to walk to and from school without having to walk 10 miles

to get there I assisted Medics while they treated thousands of our African Partners who stood in line for days for dental and medical care and with military veterinarians while they treated animals and taught Farmers how to vaccinate their herds to keep them safe so that they had healthy and safe food to to eat my team worked alongside Defense Forces and our partner Nations to counter violent extremism to stop the

terrorists that from claiming their land as training ground there in Africa I saw the lighter side of the American warrior as they played soccer at the Children's camps and volunteered at orphanages while always at the ready to react in the need that it was needed then from 201 2011 to 2012 I deployed to Afghanistan as part of a joint Special Operations task force I was attached to the Army's Elite 75th

Ranger regiment as his combat camera lead and j3 iio which is information operations I went off to combat skills in Wyoming and then training at Fort Brag in North Carolina for more training before heading over to Afghanistan and as a mass Guardsman I I left as what they call an individual augmente which basically means I went alone and I was attached to a team that i' had never met

and I didn't train with I was partnered with it wasn't long that I was brought into their team and I formed bonds during the worst of times with the best people that I've ever met jck is a high-speed component of the department offense it's responsible for overseeing and coordinating the elite special forces operations from all branches of the US military during high-risk missions in other words they go after

the really bad guys in the most dangerous and volatile environments to support US military objectives as you can imagine while deployed to Afghanistan I saw the harder side of the American warrior men and women weighed down with heavy weapons and Ru sacks filled with gear they were headed toward objectives with zero hesitation and without regard for themselves their own well-being or their safety they had none

of their own interests they put those aside to focus on the mission and their team and I've witnessed extreme acts of bravery and sacrifice and this is why I am grateful to serve while I have seen the worst of humanity and looked into the eyes of evil the kind of brutal coldness that would be hard hard to forget if it wasn't for the men and women that I served alongside of my brothers and

sisters have taught me that I am way stronger than I often feel and that we're getting it done no matter how hard that task was how difficult that mission was as a member of the VFW Post 8500 I attend monthly post meetings with fellow veterans that span many different Generations just like we have here in this room I look forward to our time together because I reminded that while we're Ser served during different

conflicts even some decades apart time melts away our differences through shared stories and experiences and I usually leave with stomach pains from all the laughing at all the very inappropriate jokes at every time that only a fellow veteran would understand or appreciate see I got a couple of Chuckles you know in the room right so as We Gather here today let us remember that the freedom we cherish the freedom

to speak to worship to live without fear are not free they result from the sacrifices of those who have served in our military we owe everything to the veterans who put their lives on the line for us past present and future to the veterans of Fall River and to all the veterans across our nation thank you for your service and sacrifices you have ensured that we continue to live in a country where

Liberty Justice and peace Prevail let us stand together as a community to honor the legacy of all the veterans not just today but every day let us be inspired by their courage and commitment to something greater than themselves may we never forget their sacrifice and continue to uphold the values they fought to protect thank you and may God bless our veterans their families and the United States of America thank you

thank you very thank

you although not very funny uh the last couple of moments I've been staring at the front row in the mayor and uh you guys are reminding me of what Iraq and 150° weather look like uh the the sun is coming through the glass and kind of cooking everybody so move this right along um I would like to say this as we begin to get ready to park um resiliency for a veteran is our main characteristic

that gives us the opportunity to move forward in difficult times and in some of the most darkest times as the veterans in this room very well know as the gold star families that stand to my right also very well know resilience is the one thing that pushes us on no matter what we face so remember that always please uh as a thank you to the general for coming to Be our guest speaker today uh

I've worked with a couple of different uh organizations to provide care packages to those of her troops that might be deployed forward and they sit there in the middle of the room I also have a appreciation letter for you for choosing to spend your Veterans Day with us here in Far River thank you say my my daughter Julia senior am in the hay she is leading an effort to put together care packages that she sent

when are you sending those over Julia when you're sending the care packages over 85 deployers overseas she's putting together so we'll make sure those get into the hands of those that serve with us awesome awesome thank you Julia uh to to close things out I would like to invite father Rob to offer us more words let us pray almighty God as we conclude this day of celebration in our city of full River honoring our

veterans we know that you know every Veteran by name you know their deeds their hard work their perseverance you know their needs both material and spiritual please draw each one closer to you and Grant them that peace that surpasses understanding ending and the joy of your presence Lord you know that it can be difficult for a person who has returned from Battle or stressful military

service to reintegrate into normal everyday life you know that at times veterans can feel isolated and alone even in the midst of their friends and families because there are so few around who understand their experience so I ask you to place in the path of our veterans those who do understand or who strive too that they may feel less alone remind them often that while their fellow human beings may

never fully comprehend you see you know and you identify with them as we show them our respect gratitude honor and praise this Veterans Day we pray that you will watch over these special people and bless them with peace and happiness this we ask in your most holy of names amen amen uh and to close things out I would like to give a special thank you to all the staff here in City Hall that help make

today possible uh your institutional knowledge was key in making this a wonderful day uh and I'm appreciative of it and I'd also like to say a last thank you to the absolute sharpest police honor guard in the state of Massachusetts

this concludes our ceremony please join us you want a word Miss Linda you want a word yes okay uh this concludes our ceremony please join us in the back we have Refreshments there uh and thank you all for coming out supporting us

hey I looked over it