PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A parade marched down North Street Sunday afternoon as the city gathered to honor veterans of all wars.

 

The annual Veterans Day parade and ceremony stepped off at 1 p.m. and concluded at the Veterans War Memorial on South Street. There the Berkshire Veterans Coalition was joined by city officials, residents, and veterans to recognize the day. 

 

Robert Rhodes served as the keynote speaker, reflecting on exaction who is a veteran. 

 

"He or she is someone who will do the duty that many will try their utmost to avoid. He or she will do the work of more than one man or woman. He or she will go places many have never heard of in defense of our cherished nation. He or she will willingly put themselves in harm's way if necessary. They will never quit or surrender unless something against impossible odds," Rhodes said.

 

Rhodes was drafted to serve in the Army during Vietnam and served three tours there, and two more tours in Australian. He is well traveled and returning home he got involved in a number of veterans organizations. 

 

Rhodes said less than 1 percent of the population is currently serving or is a veteran. But yet, veterans are able to defend the country all over the globe. 

 

But yet, Rhodes said current soldiers returning are coming home with high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder. 

 

"The pressures, responsibilities, and expectations placed on our present-day personnel are gargantuan and beyond the imagination," Rhodes said.

 

He said the enemies now have found ways to exploit an American soldier's emotional thinking. He said, for example, pets could be boobies trapped and a soldier will instinctively pick up the animal. So, Rhodes said, the military has worked had to train soldier not act so emotionally. 

 

"The military has not come up with a successful way to program a soldier's emotions back into him or her upon arrival home because it suits no military purpose," Rhodes said.

 

Mayor Linda Tyer said it is the job of local officials to make sure those returning from war have everything they need.

 

"Our job as leaders is to support our veterans when they return home. After they served our country on battlefields, on sea, and in the air, all over this globe, our job when they return is to make sure that they have health care, that they have housing, that they have access to education and opportunities for employment. As we thank and honor them today, there is work to do when we return to everyday life," Tyer said.

 

Sunday was also the centennial of the armistice for World War 1. Tyer read a special proclamation to honor the anniversary and later bells were tolled to recognize it.

 

The ceremony was the first for new Veterans Service Officer John Herrera. Herrera didn't give a speech. Instead, he called all of the veterans up to the front and then asked for the high school students to shake their hands, which they did. Herrera said it is important for the high school students, who may be the future veterans, to be able to meet World War 2 and Korean War veterans while they still can.

 

The ceremony also recognized Arnold Perras as the veteran of the year. Perras was humbled by the award saying there are a lot of other people worthy of such an honor. But, it was still a meaningful award for Perras, especially given the timing.

 

"This award for 2018 will always have a special meaning in my life. First, it is my 50th and my daughter's 25th wedding anniversary, which we recently celebrated together, being the 100th anniversary of the World War 1 armistice, and for the Red Sox winning the World Series," Perras said.

 

The coalition also honored Parks and Open Spaces Manager Jim McGrath for his effort to preserve and maintain monuments in city parks, such as the one on South Street. Former Veterans Service Officer James Clark was also honored for his time in the position.

 

North Adams Observes Veterans Day

 

The skies were blue but the air was chilly as the annual Veterans Day parade marched down Main Street to the Veterans Memorial.

The timing was a bit later than usual and the parade spectators arrived at the memorial just about 11 a.m., exactly a century from the end of World War I. What had for many years been Armistice Day, to denote the ceasefire in Europe became Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all of those who served the nation.

"It recognizes the degree of service and sacrifice in our nation by our armed forces and the 20.4 million veterans in the United States today," said Mayor Thomas Bernard. "And unlike Memorial Day when we honor those who gave their lives in service, Veterans Day asks us to remember all who served and sacrificed."

That includes the names on the honor roll along the dark granite wall at the memorial, including the city's two combat casaulties from more recent wars: Peter W. Foote in Vietnam and Michael DeMarsico in Afghanistan. The mayor also asked the gathering to remember Air Force Staff Sgt. Shane M. Appleton, a 2006 Drury High School graduate who died Oct. 28 while stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz.

And those who came home safe to build lives and families, and continue to serve in their communities, Bernard said, like the late Al Nelson, a Marine of strong faith who help found the food pantry that now bears his name.

"Our veterans living and dead are real people, not just names on wall, not just service records, not people we should thank just reflexively for their service although we do thank them and it's a privilege to do so," the mayor said. "We must do more for every active service member, for every veteran. We have a responsbility to care for our veterans in their battles and in the struggles they face on the homefront. ... serving them as they have served us."

The keynote speaker was Sandra Kee of Gloucester, vice commander of the American Legion's Department of Massachusetts and a Navy veteran.

A Wisconsin county sheriff, a veteran, recently came across a letter he'd received in 2003 when serving in the National Guard in Iraq. One Christmas card addressed merely to "dear soldier" stood out.

"It was special enough to James Johnson that he still had it 15 years later," Kee said. "But it wasn't until he looked at it again that he realized that he had previously overlooked a remarkable coincidence."

The letter had come from a fourth-grader at a local school -- who was now one of his deputies.

"Thanking our veterans may seem like a small gesture to some but it came have deeper meanings, as Sheriff Johnson believes," she said, adding that Johnson had written that "we need to realize what a positive impact we can have on the lives of others."

While these instances seem to make the world small, it's the veterans who also make the world safer, Key said. "We gather at events like this not just to honor generations of veterans but every man and woman who has honorably served since the American Revolution."

Sunday was the centennial of a conflict so bloody it had been dubbed the "war to end all wars," which sadly was not true. But it did, she said, prompt America's commitment to care for the veterans who carried their war trauma home with them.

One way to help veterans is by employing them, Kee said. Reducing veteran unemployment also reduces veteran homelessness, and providing treatment options helps those who may self-medicate to deal with trauma.

"A simple but proven way to thank a veteran is to hire a veteran," she said. "It offers hope and opportunity to those who have not just earned a shot at the American Dream but have defended the freedom of others to do the same."

Both Kee and Bernard thought it appropriate that Veterans Day coincidentally falls just a few days after Election Day.

"What's more fundamental to our freedom than the right and the responsibility to vote?" said Bernard.

"The defense of freedom is not just for those in the military," said Kee. "Each of us shares that duty and responsibility. ... We can protect our freedom simply by maintaining it here in America. If we want to preserve our freedoms we must put them into action, for example by voting in elections or speaking out against injustice. We must also ensure that everyone feels the benefits of freedom."

American Legion Post 125 Commander Dennis St. Pierre was master of ceremones, Bruce Shepley gave the opening and closing prayers and the Drury High band offered a selection of patriotic music including "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Also attending were representatives of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Veterans and Vietnam Veterans of America and auxiliary members, state Sen. Adam Hinds, state Rep. John Barrett III and City Councilor Jason LaForest, The family of Michael DeMarsico were also in attendance after the running of the annual 5K in their son's memory that morning to raise scholarship funds.