Walls, director of the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemeteries spoke as the wind caused the thousands of small flags decorating graves to gently fly.
AGAWAM — William C. Walls Jr. greeted several hundred people Monday at the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Agawam by welcoming them to “this hallowed ground where Memorial Day and Veterans Day are celebrated every day.”
Walls, director of the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemeteries, spoke as the wind caused the thousands of small flags decorating graves to gently fly.
Charles H. Rucks, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, gave the Memorial Day address, saying many of the service men and women who did not die on battlefields succumbed to service-related injuries later.
He said in addition to honoring those who lost their lives in the service, people must “take appropriate care of their comrades who served.”
“Not all fatal wounds are visible,” Rucks said, citing suicide among veterans struggling with “their demons” as well as veterans who are homeless.
At one point in the program, each military branch’s song was played, and during the song members of that branch were asked to stand.
State Rep. Benjamin Swan, D-Springfield, said honoring veterans must be more than accolades, “Taps,” speeches and “honoring Old Glory.” He said he recently met with a chapter of American Veterans in Prison at the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Shirley, a minimum security facility.
Swan said the men “have made mistakes,” but are banding together to help themselves and others in the prison.
He said he pledged to them to understand and support the special needs of veterans in prison.
Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said veterans he has known continue to give back to their communities when their military service days are over.