SAUGUS — Veterans and people who appreciate their service gathered at World Series Park Saturday for a day of appreciation and a chance to walk around a field filled with military trucks and historic items from past wars.
There was circa-1943 M3 halftrack and the FV101 Scorpion CVR tank and collectors and experts Paul Martineau and Dave Savoie standing by the war machines. They wore historically-accurate military uniforms and offered insights into weapons, gear and supplies from the World War II era, and trading stories.
“Me and Dave travel all over the place sharing this history and information with people,” Martineau, a Turners Falls resident, said.
Savoie, a Saugus native whose late father served in World War II and survived the Battle of Dunkirk, fell in love with the history of the war after watching Band Of Brothers and has been collecting historic items from weapons like the M1 garand rifle to supplies like map books ever since.
“It’s a great way to honor my dad, but also it’s a hobby that’s a lot of fun,” he said.
The Veterans and Military Appreciation Day was all about honoring veterans, said President of World Series Park, Bob Davis, who organized and coordinated the event.
“This event was put in place to honor our community’s veterans,” he said. “It’s not done enough.”
The tribute to veterans and military members rallied around a ceremony guided by television journalist and commentator Barry Nolan.
The ceremony, which took place on the baseball field’s infield grass featured an eternal flame at second base serving as a tribute to all those veterans who have died, and those who never returned home.
Originally a Massachusetts National Guard Blackhawk helicopter was supposed to land as part of the event. but the day’s overcast weather didn’t allow that to happen. But the ceremony went on with several speakers and guests.
Children were given red, white, and blue balloons to release in tribute and dozens of veterans were invited onto the field at one point so that the crowd could collectively thank them for their service.
Special honorees included World War II veterans John Deyermond, who rose through the ranks from private to major general, and Purple Heart recipient Pat Waller.
“It’s important we honor those who have served because it can encourage others to serve in the future,” Deyermond said. “Veterans have character, they are loyal, dedicated, and some are the best citizens.”
Waller held back tears while giving an emotional testimony about his experiences at the front lines of World War II where he was wounded in battle.
During the ceremony, the Lynn English High School Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps drill team doubled as color guards and performers at the event and helped the president of the Saugus Veterans Council, Steve Castinetti, with a special ceremony the took time to honor Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) soldiers.
“Coming home from Vietnam, many of us didn’t receive such a warm welcome home at the time. Now we appreciate our veterans, which is important for them adjusting to life back home,” Castinetti, said before the ceremony.
Focused symbolically around an empty dinner table in the infield, the ceremony underscored how families wait years and decades for missing and imprisoned loved ones to come home.
POWs were honored with a commemorative seat next to the third base dugout. The stadium seat is always to be left empty as a tribute to those who did not return home.
