PEABODY — Mayor Ted Bettencourt is asking residents to wear red every Friday this summer in support of a soldier who was wounded during an attack in Afghanistan.
On July 7, U.S. Army soldier Hunter Josselyn, a 2016 graduate of Peabody Veterans Memorial High School, suffered two gunshot wounds during an ambush attack. The encounter also left a second soldier wounded and another killed.
Josselyn had to undergo extensive emergency surgery, according to a Facebook post from Bettencourt. His injuries are not life threatening but he is facing a long road to recovery. The Peabody native and his wife, Sara, have an 11-week-old daughter named Brielle.
“RED stands for Remember Everyone Deployed, and is a national mission to show solidarity and support for our troops until every military service person returns home to their families,” said Bettencourt in the Facebook post. “To carry the message to national levels and serve the military community and their families by showing that they are never forgotten.”
Along with asking the community to participate in wearing red, the city will dedicate the August 5 fireworks at the high school in Josselyn’s honor. The display will include a patriotic-themed concert that begins at 7 p.m. and will go until 9 p.m., which is when the fireworks will begin. In his Facebook post, Mayor Bettencourt mentioned that Josselyn’s family is requesting privacy during his long road to recovery.
