LYNN — The City of Lynn held its annual Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony Monday morning inside Memorial Auditorium, marking 50 years since the end of the war with a program of remembrance, recognition, and reflection.
Mayor Jared C. Nicholson issued an official proclamation declaring March 31, 2025, as Vietnam Veterans Day in Lynn. The event included remarks from city officials, veterans, and community leaders, along with a reading of 19 names of Lynn residents killed in the Vietnam War.
“This building was constructed just after World War II to honor that generation’s service,” Nicholson said. “But a quarter century later, when Vietnam veterans came home, they weren’t met with the same appreciation. Today is a chance to help right that wrong — to say thank you, and welcome home.”
The ceremony opened with the national anthem performed by 93-year-old Jim Smith, a U.S. Army veteran and retired concert singer who spent more than two decades performing gospel and Broadway-style music after his service.
“I started singing when I was 16,” Smith said. “It means a lot to sing for my fellow veterans.”
Mike Sweeney, Lynn’s Director of Veterans’ Services, called the gathering one of the most important days on the city’s calendar.
“When Vietnam veterans returned home, they faced a nation that wasn’t ready to welcome them appropriately,” Sweeney said. “That has changed in recent years, but there’s still work to be done.”
He credited the Lynn Veterans Council, his staff, and local volunteers for sustaining the event each year, and he recognized the presence of the Lynn English JROTC, who assisted in the program.
One of the ceremony’s featured speakers was Gerald “Jerry” Waldron, a U.S. Army veteran, St. Mary’s High School graduate, and longtime educator and guidance counselor at Breed Middle School. Waldron served from 1968 to 1970. He reflected on growing up in Lynn and the importance of preserving the stories of veterans for future generations.
“Lynn is often disparaged, but that’s not right,” Waldron said. “We had civic organizations, lakes, ponds, boys’ clubs—things that other places didn’t. I was proud to grow up here, and I still am.”
He also spoke candidly about the climate veterans returned home to.
“We were the brunt of a nation that was angry and frustrated,” he said. “But we were resilient. That’s what the military taught us.”
Waldron was presented with citations from the City of Lynn, the Massachusetts Senate, and the House of Representatives for his service and continued commitment to community education.
The reading of the names of Lynn’s 19 fallen servicemen followed. Each name, engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., was read aloud with the date they were killed in action. The ceremony concluded with a moment of silence and a rifle salute performed by three members of the Essex County Marine Corps League, based in Peabody.
Among them was Bob Lennon, senior vice commander of VFW Post 1240 and a Vietnam veteran, who said the Peabody-based League is now the only group in the region that regularly provides military rifle salutes at veterans’ funerals.
“It used to be every VFW post had a rifle team. Now it’s just us,” Lennon said. “During COVID, we showed up when no one else could—just family and us.”
Lennon served 13 months in Vietnam and said that while public appreciation was rare when he returned home, that began to change after 9/11.
“After the towers fell, people started thanking us for our service,” he said. “It took decades.”
He also expressed concern about the future of veterans’ healthcare.
“The VA is already short-staffed. Now they’re cutting more. That hits veterans directly,” he said. “We need to keep these services open.”
Lynn residents killed in action during the Vietnam War
As read during the March 31, 2025 ceremony:
Cpl. Edward Anderson, Army – May 14, 1968
PFC Frederick G. Atkinson, Army – July 9, 1966
Lance Cpl. Kevin A. Cahill, Marines – Oct. 12, 1967
Sgt. Kenneth R. Carter, Army – July 31, 1966
Cpl. John R. Chisholm, Marines – March 15, 1968
Lance Cpl. John D. Evans, Marines – Feb. 2, 1968
PFC Eric A. Fisher, Marines – Feb. 16, 1969
Cpl. William J. Flink Jr., Army – Sept. 1, 1968
Cpl. Norman W. Grant, Marines – Aug. 23, 1968
Cpl. James J. Hazard, Army – May 20, 1970
PFC John J. Malloux, Marines – Nov. 24, 1968
PFC Michael L. McCafferty, Army – Oct. 3, 1968
PFC Irving G. Miller, Army – Oct. 17, 1966
Lance Cpl. Robert J. Nelson, Marines – Feb. 13, 1968
Cpl. George J. O’Brien, Marines – March 20, 1967
Cpl. George A. Odiorne, Marines – Feb. 25, 1970
Spec. 4 Peter J. Pennucci, Army – May 20, 1970
Spec. 5 John L. Ramsey, Army – May 25, 1968
Spec. 5 Carlton W. Upton, Army – March 15, 1964
