MARBLEHEAD — U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton hosted his 11th annual Veterans Town Hall on Monday at Marblehead’s Abbot Hall, giving veterans from across generations to share what military service has meant in their lives and a community the chance to simply listen.
Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran and Democrat representing Massachusetts’ 6th District, opened the event by describing the lifelong commitment between service members. He recalled skipping a friend’s wedding to help a fellow Marine struggling with mental health.
“There was no place I would have rather have gone, and that’s because of the brotherhood that we shared… Those relationships are so important that we treasure them even in the darkest moments,” he said.
An Air Force veteran, Truc Decoste, traced her story back to her grandfather, who served in Vietnam. Her family immigrated to the U.S. under the 1987 Amerasian Homecoming Act. She used the GI Bill to attend college and now works to ensure veterans receive dignified care.
“Service gave me a voice,” she said. “It gave me a way to repay a country that gave my family a second chance.”
A former Army Ranger, Peter Squeglia, who fought in the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” battle in Somalia, spoke about the isolation of returning home and the healing power of connection.
Now a program manager for Clear Path for Veterans New England, Squeglia, described how his organization helps veterans rebuild through food, housing, and peer support.
“There were many of my peers, many of my friends, who weren’t able to make that transition. So I say to you tonight, if you have a friend, you have a family member who is isolated: Isolation leads to depression, leads to suicide and many other factors, alcoholism, all sorts of things like that. So if you know someone, ask them to reach out,” he said.
Bill Carpenter of the USMC shared some facts about veterans in the community.
“There are approximately 18 million vets. This means, as you walk, drive, visit, anywhere in this good country, that about one out of every 15 Americans is a veteran. The average age is 58, and one in eight of those veterans is a woman,” he said.
Air Force veteran Perry Kishida, a veteran employment counselor for MassHire, is currently serving in the Air National Gaurd. He offered a quip about leaving the service; he said a sergeant once told him “that joining the military was the best decision I ever made, and getting out was a second best. That message still resonates.”
Marine Corps veteran Jim Gauthier shared what life has been like after returning from service.
He said to himself, “Jim, you just went through two years of the worst hell you’re ever going to go through. So just try to relax and stay calm the rest of your life. And that’s what I’ve tried to do. ”
Navy veteran Alicia Reddin stated that she learned while serving that “leadership is not authority. It’s about alignment. It’s about knowing who you are and what you stand for, and then making sure that the actions that you take day to day enforce that and follow that.”
Reddin reminded the crowd that “our service doesn’t end when we take off the uniform.”
“In a time when it feels like the world is absolutely intent on dividing us, I remind everyone to stand hard together,” she said.
Organizers reminded attendees that the Town Hall is not a political event but a forum for understanding.
During an interview after the event, Moulton said that he “wouldn’t be in politics if it weren’t for my time in the Marines. Serving in Iraq showed me what happens when leadership in Washington fails, and that’s why I decided to run for Congress.”
He added, “People ask all the time, ‘Why is Congress so dysfunctional?’ The truth is: Most members are smart — what’s missing isn’t intelligence; it’s courage. When you’ve seen real courage from 18- and 19-year-old Marines in combat, it puts the courage required in Washington into perspective and makes it a lot easier to do the right thing.”
