By: John Cuddy – July, 2020 DRACUT – Born April 19, 1927, the youngest son of Polish immigrants, Dracut’s Alfred Araskiewicz was introduced to me by a fellow Scout leader, his neighbor, Paul Taylor. He graduated from Dracut High School with the Class of 1944. My first interview was with his granddaughter, Jennifer Phillips. She […]
July, 2020 Hero Marine and Purple Heart recipient, Francisco Urena resigned last month as Governor Baker’s Secretary of Veteran Affairs. He didn’t actually resign, he resigned the way most people in government resign: he was told to come in for a meeting with the Governor, was met by his flunkies upon arrival, and then handed […]
From Woodstock to Vietnam By: John Cuddy – June, 2020 Bill McCann was born in 1950 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He grew up in the Tower Hill Section of the city. Bill attended Lawrence High School and transferred to North Andover High School for his Senior Year. He graduated in June 1969 and applied to attend […]
BOSTON – A Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) employee pleaded guilty today to embezzling nearly $70,000 in VA funds. Michael Donaher, 41, of Lakeville, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to one count of embezzlement and theft of public money, property or records. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10, 2020. He has […]
Financial Assistance Massachusetts is home to 380,000 of the nation’s 21 million veterans. More than half are aged 65 and older, and one in seven lives in poverty. As a result, our veterans are particularly at risk of contracting COVID19, as well as experiencing economic hardship during the current public health crisis. For low-income veterans […]
Salem, MA — Today, Representative Seth Moulton (MA-06) announced five candidates from the Sixth Congressional District have accepted appointments at one of the nation’s military service academies. A video announcement from Rep. Moulton is available here. “Serving as an officer in the Marines was one of the hardest experiences of my life, but also one of the best. It […]
Clear Path for Veterans New England is taking all necessary health and wellness precautions advised to address the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, we recognize the growing needs among local Military, Veterans and their families. Like so many American families, there are growing issues of job security, financial stability, and housing and food insecurity. […]
By: John Cuddy – April, 2020 PELHAM, NH, New Hampshire’s Tony Marino grew up in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He was an athlete at Chelsea High, graduating with the class of 1940. His wife, Loretta, graduated from the same school with the class of 1944. Tony was attending a family wedding with his mother when the news […]
Heroes Still Serving By: John Cuddy Meeting Don Silba, Joseph Augusta, Jim Moran, Joe DiZoglio, and the other US Military Veteran members of the Queen City Chapter 2’s Service Center at the Lawrence Disabled American Veterans was an eye-opening experience. I stopped by their Lawrence Office at 112A East Haverhill Street, in Lawrence’s Prospect Hill […]
By: John Cuddy – Feb. 2020 Raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Ronald Santagati is now living in Salem, New Hampshire with his wife (and high school sweetheart) Joan, to whom he has been married to for nearly sixty-five years. During our Saturday morning meeting over coffee and Tripoli cookies in his kitchen, we started with a […]
It’s been over a year since Command Master Chief John Ratka passed away. John was the Executive Director of Veterans Northeast Outreach Center (VNOC) in Haverhill and winner of The Valley Patriot’s Hero Veteran Award for his tireless work helping homeless veterans get off the streets. John was appointed Executive Director in the late […]
By: John Cuddy – January, 2020 Originally hailing from Gloucester, Massachusetts, Fr. James Broderick is now a Catholic priest living in retirement at the Archdiocese of Boston’s Regina Cleri Home for Retired Priests. After graduating from Saint Ann’s High in Gloucester, with the Class of 1943, he joined the US Army Air Corp. Father Broderick […]
BY: Rep. Linda Dean Campbell – Dec. 2019 In recognition of Veterans Day, the Massachusetts House of Representatives unanimously passed two bills to support and honor our Veterans. I was privileged as House Chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs to shepherd these bills through the Committee and bring them to […]
(BOSTON) – Representative Linda Dean Campbell joined government officials, Veterans organizations, and families of our Fallen Heroes at the State House on Wednesday for the Annual Gold Star Families Tree Dedication. The event, organized by the nonprofit Military Friends Foundation, pays tribute to Massachusetts service members who gave their lives in service to our nation […]
By: John Cuddy – December, 2019 Marshall Rogers Sr. was born in 1921 on his family dairy farm in North Andover, MA. He was the second youngest of nine children. He claims to have walked over 3,000 miles as a child while going to school in North Andover making two round trips per day, going […]