Veterans Nancy and Steve Cronin were honored at a Veterans Day ceremony, Nov. 11, at the Center on the Common. (Photo by John Sharko) MORE VETERANS DAY PHOTOS
Veterans whose military service ranged across seven decades took part in a Veterans Day ceremony at the Center on the Common last Monday. As Harvard Veterans Agent Dennis Lyddy called out each military era–from World War II through Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, the Balkans, to the present–veterans from that time stood up and were applauded.
Cronins receive PJ Award
Special recognition went to Steven and Nancy Cronin of Hillcrest Drive, who received the Veterans of the Year award, called the PJ Award in memory of the late Paul Johnston. Johnston was for many years commander of the Harvard American Legion Post, a position in which Steve Cronin succeeded him. The award was presented to the Cronins by Selectman Ron Ricci, himself a Navy veteran.
Lyddy cited the work the Cronins have done planning Memorial Day parades and making sure that veterans’ graves are decorated with flags and flowers each year. He noted the Cronin family’s ongoing research to locate all veterans’ graves in Harvard cemeteries, going back before the American Revolution.
Lyddy asked Steve and Nancy each to give a short biography of the other. Both Cronins served in the Army, and both achieved the rank of major. Steve grew up in Harvard, and the two met while they were at UMass Amherst, where Steve joined the ROTC program. When they married, their first posting was in Hawaii. Nancy earned a master’s degree in public health at the University of Hawaii and then joined the Army, too.
The Cronins served together in Texas, Germany, and the Middle East. Steve recounted that he had sworn in Nancy for her commission in their kitchen at Fort Hood, Texas.
Nancy noted that the couple worked hard to be together through their many postings. She thanked Duane Barber, of Oak Hill Road, for helping them transfer to Fort Devens in 1987 so that they could be near Steve’s father, Dick Cronin, Harvard’s longtime town moderator, who was ill. At the time, Barber and the Cronins did not know each other, but Barber was one of the commanders whose approval was necessary for the transfer.
Nancy served until their first child was born, while Steve remained in the Army for 20 years, retiring in 1996. After their military service, both took on second careers in education. Steve teaches fifth-grade math and science, while Nancy works with the CASE program for younger students.
Saying farewell to Lyddy
The Cronins and Selectman Ricci then promptly turned the tables on Lyddy, presenting him with a certificate expressing Harvard’s thanks for his seven years of service as veterans agent.
Ricci told Lyddy, “You have made sure that we as a community have kept vets in our minds and in our hearts.”
Kelly Lyddy, Dennis’s wife, and the couple’s three children–Patrick, Taylor, and Ashton–were called forward for recognition and thanks for their contributions during Lyddy’s tenure as veterans agent.
Recognizing veterans from WWII to present
The well-attended ceremony brought together vets of all ages, who chatted and greeted friends while waiting for the official proceedings to begin. Some were in uniform; some wore caps with the insignia of their outfit; some just wore their everyday clothes. Some came on their own, but many came with spouses, children, and grandchildren.
The ceremony opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem. Army veteran Peter Johnston, who served during the Korean War, gave the invocation, offering a prayer for “a better world for all.” Peter Johnston, of Ayer, is the twin brother of Paul, for whom the PJ Award is named.
The crowd observed a moment of silence in memory of the ending of World War I, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918.
Recognizing POWs and MIAs
Two veterans from the Vietnam War era presented a ceremonial remembrance of all those who were prisoners of war or missing in action. Army veteran Gregory Stirk explained the symbolism of the white table, which represents the hardships, sorrow, and loneliness of those who are missing or imprisoned; Navy veteran Donald Green lit the candle of peace on the table.
Maynard resident Charles Kavaleski was present from the World War II generation of veterans. Kavaleski was a Marine who served in the Pacific, in the island-hopping battles from the Marshalls to Iwo Jima. Robert Hughes, in the audience, asked the gathering to remember two other World War II vets, Franklyn Hynes and Robert Campbell, who are former Harvard residents but now live elsewhere.
An obligation ‘to tell our stories’
At least four veterans were present to represent the late 1940s and early 1950s, including the Korean War. The largest contingent who attended were from the Vietnam era, including–among others–Bill Donnelly, Jack Guswa, Nelson Northern, and Philip Wood.
“Get to know these veterans,” Lyddy urged the audience. “They’re the special people who wear the uniform.”
Lyddy told the vets themselves, “We have an obligation to tell our stories.” He emphasized that those stories are a way to raise awareness of veterans’ issues in the community at large for the sake of the wave of veterans coming home now and those in the future.
The ceremony ended with a closing prayer and the singing of “God Bless America” by the Girl Scouts, veterans, and audience.
Girl Scouts from four troops helped out with the program and refreshments. Troop 30744 displayed the banner that the troop had made about five years ago in honor of the vets. The banner was the troop’s Bronze Award project. U.S. Army veteran Rachel Schmoyer, Janice Kennedy, and Allison Thornton coordinated the Scouts’ participation.
