May 10, 2023 By SCPO Keith Jermyn, USN (Ret.)
The Town of Hingham Department of Veterans’ Services and the Hingham Veterans’ Council are proud to announce that the Annual Memorial Day Observance will be held Monday, May 29th, 2023. The Hingham Town Moderator, Michael Puzo, will begin the ceremony promptly at 11:00 a.m. at HINGHAM TOWN HALL.
All Veterans [and their families], the HHS Band, and all senior citizens will be provided priority seating. Honor/Color Guards will be posted in the Veterans Monument, and the general public is invited, however seating is limited, so you are asked to bring their own chairs.
The Principal Speaker will be: The outgoing Commonwealth of Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans Service, Cheryl Poppe, Colonel, U.S. Army(Ret.). Cheryl served for 30 years in the Massachusetts Army National Guard in several capacities before retiring as a Colonel. Her last assignment was Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel. Cheryl was part of a design for a new Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke with an anticipated completion date of 2027, as well as conversion of the Chelsea Domiciliary campus to permanent housing with 100% Veterans Preference. Poppe was appointed Acting Secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Services, and was later appointed permanently to the position on October 2020 where she served as Secretary until February 2023.
After the official remarks, the Town Clerk will read the names of those Hingham Veterans who have passed since Memorial Day last year. A wreath will be placed in honor of all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, as the Rifle Squad Fires-the-Volley, and the Bugler sounds TAPS.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, ALL Veterans and their families are invited for a buffet-style luncheon at the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall (#358 Main Street), served by Hart Catering of Rockland, MA.
All students’ and other participants will be treated to ice cream on the lawn provided by the Veterans Council.
***In the event of inclement weather, the entire ceremony will be conducted in the Sanborn Auditorium, Hingham Town Hall ***