BRATTLEBORO Tom Costello, former chaplain and commander of the American Legion Post 5, said American liberty is being “challenged today as it has in any time throughout our history.”
Brattleboro American Legion Post #5 will hold traditional services starting at 9:15 a.m. Monday at the Gilbert memorial on Main Street next to the Co-op and then moving on to Prospect Hill Cemetery, St. Michaels Cemetery, Veterans Memorial Bridge on Putney Rd. and Locust Ridge Cemetery.
Following these there will be a ceremony on the Brattleboro Common at approximately 11 a.m. The ceremony will include guest speaker Tom Costello (a Vietnam war Marine Veteran) and include speakers from VFW Post 1034, Brattleboro American Legion Post #5 as well as selections played by the Brattleboro American Legion Band. Included in the ceremony on the Common will be a presentation of a Purple Heart to the Historical Society by the family of Dorr Sprague who died in action in Guadalcanal in 1941-42.
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The Brattleboro Historical Society receives requests in several forms. Some individuals respond to our Facebook posts, some send emails to histsoc@sover.net, others write letters, and still others leave messages on the answering machine. This week weâll review two of our recent requests.
A few weeks ago, we received an email from a gentleman whose great uncle had been awarded a Purple Heart for action in the South Pacific. The man to whom the medal was awarded died during World War II at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. He died early in the war, in September of 1942. The medal was sent to his mother and handed down through the family. Now his great-nephew wants to donate this medal to the historical society to be included with our WW II Memorabilia. What an honor to be asked to hold this very special object within our collection.