Rivers Honors Its Veterans
For four decades, the Rivers community has gathered on Veterans Day to honor the men and women who have served our country in the armed forces. Today Rivers continued that tradition with a ceremony in Benson Gymnasium that featured a moving speech by Brigadier General Jack Hammond who is the current Executive Director of Home Base. More than a dozen members of the Rivers community, including alumni, parents, and grandparents, were recognized for their service.
Head of School Ned Parsons opened the ceremony by giving a brief history of Veterans Day and reminding students that our democracy was founded on four freedoms—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear—values that our country still upholds today, and that our servicemen give their lives to defend. He then invited the veterans in attendance to introduce themselves.
The eldest veteran, Bob Cleverdon ’40, was the navigator on thirty B24 combat missions during World War II, while the youngest, Dave Donahue ’03, served in Afghanistan in 2009. Several veterans in attendance served in Vietnam, including one who confided that this was the first time he had been publicly thanked for his service to his country in that war. Others in attendance served during the Cold War or during peacetime, and every branch of the armed forces was represented.
General Hammond, who is the son-in-law of Rivers’ long-time staff member Russ Halloran, then spoke to the audience about the sacrifices his fellow veterans have made in service to their country, emphasizing the fact that many of them were only a few years older than the Upper School students in the audience. He reminded the students that the best way for them to thank veterans for their service is to give back through service of their own.
During his distinguished 30-year military career in the United States Army, General Hammond commanded troops at home and abroad, including Afghanistan in 2002, Iraq in 2003, and Afghanistan again in 2011-2012. In July 2011, he became the first Massachusetts officer to achieve the rank of General in a combat theater since World War II. He is the recipient of numerous military awards including: the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal for Valor. Today General Hammond is the Executive Director of Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital program whose mission is “to heal the invisible wounds for veterans, service members and their families through world-class clinical care, wellness, education and research.”
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the community gathered around the flagpole on the quad for the playing of taps, in honor of deceased veterans. After the ceremony, many students gathered around the veterans to thank them for their service, before several veterans went to various classes to speak about their personal experiences.
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