Two of the leaders of Watertown’s veteran groups recently reflected on the sacrifices made by members of the military from town when they were presented a photo of the dedication of a memorial to Watertown servicemen who died in First World War.
The memorial still sits outside the Marine Corps League Charles Shutt Detachment on Mt. Auburn Street. The building formerly housed Watertown’s American Legion Post. The Historical Society of Watertown inherited a collection of items from the Legion in 1994 when the Post closed, including the photo, said Historical Society member Joyce Kelly.
“We came across a lot of photographs, and one of them was of the stone out front that was dedicated to the soldiers who died in World War I — they called it the World War at that point,” Kelly said. “We recognized that the building behind it was the Shutt Post, although then it was the American Legion. And so we thought a good place for this photograph would be right here at the Shutt Detachment on Mt. Auburn Street.”
On May 7, Kelly presented the photo to George McMasters, Commandant of the Marine Corps League Shutt Detachment, and Ed Aucoin, Paymaster for the Shutt Detachment.
The memorial is very familiar to McMaster.
“You know, I go by that stone all the time coming in here. And you know, it’s interesting to see all the names, you know, we’ve got Irishmen and Englishmen, and I’ve noticed an Armenian name up there. And it’s good to keep hold of our history,” he said. “That was the war to end all wars, World War I, and now you can see the wars just keep moving along. And it’s nice to have an organization like the VFW and the American Legion and the Marine Corps league to support veterans when they return from peace and war.”
Aucoin said the Shutt Detachment tried to recreate the photo, which originally appeared in the Watertown Sun newspaper on Nov. 13, 1930.
“When we did ours in June 2009 we tried to recreate the picture that the American Legion did, and we were pretty successful,” Aucoin said. “So when I saw this picture of the original American Legion, it kind of gave me chills.”
The photo was a reminder of the importance of veterans organizations for McMasters, who joined the Marines at age 18, and at age 45 joined the Army and did tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, and at Guantanamo Bay.
“It was good to have an organization that remembers those who gave their lives. On that stone, it says ‘Glorious Dead,’ And these guys gave the ultimate (sacrifice),” he said. “Two of the names — Burnham and Manning — the name of our (VFW) Post are on that. So we’re tied into that stone. It’s important, because every once in a while, you have to take up arms and defend the country, and that requires a lot of courage and the sacrifice of young men and women, and there’s no higher price to pay, and the cost of freedom sometimes demands that cost. So it’s nice to have a memorial to those who have paid with their lives.”
Vets can share experiences with people who have gone through similar experiences at places like the Shutt Detachment and the VFW, said Aucoin, who spent two tours in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969 with the Second Battalion, First Marines.
“I belong to quite a few veterans organizations, and it’s it’s a thrill to be able to sit down and talk with other veterans about subjects that you can’t really put on the table talking with non-veterans, because some of the stuff we’ve been exposed to and we experienced,” he said. “But when the stars light up and the right people are there and the stories come out — sometimes it takes a little while to come down after the conversations. So it’s great to see that these veterans organizations are still surviving.”
More Photos
The Historical Society has many other photos, including nearly 50 photos of the commanders of the American Legion, Kelly said, but the Historical Society cannot keep them all.
“We’d like to keep a representation of some of these things, but we don’t really need to keep all of them, and we kind of like to get some of that stuff back out to the public, to the families of those veterans,” Kelly said. “And so we’re going to be holding an event at the Edmund Fowle House on Marshall Street on June 7, from 1 to 3:30 (p.m.) and we’re going to invite people into the house to come and look and see what we have.”
If people cannot attend the event, Kelly said they can contact her to find a time to come by and see the photos. For more information about the Historical Society click here.
Watertown’s Tradition of Service
Residents of Watertown have served in the military since well before the birth of the United States. In the 1930s, as part of a WPA project, people found the graves of veterans buried in Watertown’s cemeteries, Kelly said.
“One of our volunteers put them all into a database, which is on our website, so you can go in there and see the guys who fought in the French and Indian War, in King Philip’s War, in the Revolutionary War,” Kelly said.
McMasters is familiar with some of the gravesites.
“I go walk my dogs in the cemetery, right across the street here from the Post (the Common Street Cemetery), and there’s graves there,” he said. “There was a Watertown fireman that fought in 10 campaigns in the Civil War, all major campaigns. There’s soldiers that served in the War of 1812, we have another guy who took part in the Boston Tea Party. So the history here in Watertown goes back to before the Revolution, and then all the way through in every war that’s been fought, we can see it in the cemeteries around this town.”
Memorial Day
This week the graves will have flags placed on them in preparation for Memorial Day. The City will hold the annual parade on Monday, May 26, beginning at noon at City Hall, and ending at Victory Field.
The route goes west on Main Street, turns right onto Waverley Avenue and goes past Watertown Middle School. A viewing area will be put up near the school. The procession continues north on Waverley and turns right on Orchard Street, ending at Victory Field.
Following the parade, a ceremony will be held at Victory Field.
