Around Town

Watertown Holds Flags Retirement Ceremony, One of the Only Ones in the Area

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A solemn ceremony was held at Watertown’s Ridgelawn Cemetery on Thursday afternoon. Not a burial service, but a retirement of the Star Spangled Banner which flew over Town Hall as part of the Town’s Flag Day Retirement of Colors Ceremony. This was the second year in recent memory that Watertown’s Veterans groups held the flag retirement ceremony. “These flags serve as a constant reminders to all of us that we live in a country where our freedom has been deeply purchased by blood, sweat, tears, and ultimate sacrifice,” said Watertown Veterans’ Agent Mark Comeiro. “To all who shall see these presents, Greetings!

Around Town

Playground to be Dedicated to Lt. Paul Sullivan, Who Died in Vietnam 50 Years Ago

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Watertown will honor Lt. Paul J. Sullivan, who died in Vietnam 50 years ago this year. A plaque will be unveiled during the ceremony at the Sullivan Playground on June 24. The year after his death, the Town named the playground at the corner of Mt. Auburn Street and Arlington Street for Sullivan. This year, it will be rededicated and a new plaque has been installed with a portrait.

Around Town

Watertown High School Strives to Bring Attention to Faded Banner Honoring WWI Veterans

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Hidden in plain sight at Watertown High School is a banner dating back 100 years, made to honor the town residents who went to serve in World War I, as well as, those who died in the “War to End All Wars.” The banner is located in a glass case, not far from the top of the central staircase on the second floor of the high school. It caught the interest of Kraig Gustafson, the AP U.S. History teacher and the district’s grade 6-12 Social Studies Coordinator. He also wanted to do something to honor others who served in the military at that time and since then. Once bordered with bright red with a white center and hundreds of stars some of which form the letters W-H-S, the banner now appears in different shades of gray.

Around Town

Town Holding Flag Day Ceremony & Flag Retirement Ceremony

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Watertown’s veterans groups will hold a flag retirement ceremony to mark Flag Day on June 14. 

Last year, the town held a Flag Day ceremony for the first time in many years. During the event, flags that have become worn or tattered will be retired and incinerated during a special ceremony involving Watertown’s veterans. The ceremony will be held at Ridgelawn Cemetery on Thursday, June 14, 2018, beginning at 6:00 p.m., said Watertown Veterans’ Agent Mark Comeiro. “This event is open to the public as it would be an honor to have the residents of Watertown attend this prestigious and very special event,” Comeiro said. If you have any questions, please call the Veterans Office at 617-972-6416.

Around Town

Legacy of Watertown Soldier Killed in Vietnam Lives 50 Years Later in Annual Scholarship

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Fifty years after his death, Paul Sullivan continues to inspire the youth of Watertown and surrounding communities, and his legacy lives on in the recipients of the scholarship that bears his name. On June 23, 2018, a banquet will be held to honor the winners of the 50th Annual Lt. Paul J. Sullivan Scholarship and several other scholarships that have grown out of the effort to commemorate the 24-year-old from Watertown, who was killed in Vietnam on Aug. 9, 1968. The day after the banquet, a plaque will be unveiled at the playground named after Sullivan on the corner of Mt. Auburn Street and Arlington Street. Sullivan joined the U.S. Army in 1968 and trained to become a Ranger.

Around Town

See All the Activities in Watertown During the Week Leading Up to Memorial Day

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The annual Parade will top off Watertown’s Memorial Day celebration, but there are many other activities around town this week. Watertown Veterans’ Services Agent Mark Comeiro provided the following information:

2018 Memorial Day Week Activities

Placing of Flags:

WEDNESDAY: 23rd May, 2018 at 5 p.m.: Meet at Ridgelawn Cemetery

*RAIN DATE THURSDAY MAY 24th, 2018*

Flags will be placed at veterans’ graves at all Watertown cemeteries by Veteran organizations and Volunteers

FRIDAY 25 MAY 2018:

Veterans School Visitation:

9:00 a.m. – Watertown High School
9:45 a.m. – Cuniff Elementary School
10:00 a.m. – Lowell Elementary School
10:00 a.m. – Watertown Middle School
11:00 a.m. – Hosmer Elementary School

SUNDAY 27 MAY 2018:

Morning Services and Dedications:

7:30 a.m. – WWI Memorial Stone – (front of Shutt Detachment)
7:40 a.m. – Cottage Street Cemetery
7:50 a.m. – Coolidge Square POW/MIA Monument
8:00 a.m. – Arlington Street Cemetery
8:10 a.m. – Common Street Cemetery
8:20 a.m. – Charles River Float
8:30 a.m. – World War II Memorial Stone (front of Town Hall)
8:35 a.m. – Saltonstall Park
8:45 a.m. – Moxley Field (AMVETS Post 14)
8:55 a.m. – St. Patrick’s Cemetery
9:05 a.m. – Ridgelawn Cemetery
10:00 a.m. – Veteran’s Mass at St. Patrick’s Church

MONDAY 28 MAY 2018:

Parade:

10:30 a.m – 11:30 a.m. – Parade Check-in at Tufts Health Plan Parking lot
12:00 p.m. – Parade Begins

Around Town

Volunteers Sought to Place Flags at Veteran’s Graves for Memorial Day

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The Watertown Veterans’ Services Office sent out the following information:

Watertown will hold its annual Flag Marker disbursement at Veterans Gravesites on Wednesday May 23, 2018 beginning at 5:00 p.m.

If anyone would like to volunteer to assist in this honorable event, please meet at Ridgelawn Cemetery, Watertown or call the Veterans Office at 617-972- 6416. In the event that it rains, we will shift the date to the following day, Thursday May 24, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.

Around Town

Pearl Harbor Remembered 76 Years Later by Watertown’s Veterans

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In honor of the American servicemen lost at Pearl Harbor 76 years ago, Watertown veteran Ralph Ricci threw a wreath into the Charles River on Thursday afternoon. The wreath laying was part of the Pearl Harbor Commemoration held at the dock in Watertown Square Thursday. Ricci was still a boy when the attacks occurred in 1941, but he has a clear memory. “We didn’t have TV then. Back then there was movie theater over the bridge (on Galen Street) and I was coming out of there and a kid was yelling ‘Extra!