Westborough holds Veterans Day observances

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By Dakota Antelman, Managing Editor

Westborough holds Veterans Day observances
Select Board Chair Allen Edinberg and Town Moderator John Arnold lay a wreath outside the Forbes Municipal Building in Westborough. (Photo/Dakota Antelman)

WESTBOROUGH – Westborough kicked off the region’s Veterans Day observances, Nov. 11, with a series of ceremonies throughout the town.

Veterans, friends, family and public officials gathered first at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Willow Street just after 8 a.m.

The procession then moved on to Minuteman Park, St. Luke’s Cemetery, Pine Grove Cemetery and the Westborough rotary before concluding at the Forbes Municipal Building.

Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) addressed event attendees at Minuteman Park, laying a wreath at the memorial there. Rep. Hannah Kane (R-Shrewsbury) and Rep. Danielle Gregoire (D-Marlborough) were also in attendance alongside a number of municipal elected officials.

“I think of what a beautiful day it is here today and all the wonderful liberties and wonderful quality of life we have here in Massachusetts,” Eldridge said. “All of those things are made possible because of the wars that brave veterans, men and women, have served in throughout the history of our nation.”

The event marked the return of a Veterans Day tradition that had been temporarily reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Westborough’s Veterans Day observances were MCed by Al Tournas.

Dan Moynihan, a veteran and recently retired Westborough town employee, was the grand marshal.

The events concluded with the dedication of Westborough’s Blue Star Memorial Marker after multiple speeches outside the Forbes Municipal Building by individuals including Town Moderator John Arnold, Select Board Chair Allen Edinberg and Pastor John Wesley Taylor

Taylor spotlighted two Westborough veterans in his remarks, asking event attendees to “lift up” Denzil “Denny” Drewry, who was in the hospital recovering from surgery as of Nov. 11.

“We know he had a big hand in making sure all these memorials were in place here in Westborough,” Wesley Taylor said of Drewry and the multiple memorials outside the Forbes Municipal Building.

Wesley Taylor also asked attendees to lift up the memory of Charlie Gage, a Westborough resident and Army veteran who passed away on Nov. 9.

“We think of his family, but also his service,” Wesley Taylor said of Gage. “He loved Westborough so very much.”

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