By Ethan Walshe
Managing Editor

On Thursday, Westford Academy was honored with the presence of four veterans from various wars as a part of Veterans Day. Veterans from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and Iraqi Freedom appeared before an audience of history students and spent two class periods talking about their experiences in the military service and taking questions from the crowd. The event was orchestrated by social studies teacher Stephen Scully.

One of the veterans was Army Corporal Athanace “Joe” J. Landry, a veteran of World War II. He was drafted straight out of high school and became a truck driver for the army. He noted that he was scheduled to drive his truck full of soldiers on D-Day to the beaches of Normandy, but was very lucky to be rescheduled at almost the last minute. It was likely that he would not have survived D-Day had he landed there, which was incredible to hear. He told a heartwarming story of how he ran into his brother in a small town in France and was able to share a few good meals with him in the time of war. He was one of five children, four boys and a girl, all of whom enlisted in some form of military service during WWII and all of whom, made it home safely, an absolutely incredible feat.

Another speaker was army Lt. Colonel David Sawyer. He gave an overview of his career and his service in Vietnam and noted that he was lucky enough not to see combat, instead having administrative duties, which could not be said for all of the veterans present at the seminar. This man had the closest ties to WA, as his grandson Patrick Flannagan is a senior this year. He would continue to discuss much of his life after the service, and provide insight to what life after the military was like for a veteran, which turned out to be fairly normal for him. One quite powerful thing that he said was that when he came home from war, the first thing he was greeted with was an angry person calling him a “baby killer.” He explained that the Vietnam War was not widely supported by the people of the United States and many had difficultly distinguishing if the blame should be put on the politicians or the service members.

Yeoman 2nd Class Frank Harmon, the Korean War veteran, also spoke. His story was very similar to Lt. Colonel Sawyer’s, in that he too was drafted to serve in the navy. He spent much of his career out at sea performing clerical duties for ships’ captains.

The most recent veteran Command Sgt. Major Joseph Scunziano also told his story. He was the only of the veterans who had joined the military of his own accord. He became a career service member, and after his retirement he became a state trooper. He continually mentioned that the military had granted him with every opportunity he could have wanted, including schooling and a secure job. He also spoke extensively about serving your community in whatever way you can, in a very inspiring way.

Immediately following the veteran’s talks, a video made by Senior Reed Peraner thanking these veterans as well as all veterans was shown. It can be viewed here.

Following their talks, there was a brief Q&A period. The first question posed was how they were received when they came home from war, as veterans. Three of the men said that they received what could be called hero’s welcomes, aside from Lt. Colonel Sawyer, who as previously mentioned was not received in such an endearing way.

Another question was about whether any of them regretted their military experience. There was a unanimous answer of “no.” All of the veterans said that their experiences shaped them and offered them opportunities and they did not regret it at all. After this, the Q&A had to be cut short due to time constraints.

As students left after the presentation, a number of them approached the veterans one-on-one, shook their hands and thanked them for their service to this country. A feeling of respect was felt throughout the audience.