NORTHAMPTON — Ken O’Brien and his first cousin John Richardson sat in folding chairs in the main gathering area of the Florence VFW — a dimly lit, white and grey wood-paneled room surrounded with medals, articles and the names of hundreds who have given their lives in service to the country.
Given rainy morning conditions, Florence’s 158th annual Memorial Day Parade made its way through Main Street of Florence to this room instead of a ceremony in the Park Street Cemetery. In the VFW, O’Brien was awarded the Medal of Liberty, a purple ribbon with a gold star given to the families of those who have died in service.
Signed by Gov. Maura Healey, the medal was given to Ken O’Brien of Northampton and Richardson of Easthampton on behalf of their uncle, William O’Brien, who died alongside nine other men in a B-17 crash during World War II.
William O’Brien was a first-generation Irishman who went to Northampton High School, graduating in 1938. Richardson described his uncle as a handsome man whom all the girls liked, and scored Northampton’s only touchdown during a horrible season in the 1930s.
“It’s nice to see him get recognition, because you know when these kids go to war and they have no families or parents, everything disappears,” Richardson said. “So the legacy lives on in people like us that remind people that we had an uncle that was killed in World War II.”
Not only did Ken lose his uncle in the war, but his father, John W. O’Brien, also died in 1956 due to health complications stemming from both World War II and the Korean War. Ken was only four years old at the time his father died.
“My mom brought us up, my grandparents were involved, but we made it through,” he said.
Ken O’Brien said that while he once had an ambition to go into military service himself, his mother insisted that he not.
“I wanted to, but my mother laid the guilt trip on me that we had paid enough,” said O’Brien. “But when I was growing up, every kid’s father was in the military.”
More than a 100 people crammed into the room as O’Brien’s memory and service was honored, including elected officials and band members from Northampton schools. Hundreds more had lined the streets of Florence, including families with young children who waved flags as the parade made its way.
Among those who marched through the wet streets of Florence following a weekend of rain was Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra flanked City Councilors Rachel Maiore, Deb Klemer, Aline Davis, and School Committee member Robbie Saner Sullivan. Northampton residents and state legislators Sen. Jo Comerford and Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa also joined in.
Florence residents of 30 years Matti and Emma Tracy haven’t missed a single parade in all those years. It is their tradition to stand outside the Florence Bank on Main Street to keep alive the memory of family members who have served, and on Monday they were there again with their St. Bernard named Tessie to watch as the parade went by.
“It’s important for us to be here and memorialize all the people who’ve served our country. I don’t want that ever to be forgotten,” Emma said.
Memorial Day this year also marked the last day of work for Veterans Service Director Steve Connor who has been in the role 22 years and retires as of Tuesday. He gave an emotional address to the room and described waking up for Memorial Day as a 10-year-old boy.
He remembers that in order to spend time with his dad, he woke up at 5:30 a.m. to go from cemetery to cemetery to set up. Those were the moments that solidified his appreciation for honoring those who have served during national holidays.
As he addressed the room, he said the enduring struggle for people in his role will be to instill a sense of reverence for service members living and dead on Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
“I have always looked at these days differently; one as a solemn event and the other as a celebration. However, our calendar and our climate can make that distinction more difficult to recognize. Memorial Day is often marked by a somber ceremony, yet it falls during a three-day holiday weekend that is commercially promoted as the beginning of summer,” he said. “In contrast, Veterans Day is observed during the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month every November. It often arrives with chilly gray weather, bare trees and thoughts of winter already settling in our minds.”
He added, “It is a paradox that I have struggled with throughout my 22-year career, and since I cannot rearrange the days of the calendar, it will likely remain a challenge for those who follow me in this position.”
O’Brien was one of two Medal of Liberty recipients in Hampshire County this year. In Amherst, Bruce Barton received the medal on behalf of his uncle Stephen Barton who had also died in service.
In Williamsburg, the story of Pfc. John W. Kocienski was shared after his story was uncovered in recent years. Kocienski was the first soldier from the Hilltowns, and among the earlier Hampshire County soldiers, to be killed in action in France in World War I. He was a Polish immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1912 to live with his family in Haydenville.
Kocienski volunteered for service in 1917 with the Army National Guard company out of Northampton, and served in France from the fall of 1917 until his death at Belleau Wood in July 1918.
