Memorial Day activities include unveiling of revised War Memorial Book

Lincoln’s Memorial Day observances will include the unveiling of the revised War Memorial Book, a calligraphed leather-bound book commemorating Lincoln residents who served their country in the armed forces during times of war.

The Lincoln Girl Scouts, with the support of the Parks and Recreation Department, invite you to assemble at Bemis Hall on Monday, May 26 at 9:45 a.m. to march with Lincoln’s American Legion (Post 84) down Bedford Road to the Lincoln Library. Come honor and celebrate the lives of those lost in battle as well as our active and retired service men and women. Refreshments will be served. In case of inclement weather, festivities will take place inside Bemis Hall.

This year’s guest speaker will be Capt. Dwight Gertz, USNR (retired). Gertz has been a resident of Lincoln since 1986 and has served as chair of the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, director of the Rural Land Foundation, President of the Lincoln School Foundation and chair of the Parish Committee of the First Parish Church. Since 2008, he has been a member of the faculty at Babson College, where he is now a senior lecturer in management. Gertz served for 25 years as a regular and reserve officer in the U.S. Navy.  He retired in 1998 after completing a tour of duty as area commander for naval intelligence personnel in the six New England states.

Other highlights of the Memorial Day event:

• A firearms salute
• “Taps”
• Laying of the memorial wreath
• Invocation by Rev. Roger Paine of the First Parish Church
• Singing of our national anthem by the Lincoln-based music group Out with the Cat
• A performance by members of the Lincoln Girl Scouts
• A patriotic singalong led by Dr. Thomas Risser.

The War Memorial Book was given to the town in 1960 by the Veterans Memorial Committee, which consisted of Leo J. Algeo, Cliford W. Bradley, Edward J. Chisholm, Andrew J. Dougherty, Harriet Rogers, William Whalen, and E. Donlan Rooney, chairman. The calligraphy was done by Al Sturgis. It contains the names of each Lincoln individual credited with service during our nation’s wars, starting with the American Revolution. Until recently, the book ended with the Korean War. The revisions were undertaken to include the names of those who served during the Vietnam War and to incorporate new research about Lincoln residents in the Revolutionary War from Embattled Farmers: Campaigns and Profiles of Revolutionary Soldiers from Lincoln, Massachusetts, 1775-1783 by Rick Wiggin of Lincoln (see the Lincoln Squirrel, April 14, 2013). The project to update the book with Vietnam service men and women was initiated by Veterans Affairs chair Priscilla Leach and former town historian Peg Martin and was carried out by the Lincoln Historical Society with generous support of the Ogden Codman Trust.