DAR recognizes Vietnam War veterans’ spouses

November 24, 2017- David Dore

Hylton Harvey, from the Leominster High School Marching Band, plays “Taps.” 

Gail Cunningham looks at her certificate. DAVID DORE PHOTO

Jane Mobley receives her pin. DAVID DORE PHOT0O

Mary Brooks, escorted by Elisabeth Johnsonerikson, 10, of Leominster. 

Ca

Carol Jacques, escorted by Luz Gonzalez, 11, of Leominster.

rol

Elaine Legay with her certificate and pin, joined by Avonlea Jane Radue, 8, of Fitchburg.

For Elaine Perreault, organizing a Certificate of Honor Ceremony for the spouses of Vietnam War veterans had personal significance.

“I’ve taken it on personally because my husband served one tour in Vietnam, and I’m fortunate that he came back safely, in spite of the fact that he’s had a massive heart attack from Agent Orange,” Perreault said. “But nonetheless, I have him. And it is with this that I have taken this on, so that our chapter has done what it could to recognize veterans and their spouses throughout this central part of Massachusetts.”

Perreault chairs the Vietnam War 50th committee for the Capt. John Joslin Jr. Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. She and other DAR members organized the Nov. 4 program at the Leominster Veterans’ Memorial Center that honored the spouses of about two dozen deceased veterans of the Vietnam War, which ran from Nov. 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975.

“This commemoration is focused specifically on thanking and honoring the 9 million families of those who served during the Vietnam War period,” Joslin Chapter Regent Catherine Eska explained.

Each spouse got an escort from a Girl Scout from Troop 31250 in Leominster, a pin and a certificate that read, “On behalf of a grateful nation and the Department of Defense, we honor you and your spouse’s service and sacrifice in the name of freedom and democracy during the Vietnam War. Our nation is forever indebted to you and extends its deepest respect and admiration.”

One of the recipients was Betty Paradis, whose husband Bruce passed away in August 2016.

Betty Paradis also witnessed the effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant used during the Vietnam War that has caused cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Parkinson’s disease, according to NBC News. She said her husband was sick for a long time after he returned home from the war.

“I don’t think there are enough veterans that are aware of what’s happening to them right now, what Agent Orange did to their bodies,” Paradis said. “They’re just accepting it, and they don’t know enough to go to seek the help from the government, through the veteran clinics. I speak to a lot of people, and I tell them they have to enroll. They’ve got to get their appointments made, and then get checked out, because a lot of their symptoms are Agent Orange-related, and they don’t know it.”

http://www.leominsterchamp.com/articles/dar-recognizes-vietnam-war-veterans-spouses/