To the editor:

On Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, the veterans of our town will remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Throughout our history, men and women lost their lives in battles fought to safeguard the freedoms which are sometimes taken for granted.

The United Veterans Council ceremony will take place at the Victory Gates at Barrington High School at 9 a.m. There is plenty of parking in the High School parking lot and a short walk to the ceremony on Lincoln Avenue. There is no way we can repay those who sacrificed their lives to make the United States of America the most free country on God’s earth. But we can take a few moments out of our busy lives to pay a solemn tribute to their memory.

Our veterans have not been shown the respect that they deserve this past year by either our Town Council or our Town Manager. The memorial which the town dedicated to them was taken over by those who sought to push agendas cherry-picked to reflect their values. When our veterans asked them to stop and leave the memorial dedicated to them as a place where the American flag flew free of any other attachments, their voices were ignored.

There was always a simple solution to this. These men and women fought to keep us all free. If they requested that their memorial fly the American flag free and unencumbered by anything else, that should have been granted them. It would have been a very small gesture of thanks.

An alternate flag pole could have been placed anywhere else in town, promoting the values of these elected politicians and their appointed manager. The politicians would have been happy because they could further their agendas. The veterans would have been happy because above their memorial would fly, solitarily, the flag that veterans have fought and died for.

But those in power refused to compromise. They never tried to work with our veterans. That is why the town is having an alternative Memorial Day service, without the United Veterans Council. My guess is no police or fire members will be allowed to participate in any ceremony other than the one the town is directing. We will see come Monday. The town takes these actions because they can, because not enough people who think it is wrong, stand up for what is right. 

We weren’t elected to office. We weren’t appointed to work for the town. But we can let our veterans know loudly and clearly that their sacrifice and service is not taken for granted by us. Come to Victory Gates at the High School on Monday, May 31. In each of our small ways, we can combine to let our veterans know that they will always be appreciated and respected by the people of Barrington. 

Mary Teixeira

Barrington