Pittsfield Salutes Veterans on Wednesday

Wednesday, Nov. 11th is Veteran’s Day and the City of Pittsfield will once again salute area veterans of the armed forces. The City of Pittsfield’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park on South Street. The event will be held rain or shine.

A recent press release from the office Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer notes that there will not be a parade this year and there will be limited attendance at the ceremony. Officials are also reminding residents who do attend to wear a mask and maintain social distancing.

The event lineup will look like this:

Mayor Linda Tyer who will read the Veterans Day Proclamation.

Richard Kurek, Chaplain of VFW Post 448, will introduce the Veteran of the Year: Army

Air Corps World War II Veteran Anthony Pastore.

The Master of Ceremonies will be John Herrera, former Marine, retired Coast Guardsman, and the city’s Director of Veterans’ Services.

Pittsfield Community Television will televise the ceremony on CityLink 1303 and PCTV Select available at PCTV.org, as well as on Roku and Apple devices. Additionally, PCTV’s Access Pittsfield (Channel 1301) will air a marathon of “The Veteran’s Forum” from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

The series, part of the Veterans’ History Project, was started in 2007 by Robert Stevens, US Navy SeaBee veteran who served in WWII. Stevens passed away at the age of 95 in late May of this year due to complications of COVID-19.

Based on his long work telling veterans’ stories – he produced 65 episodes of The Veteran's Forum in Pittsfield, and then produced over a 100 more as a resident of Nashua, NH, we felt this a fitting tribute to both him, and the people whose stories he told. ~ Matthew Tucker, Public Access Coordinator at PCTV