Wareham to honor its veterans

The Wareham Veterans Day Parade will step off at 10 a.m. Nov. 11 on Main Street, starting at Besse Park and ending with a ceremony at Centre Park. The theme for this year's event is "Honoring our Veterans 1776-2026," celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary of independence.

This year's grand marshal is Robert Silvia, a Marine Corps veteran who served in field artillery during the Vietnam War. Korean War veteran Aldo Giannelli will also ride in the parade to honor his family's tradition of military service spanning World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam.

Capt. Clinton J. Prindle of the U.S. Coast Guard will serve as the keynote speaker. Prindle oversees Coast Guard operations across eight Northeastern states, covering more than 2,000 miles of coastline from New Jersey to the Canadian border. Coast Guard representatives will also join the procession for the first time.

New additions to this year's parade include the Bristol County Fifes and Drums Corps and World War II Airborne Eagles Reenactors. Returning musical groups include the Rehoboth 13th Continental Regiment and the Sudbury Fife and Drum Corps, marching alongside the Wareham Minutemen and Militia Companies. Members of the Wareham High School JROTC and the Wareham Police Honor Guard will also participate, as will the Wareham Veterans Council.

Along the parade route, new light pole banners on Main Street honor four Wareham residents killed in action during the Vietnam War: Richard Arruda, James Crowley, Ronald Bumpus, and Carlos Rose.

Following the parade and ceremony, a free luncheon for veterans will take place at the First Congregational Church of Wareham, sponsored by Warren's Harborview and served by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Onset VFW.

Wareham's military history dates to the Revolutionary War, when about 245 local men mustered for duty under leaders such as Maj. Israel Fearing. Local militia forces also defended the town during the War of 1812 when British troops aboard the HMS Nimrod landed in 1815, burning a cotton factory and destroying several vessels.

In 1974, the town's Bicentennial Commission reactivated the Wareham Minutemen and Militia Companies, naming Maj. John Fearing III commander. Fearing, a Navy veteran of World War II and the Korean War, served as grand marshal in 2023 before passing away in July 2024 at age 97.

Several monuments throughout town commemorate local veterans. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the town green, erected in 1904 and flanked by Civil War cannons, honors service members from the French and Indian War through the Civil War. Other memorials include the Dudley L. Brown Square in Onset, dedicated in 1968, and the Wareham Bicentennial War Memorial at Town Hall, dedicated in 1976.