Vietnam Memorial Unveiling on Saturday at 10 a.m.

The following press release was submitted by Veteran Services Officer Ron Griffin. 

Thanks to the generous donations of so many businesses and citizens, the Medfield High School Vietnam Memorial will be unveiled on Saturday, June 15, at 10 a.m. Many plaque honorees and their families will be attending the unveiling. Everyone young and old, veteran and non-veteran, is invited to attend the brief ceremony that also will celebrate Flag Day.  The Blake Middle School choir will offer a patriotic melody while Blake Middle School students hand out American flags.

The bronze plaque was previously dedicated during the Blake Middle School “Veterans Day” program last fall.  Since that time, more donations enabled that plaque to be mounted on a granite stone.  On June 15, it will be set at its permanent location near the flagpole by the front entrance of the Blake Middle School which served as the Medfield High School back in the 1960s and 1970s.

The names on the Memorial belong to students who once walked the halls of the school and sat in the classrooms and then served in our armed forces during the Vietnam War. Not all actually served in Vietnam, but all of them were prepared to go where they were needed.  Two never returned to walk those halls again or reflect on their high school memories.  Stephen Hinkley and Peter Kristof are now permanently part of Medfield’s character at Hinkley Pond and on Peter Kristof Way, home of the American Legion.

Several years ago, the Medfield School Veteran Plaque Committee was formed to restore an aging World War II memorial at the Dale Street School which served as the high school during WWII.  While planning the re-dedication of that plaque, Medfield High School sophomore Sam Marble approached the committee with the idea of a Vietnam Memorial at the Blake Middle School.  His vision, once depicted by a hand sketch, is now being realized.  Sam credits his inspiration to his uncle Richard Pond, who was able to witness the plaque dedication last November but passed away in March.

The featured speaker will be Plaque honoree James Blake who served in the Army during the Vietnam War Era.  Jim is also the son of Thomas A. Blake after whom the school is named.  Thomas A Blake served during WWI and later became Medfield’s Superintendent of Schools.  He served in that position at the time of the Vietnam War and knew all these who students who served.

Blake Middle School principal Nat Vaughn will also have some brief remarks as the school accepts stewardship of the Medfield High School Vietnam Memorial. 

The Committee expresses its gratitude of support to Abby Marble and the Medfield Foundation.  The committee expresses a special thanks to Robert Kennedy Jr. and the Medfield Public Works Department for all their assistance and cooperation.  

The Medfield School Veteran Plaque Committee members include:

• Robert Maguire (Superintendent of Schools)
• Nat Vaughn (Principal of Blake Middle School)
• Nancy Kelly-Lavin (Lords Department Store)
• Selectman Richard DeSorgher (Medfield Town Historian)
• Lee Tredway (Past Commander American Legion Post 110)
• Anthony Centore (Adjutant American Legion Post 110)
• Ron Griffin (Veteran Service Officer) 
• Sam Marble (Medfield high School Graduate and Eagle Scout)