Wayland Honors All Who Served with 2022 Outdoor Veterans Day Ceremony

The program will include a Keynote Address, given by Natick resident and Army veteran, Sharon Deehan. Ms. Deehan joined the Army in 1967 and volunteered to serve in Vietnam after graduating from nursing school, working in Saigon’s 3rd Field Hospital. The Los Angeles Times reported on the circumstances of her remarkable reunion with a former patient.

The Wayland Veterans Day Ceremony – hosted by the Wayland Public Ceremonies Committee – will be held outside at the Wayland Veterans Memorial (Wayland Town Building, 41 Cochituate Road, Wayland, MA) on Friday, November 11, 2022 at 11:00am.

The program will begin with a performance of The National Anthem, sung by Wayland native, Victoria Gitten. The Posting the Colors and Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Wayland Boy Scout Troop 1, Cub Scout Pack 1, and Wayland’s Girl Scouts. An Invocation, given by Wayland native Joseph P. Carrol, CDR USN, will be followed by opening remarks, given by Chair of the Public Ceremonies Committee and Purple Heart recipient, Richard P. Turner, USN RET.

This year’s Keynote Address will be given by Natick resident and Army veteran, Sharon Deehan.  Ms. Deehan joined the Army in 1967 and volunteered to serve in Vietnam after graduating from nursing school, working in Saigon’s 3rd Field Hospital. The Los Angeles Times reported on the circumstances of her remarkable reunion with a former patient – then an Army captain who had lost his legs in 1969 when he stepped on a mine – in a feature story in 1990.

The Keynote Address will be followed by the presentation of Wayland’s Freedom Prize. Three recent Wayland High School graduates will share this year’s prize – Jack Cribben, US Marine Corps; Aidan Moretz, US Marine Corps; and Ian Patterson, US Army.  The parent(s) of each Freedom Prize awardee will receive the award and speak on behalf of their sons as they are all currently serving in active duty status.

The names of those that appear on Wayland’s Veterans Memorial – who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the Town of Wayland and their country – will be read by members of the Public Ceremonies Committee. The reading will be followed by the American Legion Post #133 Rifle Salute, a wreath-laying ceremony, and the playing of Echo Taps by members of the Wayland High School Band. The Veterans Day Ceremony will conclude with the singing of America the Beautiful and a Benediction.

We welcome all who can attend and thank participants for complying with COVID-19 guidelines for health and safety. We also invite those who are unable to attend to view the ceremony on WayCAM.