U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton's Veterans Town Hall Aims To 'Bridge Divide' With North Shore Vets

MARBLEHEAD, MA — U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Salem) knows the majority of the public wants to find ways to show the veterans in their community an appreciation for their service and an understanding of all that went into their sacrifice for their country.

They just don't always know how.

For the ninth year on Friday, Moulton's Veterans Town Hall will provide that forum in Marblehead for North Shore veterans to come together and share their experiences in a way that can help "bridge that divide" between present and former soldiers and their civilian neighbors.

"A lot of people understand the importance and value for veterans to come together and talk about their experiences," Moulton told Patch on Tuesday. "There is great therapy in talking about the different experiences among those who understand.

"The bigger significance of the town hall is how it can bridge that divide between veterans who served and all the people in the community."

Founded in 2015 along with author Sebastian Junger ("The Perfect Storm"), the Veterans Town Hall is a forum to share their stories and sacrifices with their communities. Veterans of any era are invited to stand before their neighbors and friends to share a story or experience from during or after the service.

Non-veterans are encouraged to attend the event, to listen, and to connect with the veterans in their community.

"The most powerful feedback for me has come from the townspeople who did not serve themselves but have great respect for veterans and what they experienced," Moulton told Patch. "They tell me that they want to thank veterans, but they don't know how. These are important for bridging that divide and helping them to understand what we went through overseas."

Moulton, an Iraq War veteran, will give remarks, along with other special guests and North Shore veterans who wish to speak.

The event is set for Abbot Hall in Marblehead on Friday at 3 p.m.

Moulton said that while he is proud to bring the event back to Marblehead, where he grew up, each year, he is also encouraged by the expansion of the Veterans Town Halls throughout New England and the country, with the goal to expect to places like Great Britain — where he said cases of post-traumatic stress are high — in the future.

"Because it's my hometown and because it's a community that has always supported veterans not only recently but from back before our country was founded," he said of the Marblehead event's significance.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)