Wakefield To Rededicate Veterans Field As Part Of Veterans Day Plans

WAKEFIELD, MA — Wakefield community members will gather this week to rededicate the town’s Veterans Field facility as part of Veterans Day observances, the town announced on Wednesday.

The community will then gather at Galvin Middle School to reflect on the service and sacrifice of Medal of Honor recipient Thomas J. Hudner, Jr., among other ceremony plans.

The Veterans Field rededication will begin on Friday with a ceremony at 9 a.m. at Veterans Field. The ceremony will ultimately unveil a new sign for the field donated by Wakefield resident Lois Benjamin, as noted in the town’s announcement last week.

Veterans Field sits at the corner of Church Street and North Avenue in Wakefield.

At the Galvin School later in the day on Veterans Day, keynote speaker Thomas J. Hudner III is scheduled to discuss the experience of his father, Hudner Jr.

Hudner Jr. was a Navy wingman alongside fellow aviator Ensign Jesse Brown. He was recognized for his actions during the Korean War, when he landed his plane on snowy mountainside terrain to help Brown after Brown was shot down over enemy territory.

Hudner Jr.'s Medal of Honor citation as shared by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society described Hudner Jr. pushing snow into Brown’s wrecked plane to keep flames at bay.

Hudner Jr. tried to pull Brown free from the plane, later working with a rescue pilot that he called to the scene to further try to save Brown. Brown later succumbed to his injuries.

Hudner was born in Fall River. He then died in 2017 in Concord, Mass. The USS Thomas Hudner Navy destroyer now bears Hudner's name, currently under the command of Wakefield native Shelby M. Nikitin.

Hudner's story inspired the book “Devotion.” The book is now slated for a movie adaptation out soon.

Hudner III’s address will take place in the Galvin School Auditorium in Wakefield beginning at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11.

Musicians from Wakefield Memorial High School will also perform alongside other ceremony appearances by members of Boy Scout Troop 701, Girl Scout Troop 62842 and American Legion Post 63, as well as local leaders and guests.