New Veterans Affair Committtee for Walpole Gets Selectmen's Approval

Walpole selectmen gave their blessing Tuesday to veterans agent Jon Cogan’s plan for a Veterans Affairs Committee for the town.

“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t keep those people in the public spotlight, and we should recognize them on a bit more of a regular basis,” selectman Chris Timson said.

Originally, Cogan wanted to create the committee to facilitate funding and construction of memorials for fallen soldiers. Selectman Michael Berry said he was also trying to create a committee for veterans to help living veterans and their families be recognized. Selectmen and Cogan agreed to combine the two ideas and make one committee for both functions.

“One of the reasons I thought that it would be ideal to have a committee that would be a conduit for fundraising activities,” Berry said. “Our goal is to have a  committee that remembers [fallen soldiers’] sacrifices but also honor those who are still with us… we could have a committee that could do both.”

Cogan said that the committee would be comprised of seven veterans and civilians and meet once twice a month at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5188.

Cogan said that honoring the families of veterans is just as important as honoring the veterans they supported. He related a story in which he recently went to a movie theater and they would no longer give a military discount for him and his family.

“I’ve served 20 years in the army, and there’s no way I could have done that without my family members,” Cogan said.

Town administrator Michael Boynton said that while the new committee would still be under the final authority of the board of selectmen. While the new committee would have creative control over the memorials and events for honoring veterans, the selectmen would still have to approve any projects.

Boynton said that once a charter is drafted, Cogan will have to present it to the board of selectmen for a final vote.