Speakers to Include Lt. Colonel Vincenzo Valastro (U.S. Army Retired), Cynthia A. Mainini (U.S. Army Retired), and Arthur A. Russo (U.S. Army Veteran)
Citizens for Milford invites all area veterans and residents to attend a special ceremony on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11 in Draper Memorial Park, weather permitting. The ceremony will begin immediately following the conclusion of the Veterans Day Parade at approximately 11:00 a.m.
Participating in the ceremony will be local veterans, clergy, Sons of the American Legion, Milford High School senior Aolani Clayton singing the national anthem, and the Milford High School Marching Band. Commander Eric P. Ruscitti and Jr. Vice Commander Tim McDonough, both representing the Italian American World War Veterans Milford Post #40, will post the Colors.
Lt. Colonel Vincenzo Valastro (U.S. Army Retired), who served our nation in uniform for 28 years, including during the Cold War, Operation Desert Shield, and Operation Desert Storm, and as a civilian at Natick Labs for over 19 years, has been honored as Grand Marshal of this year’s Veterans Day parade. Valastro will be leading the remarks. Also speaking in the ceremony will be Cynthia A. Mainini (U.S. Army Retired), who volunteered to join the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) in 1972 and continues to serve in the Protection Engineering Support Division of the U.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center. The final speaker will be Arthur A. Russo, a third-generation U.S. Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War and was deployed to convoy escort duty in the Mekong Delta for the Ninth Infantry Division. (Scroll down to read more info about the speakers.)
Members of the Waters Corporation Veterans Employee Resource Group will present a wreath honoring veterans at the World War I monument. Milford Fire Lieutenant Scott Keefe will perform “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes during the wreath presentation. Peter Scandone, who is chairman of the Veterans Day Ceremony committee, will serve as master of ceremonies.
Scandone says, “As the 250th anniversary year comes to a close, we invite all area residents to honor and celebrate our veterans. Please make plans to join us on Wednesday, November 11 as we line up on Main Street for the parade and then gather at Draper Memorial Park for the concluding ceremony.”
The Field of Flags, a tribute to the service and sacrifice of our veterans and active military personnel, will be installed in Draper Memorial Park prior to Veterans Day and remain flying until the Monday after Veterans Day. Parade and ceremony attendees are invited to walk among the flags and monuments in Draper Park and read the names of the veterans and active military who are memorialized and honored there.
A limited number of chairs will be available for ceremony attendees at Draper Park.
If the parade is cancelled due to rain, the ceremony will be held at the Italian American War Veterans of the U.S. Post #40 Hall (4 Hayward Field) beginning at 10:00 a.m. If the weather is poor but the parade still marches, the ceremony will be held at the Italian American War Veterans of the U.S. Post #40 Hall beginning at approximately 12:00 noon. Please check the Citizens for Milford Facebook page (Facebook.com/CitizensforMilford) if the weather looks questionable.
The Veterans Day Parade is organized by the Milford Department of Veterans Services. Please address questions regarding the parade to this office in Town Hall at 508.634.2311. Questions regarding the Veterans Day Ceremony can be emailed to CitizensforMilford@gmail.com.
Speaker Biographies
Grand Marshal Vincenzo Valastro (U.S. Army Retired)
Lt. Colonel Vincenzo Valastro immigrated with his family to Milford from Sicily as a child and has been honored to serve our nation in both uniform and as a civilian for 47 years. Upon graduating Milford High School in 1972, he was accepted to Norwich University, the nation’s oldest private military school, launching his career in the U.S. Army.
Over 28 years of service, Valastro underwent rigorous and expansive training at bases around the United States, including Forts Devens, Bragg, and Leavenworth, and ultimately earned the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. These years of service put him in active duty not only during the Cold War, but also during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. Valastro’s time in uniform was followed by over 19 years as a civilian for the Department of Defense, working as a contracting officer at the Army’s Soldier Systems Center (Natick Labs) before retiring in 2015.
Valastro and his wife, Maria (Cocimano) Valastro, continue to live in Milford and have two children, Peter and Francesca.
Cynthia A. Mainini (U.S. Army Retired)
Cynthia A. Mainini (U.S. Army Retired) volunteered to join the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) in 1972 and was stationed at the Headquarters Battery U.S. Army Field Artillery Center at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In 1974 she joined the 181st Engineer Battalion, a unit of the Massachusetts National Guard. Mainini continues to serve and has been working in the Protection Engineering Support Division of the U.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center for over 16 years.
Mainini and her husband, Marble L. Mainini III (U.S. Army Retired), have two daughters, Elizabeth A. Mainini Sanchioni and Kathleen A. Manoogian.
Arthur A. Russo (U.S. Army)
Arthur A. Russo is a third-generation Army veteran who joined the Army in 1968, trained as a military police officer, and served in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1969 with the 516th Military Police Battalion assigned to the Ninth Infantry Division. Russo was deployed to convoy escort duty in the Mekong Delta and was awarded the Combat Infantrymen’s Badge, flight wings, and meritorious service ribbon.
He began his career in law enforcement in 1970, when he joined the Milford Police Department, where he served for 37 years as a safety officer, motorcycle officer, and a member of the first public safety dive team.
Russo and his wife, Beth Ann (Pomponio) Russo, have one son, Damian Russo, who continued the family’s military service for 20 years with the Coast Guard, including a deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom.