Program Mission Complete!
submitted by Gail Smith
The mission of the Town of Hoosick Tribute Flag (Liberty) Program is to honor every Town of Hoosick serviceman – all 99 of them – who died in service by flying Liberty, our tribute flag, over their final resting place.
[private]We are pleased to announce, with our last 4 servicemen recently honored, that Liberty’s mission is now complete!
On March 13, 2013, Liberty first flew over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia, in honor of all 99 Town of Hoosick men who died in service.
Since that day, our beloved tribute flag has travelled to 8 cemeteries in Europe; to the Punch Bowl in Hawaii; to Toronto; and down South to 22 Civil War cemeteries in 10 states during a 97 day stint to honor 26 Civil War soldiers.
In May 2015, Town of Hoosick community members had the opportunity to participate in ceremonies in 3 local cemeteries during Voice of a Vet’s Memorial Day Tribute where 38 men were honored; and on July 25, 2015, Patriot Guard Riders escorted Liberty on a day-long trek to 8 cemeteries in Buskirk, Hoosick, Petersburgh, Cambridge (2) and Schaghticoke, NY, Canaan, CT and North Adams, MA to honor 12 Town of Hoosick men.
The last 4 men to be honored were Frank Putnam (8/31/1898), whose ceremony took place in Toronto on August 27; and 3 World War II Vets – Joseph H Lewsey (10/03/44), Thomas J. Fosegan (8/5/43) and Sylvester T. Fosegan (5/5/45), who were honored with over 30 Patriot Guard Riders in attendance on Saturday, September 24, at Long Island National Cemetery.
Besides these missions, Liberty was also requested to fly in special ceremonies that were being conducted during her journey down south.
Voice of a Vet and our community will be forever indebted to the Town of Hoosick Historical Society who was instrumental in helping us locate each of these men; for the American Battle Monuments Commission for their assistance overseas; and the Patriot Guard Riders for their dedication to helping us carry out our mission. The Patriot Guard Riders New York and beyond escorted Liberty to every one of the ceremonies listed except those in Europe.
There are not words to express our gratitude for the time and effort, love, honor and dedication these organizations have given to the Town of Hoosick Tribute Flag Program.
Voice of a Vet would like to recognize Tom McMartin, our Program Director, for the selfless sacrifices of time he has made, and continues to make, to research our fallen heroes. Tom also interacted with each of the organizations and cemeteries listed – stateside and overseas – to coordinate the ceremonies to ensure everything went smoothly and our fallen heroes got the honor and respect they deserve.
We are looking forward to gathering in the spring of 2017 to celebrate the completion of Liberty’s mission and her retirement. Our prayer is that our tribute flag will never have to be called on again to fly over the grave site of a fallen Town of Hoosick soldier.
The next phase of the Town of Hoosick Tribute Flag Program is Adopt a Serviceman. This program gives family and community members an opportunity to adopt one of our fallen servicemen by purchasing a memorial cross in his honor. You will be seeing more about this in the weeks to come.
You can also find information on “Town of Hoosick Tribute Flag Program” on Facebook or you can contact Tom McMartin (686-5075), Joyce Brewer (258-5772) or Gail Smith (686-9888). [/private]