MEMORIAL DAY HONOR ROLL SUBMISSIONS REQUESTED
Memorial Day will be observed on Monday, May 25, 2026. It is a tradition at DWO to hold a commemoration to honor the deceased U.S. and Allied military veterans who were relatives or close friends of our residents. We gather at the entrance to the clubhouse on the morning of Memorial Day to read the Honor Roll of the deceased who served in the cause of freedom.
In preparation for this year’s Memorial Day commemoration, we ask residents who have not done so previously to submit information concerning their deceased veteran relatives and friends whom they wish to have included in our Memorial Day Honor Roll. This request is particularly pertinent for newer residents who have not been here for prior year ceremonies.
Over time, the number of honorees has grown, from about 30 in 2012 to almost 300 in 2025, with more than 100 residents attending the ceremony. The event is intended to honor those veterans with whom we had a direct, personal connection in our lives, include relatives and close friends who had served in eras such as WW II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, etc. While many residents have relatives who served in the 19th century and earlier (Civil War, Revolutionary War, etc.), in an effort to manage the size of the list and the length of the ceremony, the Vets4Vets club decided to limit the Honor Roll to those veterans who served in the 20th Century or later and to limit the number of names submitted to no more than 8 per household. The names of individuals who served before 1900 remain in our database, but they will not be listed in the program.
If you submitted this information previously, no further submission is required, unless you need to correct or update something. If you have not previously submitted information, the data we would like to have is as follows (absolute accuracy is not critical; information based on the best of your knowledge is totally acceptable and most welcome):
- Veteran’s full name, rank, and branch of service (and country if not the U.S.)
- Veteran’s relationship to the submitting DWO resident (uncle, friend, etc.)
- Veteran's year of death
- Conflict period(s) during which the veteran served (e.g., World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Cold War, Gulf War, etc.)
- Significant Combat Awards received (e.g., Silver Star, Bronze Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, etc.)
- Significant Events (e.g., was a B-17 crewman; was at Pearl Harbor, or D-Day, or the Battle of the Bulge, etc.; was killed in action)
Please submit information concerning any deceased veterans you would like to have added to our Memorial Day Honor Roll to Jim McTigue jmctigue@post.harvard.edu before Thursday, May 14, 2026, so that the list can be updated in time to have programs printed for the event. Thank you.