Bonds of Brother- and Sisterhood Can’t Be Broken: Honoring Local Vets on Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov 11, 2025

Tomorrow Worcester Honors Veterans with a pancake breakfast, parade and wreath-laying

Fast Facts About American Vets

Not all veterans see combat, but they all train extensively, build and maintain equipment, keep peace in “hot zones”, provide humanitarian aid, “stand guard” at national monuments and embassies, and more. Deployment can be domestic or international and the assignments are all critical to and security in this country and globally. Peace time duty is no less important than combat duty, it just looks different. This Soldiers’ Angels blog describes the scope of military posts and asignments in peace time.

With that said, with millions of living veterans, many of whom saw combat in Afghanistan and secret ops within the last quarter century, read read on for some quick facts about Veteran’s day and it’s beginnings, and veterans in America and the Greater Worcesester area.

• The Last American WWI veteran Cpl. Frank Buckles, died in 2011. in his time it was called The Great War.
• Veteran’s Day was originally called “Armistice Day” and marked the first anniversary of the day fighting ceased in WWI on November 11, 1918.
• Unlike Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day honors all service members- living or deceased
• An estimated 38,883 veterans live(d) in Central Mass in 2022, according to collaborative census data.
• In America, according to History.com, updated Oct 2025, there are: 

• 5.6 million living veterans served during the Vietnam War era from 1950 to 1973.
• 7.8 million living veterans served in the Gulf War era.
• 767,000 living veterans served during the Korean War.
• Of the 16 million Americans who served during World War II, about 45,418 were still alive as of 2025.

Veteran Support

There is support for veterans and families, and Worcester has a host of efforts and agencies available to vets to assist with issues such as homelessness, mental health, case management, crisis support, food insecurity, etc. Veteran support services include national, state and local veteran support services for Worcester include, but are not limited to:

• The National VA Crisis Line and homelessness support;
• New England-based non-profit Veteran’s Inc;
• MA Executive Office of Veterans Services ;
• City of Worcester Veteran Services ;
• VFW and American Legion stations and services;
• Special Projects and subgroups such as Thin Blue Line, Wounded Warrior Project.
• Life-long friendship friendships and social media groups for those who have served together or share common challenges. “Bonds of brotherhood” are reported by many veterans.

We live among heroes, those who have sacrified their own well-being and their family lives for the greater good.

How we treat the homeless vets in Worcester Common Oval, those suffering from PTSD from foreign wars, those who are currently deployed, those who walk amongst us in our nation’s cities, and their families, is of critical importance. It would be a great disservice to our country and those who serve, not to take a moment to reflect on what Veteran’s day means to veterans and to be grateful for their contributions to our safety. They have unique stories and unique needs. They deserve our respect and our support.

Ronald Croke (Marine Corps 1954-1957) of Holland, MA, says he likes the fact that we have Veterans Day and remembers when it was Armistice Day. He also thinks that “homeless veterans should never be homeless after serving our country. The government needs to do a better job focusing on their housing and mental health needs.” He has been present or honored locally at Veteran’s Day ceremonies for decades, and his great-granddaughter wrote about him in a school hero project.

John Daige (JD), who enlisted in the Army just after the September 11 attack in 2011 was raised in Leicester and On the WPD. Also the Co-founder of Thin Blue Ride and cancer survivor, he says, “As a combat veteran, Veterans Day means a lot to me. I can’t speak for all veterans, but for me I feel a sense of pride in Veterans Day. It’s a holiday that you have to earn to get.“

Honoring our service members is more important than ever

JD’s point is not to be taken lightly. He says, “We have an all-volunteer fighting force unlike other countries that make it mandatory.  Americans want to serve something bigger than themselves and that is what makes our military better than any other.” Military service is a choice, and it is a major life decision that impacts the service member and the family.

How easily we forget that people serve today domestically and overseas. (Click image to see where troops are deployed). Regarding civilian perception of veterans, Mark Berman wrote in the Washington Post in 2014, “The gulf between those who served (and are connected with others who served) and the rest of the population is an important point worth reiterating again and again for people trying to understand the experiences of veterans, experiences that remain unfamiliar to a massive portion of this country.”  

In this time of political upheaval, with troops in our cities and a nation divided, we can never forget the sacrifices made by our service members, past and present. Lives and families have been lost and disrupted: for this country; for patriotic values; for freedom; for the safety of the world. Civilians may not understand the importance of Veteran’s Day to those who have served since WWI, (the holiday was instituted in 1919.) but we need to try to teach our children to respect and honor veterans. Our security comes at a cost. War is ever-present all over the globe, if not at home, and there are troops deployed world-wide all the time. Death tolls from all wars combined are in the millions!

For older Americans, 9-11 may have been a wake-up call, but our nation’s children (luckily) do not know armed conflict or the terror (in real time) of a true attack on this nation. Cyber attacks and foreign wars are in some ways invisible, scrolled through like so many Tok Tok videos. In this time of instant communication, perhaps we forget that war is still relevant, because we are innoculated to images from Ukraine, Nigeria and the Middle East and we are swept up in polarizing political discussion. Or perhaps it doesn’t seem importan becasue of our relative security in the US. Yet service members cannpt disconencted: they still serve for this country on domestic (read below) and in foreign deployments.

We civilians don’t suffer the rationing of food during wars, the loss of a huge amount of the male population, or economic changes in the same way as during WWI and WWII. We don’t currently have a draft, like during the Vietnam war. In these times more civilians struggled, so perhaps it felt more relevant. In those times, people waited to hear casualty lists read on the radio or printed in the newspaper. There were no cell phones. There was no internet. Families waited for letters, telegrams, military updates, news reports and caskets bearing flags. Collective mourning and fear was a daily experience. Technology has changed the civilian experience with war and possibly how we view our soldiers and veterans. We are more afraid of things we cannot see: Invisible cyber attacks, reports of submarines and intel, school shootings being planned, our immigrant population, our neighbors…

But the newly named Department of War (formerly Department of Defense) is active in building our military and increasing capability of our soldiers citing China and Russia as real threats. Today, November 10, 2025, the Office of the Secretary of State announced sweeping reform across the department “to strengthen deterrence, rebuild the industrial base, and accelerate capability delivery to the warfighter.”¹ This is not a call to be afraid but rather, to understand our military is always active, and currently, they are not even being paid!

We don’t have to like it, but we need to find a way to respect our military

The National guard is currently deployed in DC and other cities, even during the governement shut down, now on day 40. Surely, no one missed this global news: Troops are in the Caribbean ready to manage the conflict with Venezuelan drug cartels. Reuters reported on September 1, 2025 that , “Seven U.S. warships, along with one nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, are either in the region or are expected to be there soon, bringing along more than 4,500 sailors and marines.” Again, troops are always at the ready worldwide and they: train extensively, serve with loyalty and patriotism, and enlist voluntarily.

Regardless of how we feel about these deployments, these men and women are doing their jobs. The troops in our cities are on an assignment and they are not to be feared or taunted. Those on highly classified assignments, cannot and will not, release the information they hold. They have taken an oath willingly, as JD said, to serve a cause greater than themselves. Every service member has sworn to protect and defend the US Constitution and obey the orders of the President and adhere to General Military Law.² This is one of, if not the most, selfless act(s), a man or woman can make, particularly when many people are seeking only to be the biggest social influencer by posting content all about them!

Soldiers do not choose where they will deployed: They loyally accept thier assignments. Military families face unique challenges such as relocating periodically, seperation during deployment, difficulty re-integrating into civilian life, homelessness upon retirement from service and more. The divide between soldier and civilian may be due in part to misunderstanding, but civilians can be more aware and sensitive to these challenges, but perhaps never as much as those who have lived and live it.

Brother and Sisterhood of Strength

“Marines always have bonds with other marines no matter how young or old they are. It’s like a brotherhood,” says Ronald Croke’s wife of almost 70 years, Dorothy Croke. Bonds built in wartime (and losses of friends in combat), during training, and in shared quarters on deployment, such as ships and bunkers, are deep.

Croke “never saw action”, but he was on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea for seven months due to challenges at the Suez Canal. He was part of a reinforced battalion of 1500 marines that were carried by four ships. When he got to Greece he counted 210 ships. It’s hard to imagine being barely 18 and seeing such a thing. His Marine Corps brothers knew that feeling.

JD, an Army combat veteran (Iraq) agrees; “The bonds built between veterans are unlike any other friendships or family relationship you will ever have.”

What can civilians do with this information?

• Thank service members in public everywhere, every time.
• Donate food, clothing items, volunteer hours, etc to local programs.
• Participate and show up at Veteran’s Day events (JD’s book launch is after the city activities at Off the Rails, 6-7 pm. It is family friendly).
• Visit war memorials and learn about military history.
• Be supportive of all veterans and tolerant of vets who struggle with mental health and homelessness. If you can’t help, at least don’t hurt.
• Help others locate veterans services:

What’s Up Worcester thanks Ronald Croke and John Daige for their personal insights and for their service.

Tomorrow, we thank all veterans, living or deceased, because that is the purpose of Veteran’s Day.

Betsey Taft Kennedy, Managing Editor, What’s Up Worcester, [email protected]

Author Notes: The author has done research and has no personal military experience. She is open to feedback and commentary. All information provided is linked to websites to learn more. This article barely scratched the surface regarding veterans in America, but is meant as a launch pad to learn more. Statements from veterans are their own experiences and words.

1. Read the entire release here: Secretary of War Announces Aquisition Reform ↩︎
2. Read the full enlistment oath. ↩︎

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