December 5, 2002
…………………………Middleboro: - Compiled from the Gazette and Enterprise newspapers.
…………..Middleboro’s new veterans agent Paul Provencher is a man about town. Appointed by
Selectmen on November 4, he marched in the town’s Veterans Day parade and he then began
working with local groups on a permanent veterans memorial.
…………..On his first day on the job he announced, “I’m here to report for duty.”
…………Mr. Provencher has 25 years of U. S. Army service with a primary focus on mental health.
He was trained as a psychiatric specialist. He spent time in Vietnam, 1971-72, and helped run
an inpatient rehab center for heroin abuse.
…………He was transferred to Hawaii from Vietnam at a mental health center. His next assignment
was in Massachusetts in Natick research labs studying the symptoms of altitude sickness in
mountain troops. Germany was his next posting where he counseled service members and their
families. His next assignment was to a clinic at Huntsville, Alabama from 1978 to 1981.
…………He returned to Middleboro in 1981 and worked in Taunton as an Army Reserve recruiter and
assistant office manager. He then became the senior office administrator of a psychiatric Army
Reserve unit in Boston. He held that position until his retirement from the military in 1996.
…………Until his appointment as veterans agent, Paul had worked in the private sector.
......During Operation Desert Storm, he worked with American Legion Post 64 in Middleboro for
a family support group, which met regularly with family members. Long time members of the
Middleboro Veterans Council expressed their backing for the new agent. Norman Record, a Korean
War vet, and George Sarkes, a WW2 and Korea vet, agree that Provencher has the experience to
help the veterans.
…………In Middleboro, Mr. Provencher will be involved with approximately 1,100 veterans. He hopes
his position will enable him to help individuals affected by post-traumatic stress disorder.
He is concerned about those individuals and their experiences and how they are adjusting to
civilian life.
………..The new veterans agent appreciates the support he has received from the community. He is
looking forward to using the full potential the position may provide to the veterans of
Middleboro.
…………Chairman of the Board of Selectman Wayne Perkins said, “He brings extremely good
qualifications to the table. His attitude is great. I think he will do the veterans of
Middleboro a great service.”…………………..(Compiled by Bob Lessard Historian 2014)
View more history for Post 64 in Middleborough, Massachusetts
