.........LAKEVILLE: —Middleboro Gazette By Bob Barboza..... Muckey’s Liquors owners Bill and
Cindy Seckinger have enlisted some dedicated recruits from Middleboro’s American Legion post
and the region’s Budweiser distributor to help them create a new tribute to local members of
the military. The store will dedicate a large-scale Wall of Honor recognizing all branches of
the military at the Lakeville store at 9 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 14, with all local veterans and
residents invited to attend the ceremonies.
......Attendees are also invited to bring photos of veterans past and present to post on the
wall under a sprawling full-color mural showing the Middleboro Veterans Memorial Park off South
Main Street, in front of Town Hall. The mural will be topped with the names of all five
branches of the United States military.
......The idea for the Wall of Honor came from Bill Seckinger, who has put up a variety of
temporary displays on the blank western wall of his Harding Street (Route 44) liquor store over
the years. During a recent visit from the owner of the L. Knife & Sons beer distributorship in
Kingston, Seckinger suggested, “let’s do something permanent to honor our veterans” and quickly
got his first recruit for the Wall of Honor project.
......The South Shore Anheuser-Busch distributor has long been a supporter of local fundraisers
to support veterans’ causes and support programs, and has agreed to foot the bill for all
aspects of the new Wall of Honor that will be installed on Monday, Seckinger said.
......The next two volunteers to sign on were Bob Burke, adjutant of the American Legion Simeon
L. Nickerson Post #64 in Middleboro, and Post Commander Don Triner. Seckinger and his wife have
been loyal supporters of the post’s ongoing fundraisers for educational campaigns and veterans’
services programs for years, Burke noted, so the post leadership was glad to lend its help with
the effort to create another tribute to local veterans.
......“My father was in the service for 30 years,” Seckinger said of the roots of his
appreciation for the contributions of veterans of all branches of the military. The family
moved frequently during those 30 years, relocating to wherever the call of duty brought his
father for the next assignment.
......The son of a longtime soldier in the U.S. Army married the daughter of a 27-year veteran
of the Air Force, further strengthening his commitment to respecting veterans no matter which
branch they served in, he added. “It’s kind of in our blood,” he suggested.
......“Veterans organizations are so important” to helping service members re-adjust to
civilian life, and get the support services they might need out of uniform, that he is always
happy to get involved in Legion fundraisers and education programs, Seckinger said.
......Another reason for his steadfast support for local veterans activities is the fact that
so many former members of the military are regular customers in his store. Many of those
patrons became regular shoppers after learning the store supports veterans causes, and “I
consider them friends now,” Seckinger noted.
......Veterans tend to show their loyalty to those who support them, said Burke, also a U.S.
Army veteran. “They donate to all of our functions,” he indicated, and Bill is now “very much a
part of the planning team” for the post’s regular fundraisers.
......Seckinger appreciates that loyalty as much as he appreciates the contributions made by
veterans of all branches. As a regular attendee at veterans functions staged by Legionnaires
and the Oak Point Veterans Association Burke is affiliated with, he regularly sees “these guys
are very, very proud of their service, and we all should be, too,” he said.
......When he sees veterans snap to attention to salute the flag or when the National Anthem is
played, “it still gets to me every single time,” he noted.
......That appreciation is part of the mission of both the American Legion and the Oak Point
group, Burke explained. The Oak Point group was organized 14 years ago to help educate
residents who are veterans about the benefits and services they are entitled to, and is a
natural partner to the local Legion post, he suggested.
......The American Legion sponsors the Operation Comfort Warriors project to aid veterans in
need, and Post #64 holds regular dinner dance fundraisers to raise funds for the effort. The
Legionnaires also take part in the annual Taste of Middleboro fundraiser with the generous help
of Boston Tavern and other local sponsors, he said.
......The post also hosts an annual student oration contest on patriotic themes, which provides
scholarships to students who win at the local, regional and state levels, Burke said. The
annual event helps remind the public about the Legion and its support for veterans causes…
“something everybody should know,” he suggests.
......It’s all part of the dedication to public service that members of the military
demonstrate every day, Burke said. He and Seckinger hope that Monday’s installation of the Wall
of Honor is well attended, so that the veterans taking part can see the public’s true
appreciation of that service.
......Local and state officials have been invited to take part in the ceremony, and of course,
all veterans are invited to be on hand, and perhaps contribute a photo or two to the Wall of
Honor. “It will be a permanent display” in the Lakeville store, Seckinger said, as long as he
is the owner, and the proud son of a veteran.
......You can be sure that his father’s and his father-in law’s photos will be among the
pictures posted on that Wall of Honor.
......(To learn more about American Legion Simeon L. Nickerson Post #64 in Middleboro and their
activities and programs, veterans are invited to attend one of the post’s bi-monthly breakfast
meetings, held from 8 to 10 a.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month at the Legion
Hall, 8 Thatcher’s Row. You can contact them at (508) 947-7227, or visit them online at:
centennial.legion.org/massachusetts/post64.) (Posted by Post 64 Historian Bob Lessard)
View more history for Post 64 in Middleborough, Massachusetts
