December 28, 2015
........Seven students from Middleborough High School, who are members of the National Social
Studies/History Honor Society (Rho Kappa) are engaged in a community service project to video
and interview key community leaders, according to their teacher Sue Miller.
........During school vacation, the group met in the Town Hall annex with Veterans Service
Officer Paul Provencher and Simeon L. Nickerson Post 64 American Legion Historian Bob Lessard
to discuss Middleborough veterans. Provencher is a Past Commander of Post 64 and former Adjutant.
........ Questions posed by the students to the two veterans were videotaped for inclusion in a
CD, which will be distributed to new students. The honor students will be focusing the veteran
section on Middleborough residents, who served during the Vietnam war.
........“Too often, students read about people who protested the war In Vietnam, but seldom do
we share stories about local people who were called to serve their country and did so,” said
Ms. Miller. “I have contacted the Middleborough Historical Society and with Mrs. Dotty Thayer,
I have been trying to develop standard based lessons that will allow the students to learn
about graduates from Middleborough High School who left for Southeast Asia.”
.......Paul Provencher, whose office and nearby conference room is loaded with military
artifacts, stated, “The rich history of the veterans of Middleborough is shown by the amazing
memorabilia that they’ve entrusted to the Middleborough Veterans Services Department.”
.......“I felt privileged to have had the opportunity to be with members of the History Honors
class and show off the collection. It was a great way to close out 2015,” he said.
......Post 64 Historian Bob Lessard arranged for printed handouts for the students of
Middleborough Medal of Honor recipients Patrick J. Regan U.S. Army WW1 and Wayne M. Caron, U.S.
Navy Vietnam, and that of Thomas O’Brien, U.S. Army, Killed In Action in WW2.
......He also informed the students about the heroics of WW1 U.S. Army members of Simeon L.
Nickerson, Michael J. O’Connell and Thomas Ryan, who volunteered to cross an open field to draw
machine gun fire from the enemy. All three were Killed In Action and were awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross for “extraordinary heroism.”
.......After visiting the memorabilia in the conference room, the group then visited
Middleborough’s Veterans Memorial Park, where both Provencher and Lessard spoke about
Middleborough’s war casualties.
........Honor students who attended the session were juniors Maia Daschke, Leanne Robinson,
Jessica Vilk, Alina Parker and Meghan Mulloy and seniors Betsy Brayton and Alyssa Murphy.
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