Sunday, March 6, 2011

From the Streets of Salem ; Guard Support and Salem's Armory

On a cold day in February 1982 I was holding my firstborn daughter in my arms as I watched with great sadness on the news images of the Salem Armory burning — a building that was a symbol and a home to the Second Corps of Cadets and Company H Salem’s Eighth Infantry since it was built between 1890 and 1908.

Too many lives and too many families that lost forever sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends and neighbors who will no longer come home. So it is fitting that we stay united and either attend this benefit or donate to the benefit to assist Guard Support’s Emergency Financial Relief program that helps Guard members and their families facing financial difficulties which are often caused by deployment.


The great hall of the armory also hosted charity balls, graduations, political events, Chamber of Commerce dinners and even allowed the former Drum and Bugle Corp “The Arbellas” to practice their music and their drills under the great roof.

I remember being a young girl and practicing over and over with my big bass drum, which was almost as big as me, in that same huge hall. A gem in our city destroyed by the hunger of the fire that cold February day. However, though an edifice was destroyed the spirit of our Massachusetts National Guard lived on and still lives on to this day; a spirit that has survived since the days of the militia in 1636.

In August 2010 Gov. Deval Patrick officially designated Salem as the birthplace of the National Guard. So it is fitting that our city will host a charity for National Guardsmen and their families that face deployment on Saturday, Feb. 12, from 5-10 p.m., at Murphy’s Restaurant & Pub.

The price of freedom is a sacrificial price for the families left behind because their loved ones have been deployed; a deployment that has evolved from stateside to overseas since post-911. In his February 2010 report, according to the adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, Major General Joseph C. Carter: There has been deployment of over 7,500 soldiers and airmen to Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other locations worldwide to support the president’s global war on terror; a global terror that has certainly taken many of our soldiers over the years.

So as a teenager I sat in my warm home in February 1982 with my baby girl watching the Salem Armory burning out of control and I never realized how the security of our nation and our lives would also rage out of control when the term “terror” developed a new meaning with the conception of terrorists and terrorism; a word that will continue to have far reaching consequences not only for our nation, but for the world.

Read More:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNuS2XXZm_w  Salem Armory Fire, 1982 via YouTube



5 comments:

  1. Pattie Remon Tammy, that was a great article. The Salem Armory was a big part in my family's life, from my uncle who worked there to the day he died, to my father who worked there to the day he died. The armory burned down 4 months after my father passed away and I rember thinking that day was if my father was alive he would have been inside the the building when it burnt down.

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  2. It’s absolutely wonderful and nicely written – you covered a lot in your column. Thank you so much for including the Guard Support Benefit and the donation mention with our address and website at the bottom, as well as the Facebook me...ntion.
    Your help in getting the word out through your column is deeply appreciated.
    We will wait until the column is published on 2/4 before we excerpt and promote it via Facebook, our website and through other
    methods of communications. We’ll be sure to link to and credit the Salem Gazette with any mentions, including excerpts of your column.
    Best Regards,
    Sherry Handel Executive Director
    Guard Support of Massachusetts

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  3. Betty Crotty-Sutherland as i think of that time....i think of all the joy our lives had...because we practiced our drum corps drills in there and we walked past it...every single time we went ....to hang out ..."down town"

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  4. Darlene Louf
    Guard Support's first-ever benefit in Salem, MA was a great success. Thanks to all our amazing volunteers and supporters! The final tally is in...we raised $6,400 for the Emergency Financial Relief program that provides assistance to National Guard families!
    THANKYOU !!!!!

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  5. Hi Tammy,

    Very nice – I’ll be sure to review your work on the publication you referenced and to like your page and/or write comments!

    Thanks again for all that you’ve done to help get the word out about Guard Support of Mass. and our benefit.

    We’re deeply grateful.

    Have a nice weekend!

    Sherry

    Sherry Handel
    Executive Director
    Guard Support of Massachusetts
    www.guardsupport.org

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