U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Timothy Chapman served three tours of duty in Iraq. He was there in Kurdistan guarding a maximum security prison, took part in the early stages of the surge in Baghdad in 2007, and trained Iraqi soldiers two years later.
Despite, or perhaps because, of the negativity in the media during the past decade about the Iraq War, and all that he did and saw, Chapman chose instead Monday to bring a positive message to the veterans, local officials and residents gathered at East Middle School in Braintree.
"It's not the evil things I saw that stuck with me, it's the good," Chapman said.
Chapman highlighted he and his fellow troops efforts helping free Kurds in the north of Iraq from the "curse" of persecution, and bringing medical aid and food to remote villages where people were "living almost like it was the stone age."
"To me, it's very personal," Chapman said of Veterans Day. "Many of my friends and family have served."
Chapman, now a recruiter based in Quincy, said he stands on the shoulders of veterans who came before, who fought in the larger, deadlier battles of past wars without the kind of modern lifesaving equipment he and his fellow soldiers have had in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I am very grateful for them," Chapman said.
Mayor Joseph Sullivan, reflecting on how much Braintree veterans bring to the community, said that on any morning one might find a gathering of veterans at McDonalds on Pearl Street.
"They know the price of coffee, it's pretty inexpensive," Sullivan joked. But in all seriousness, he said that seeing them "gives you a sense of pride."
"In coming home, they continued to contribute to our community," he said.
Sullivan and Fire Chief James O'Brien on Monday also honored the contribution of one veteran in particular.
Braintree firefighter Ryan Pugsley, a U.S. Marine veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, helped save the life of a Hingham man last month at Connell Ice Rink in Weymouth.
Pugsley was talking with his friends in the parking lot outside the rink when a woman came outside and asked them to move their vehicles. Pugsley went inside and found a man lying in the middle of the ice, assessed the situation and began CPR. Police arrived with a defibrillator and then the fire department took over chest compressions.
The man, Jack Doherty, sent the mayor a letter two weeks ago, and was in attendance Monday. He stayed in the hospital a week, after which doctors told him he would fully recover.
Sullivan also called out town councilors Henry Joyce and Leland Dingee, both veterans who earlier this year decided not to seek office again, for their long service to the community.
"Once a veteran, always a veteran," Sullivan said.
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