Needham Recognizes HEROes in Veterans Day Ceremony

November 11, 2025
• This Veterans Day in Needham came with sub-optimal weather. But near-freezing temperatures and chilling wind gusts did not deter a large crowd from forming at Memorial Park for the annual ceremony honoring those who have served.

More than one hundred people watched as the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2498 hoisted the flag, many raising their arms in salute. Local emergency responders circled Memorial Park, facing monuments honoring military service members who passed away. Flags lined the edge of the park along Highland Avenue, and attendees carried small ones in their hands and pockets.

For David Greaney, a senior at St. Sebastian’s School, Veterans Day renews in him a sense of pride for his country. To him, it’s about “watching football on Sundays and fireworks on the Fourth of July,” he said, but it’s also about remembering our history and those who secured our freedoms. “Without our veterans, there is no America,” Greaney said.

“A veteran is someone with heart… determined individuals who won’t give up without a fight,” he said, “and most importantly, the protectors of our great country.” He has applied to West Point in pursuit of serving in the U.S. Army.

Yesterday marked the 55th anniversary of Post 2498 Commander Gene Charny’s tour ending in Vietnam. He said it feels “as if it were yesterday.”

While on duty, some veterans pay the ultimate sacrifice, but many others return home to battle their own struggles, Charny said. “It is incumbent upon our government and society to care and provide for those veterans who still struggle” with those challenges, he said.

Both state Sen. Becca Rausch and Select Board Chair Heidi Frail mentioned the HERO Act, a state budgetary item that aims to provide financial assistance and familial support to veterans.

Rausch also praised the state’s End Veteran Homelessness Campaign, which launched last year, and the legislature’s vote to recognize Agent Orange Awareness Day in August. Their work will continue, Rausch said, “because we are committed to it and because your dedication deserves it.”

“I am confident this record of serious success and support will continue into the future here in Massachusetts, no matter what is happening or not happening, as the case may be, in Washington,” Rausch said.

Locally, Frail recognized Needham resident and veteran Ted Prorok, whose advocacy for fellow veterans came in the form of dozens of handwritten letters to Needham leaders. Under the HERO Act, municipalities can increase their property tax exemptions for veterans, and Frail credited Prorok with the now broadened eligibility in Needham.

The lesson is to follow Prorok’s example by staying engaged and understanding the needs of one’s neighbors, Frail said.

“When we strengthen our systems that serve our veterans, we strengthen our entire community,” she said.

Prorok served in Vietnam as a combat engineer, sweeping mines to blow them up. The task was a dangerous one, he said, and not many service members sought positions in combat as he did. Prorok was 24 years old when he enlisted, and 26 by the time he left Vietnam in 1970.

“Three-hundred sixty-five days was everybody’s tour of duty, unless you came back in a body bag,” he said in an interview. “Fortunately, I didn’t make that category, but I thank God for that every day.”

The cold morning reminded state Rep. Josh Tarsky of his time in the service, when he would do push-ups to warm up. Tarsky served in the U.S. Army as a Green Beret, and he wore his uniform Tuesday morning to address residents.

Veterans Day recognizes all those “who stepped forward to serve our nation,” Tarsky said, as he reflected on his own decision to enlist after 9/11.

“Watching the Twin Towers fall was a moment that changed everything,” he said. “And like so many Americans, I felt a deep pull not just to respond but to reflect on what it truly means to be an American and what responsibilities come with the blessings that we get to enjoy.”

Echoing Rausch’s sentiments, Tarsky said veterans require support through action, not just words. That may look like a listening ear, a caring heart or “carrying forward the values they live by,” he said.

“America’s strength has always come from ordinary citizens who are willing to do extraordinary things in defense of freedom. Veterans embody that spirit,” Tarsky said. “And on this day, we are reminded that our freedoms endure because of these brave men and women, from every generation, who have stood ready to protect them.”

The annual observance conjures images of family and friends across generations. Before offering a benediction, Rev. Nick Morris-Kliment of Christ Church remembered his late father Robert Kliment, who served as a cartographer in the U.S. Army.

He had a simple message for him: “I want to say, Dad, thank you for your service. I love you.”