Cape Ann Veterans Services

City of Gloucester, MA Memorial Day Observances and happenings:

Boulevards Flag donations can be ordered through boulevardflags.com. Flags will go up the week leading into Memorial Day. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Cemetery flags will be placed at Veterans gravesites, Friday May 24th and Saturday May 25th. If your loved ones gravesite does not have a military marker, please stop by our office for a flag.

The Open Door Mobile Market will be at our office the 4th Friday of each month beginning Friday, May 24th. This is a service for ALL active duty military/Veteran and their families. No age, income or household size requirements. 🥬🍎🌽

Monday, May 27th, GHS high school 9am

Vietnam Veterans Committee Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day Observances 11:00

Veterans Monthly Breakfast, Sunday June 2nd Capt. Lester S. Wass American Legion Post 3 8-10 🍳🥓🥞

Robert Balzarini’s father, Martin, a 1st generation immigrant from Italy and his mother Ernestine, who was born in Italy and came to America on a WWI troop ship, owned a butcher shop on Washington Street in Gloucester. Robert really didn’t want to follow his father’s footsteps as a butcher – so much so that he declined an offer to work in the relatively safety (if such a thing existed) as a cook in the Marines.

Instead, the 1949 Rockport HS graduate, opted for a three-year stint in Korea with the Marine’s 1st Division doing small arms and weapons repair. He was awarded the Korean Service Medal with 2 stars, the National Defense Service Medal, the UN Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.

On his return home he went to work for the New England Telephone Company as a lineman and installer. He married Natalie Balzarini, and the couple had three daughters, Kathleen Chung, Judi Hunt and Debra Balzarini. They have one grandchild, Benjamin. The couple were married for 65 years before Natalie’s passing in 2022.

Robert retired in 1986 at the ripe old age of 55 and turned his attention to golf. When the Rockport Golf Club celebrated its 100th anniversary, Robert was its oldest active member. He is also active in the Rockport Legion.

Cape Ann Veterans Services

1962 vs present day

American Legion Post 98 Rockport MA Veterans Coffee Socials Cape Ann
Larry Story

You might not know who this Georgia 🍑 is but if you receive the Veterans Klatch e-newsletter.. you know this keyboard warrior. He is the legend behind each weekly inspirational quote and reminder that even during the most trying of times, we can find social support amongst one another.

Great seeing you this morning my friend. What a pleasant surprise!

Our new friends at Brightview Senior Living welcomed us with open arms. For months our local veterans have been venturing over the bridge and enjoying monthly veterans breakfasts at Brightview Senior living. They have shared in camaraderie and been pleasantly catered to by their lovely team. Thank you Jess, Eileen and new friends at Brightview for your generous hospitality.

Looking forward to planning a summer trip with more friends in tow and hoping our newly formed friendships from Salisbury, Merrimack, Haverhill, and all around visit us on our side of the bridge for Sons of American Legion Capt. Lester S. Wass Post 3 monthly Veterans Breakfast and weekly Veterans Coffee Socials Cape Ann! It’s all about making connections and sharing in camaraderie.

** Please note- their Monthly Veterans Breakfast will soon switch to lunch in the summer months on the 4th Thursday of each month.

Ida Lloyd

We were the “Park Kids” says David Lloyd – who grew up in Riverdale Park. One of five children, his father left when he was two and it was his grandfather and uncle, he says, who taught him to survive. A graduate of GHS class of 1965, Lloyd was drafted into the Army in 1966 and volunteered to go to Vietnam. “Four of us volunteered and the four of us came back.” He would serve until July of 1968 extending his tour an additional three months.

He would spend his service as an information specialist primarily at Cam Ranh which was an Air Force base during the war. “There was sand in the food and sand in the bunks.” Assigned to the 44th Medical Brigade he would interview convalescing wounded soldiers.

On his return to Gloucester he took work as a painter and eventually became a licensed electrician, apprenticing with his best friend, Vito Favalaro. He worked all over Canada and the United States, a member of IBEW 103. He retired as an electrician at 60. Lloyd has been married for 40 years to Ida Scola, with whom he has two children, Brian Lloyd and Bethany Parachi.

Cape Ann Veterans Services
Jason Grow Photography

Born in Beverly but raised in Gloucester, Lanesvillian James Robertson graduated from GHS in 1963 before attending North Shore Community College where he studied criminal justice. He grew up with his parents James and Evelyn, his sister Jane and his 1st cousin George whom he considered a brother. Shortly after high school James totaled his 1962 Chevy Impala in a serious accident, but luckily suffered no long-term injuries.

After his stint at NSCC, he was both married and drafted in June of 1967. Trained as a helicopter mechanic at Ft. Eustis he was sent to Vietnam in early 1968 right before the Tet Offensive and remained through January 1969. After two months as a crew chief on a Chinook helicopter, he volunteered to return to the relative safety of the ground as a mechanic. “When we’re in flight, a lot of ground fire was coming up at us. You could never see the enemy, but you could see where they were firing from.”

Over the year, as a Spec. E-5 he worked his way into supervising a crew of seven or eight guys working maintenance on the helicopters at Base Camp Phu Loi. By January of 1969 he was on his way home to Gloucester and his then wife, Virginia (Johnson). They would have two children, James and Liisa.

On his return he got a security job at United Shoe Company, a position that offered a lot of downtime to study for a number of civil service jobs. His first was a stint at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, but that lacked the excitement of what would be his career as a Gloucester Police detective, including five years working undercover on the Cape Ann Regional Strike Task Force. He retired from the GPD in 2002 after 31 years. He now splits his time between Gloucester and Florida.

Cape Ann Veterans Services
Jason Grow Photography

🔔 Attention Veterans 🔔

Did you know that individuals with a Veteran license plate can park for free at any on or off-street metered City parking space?

The City adopted this ordinance last fall as a small gesture of gratitude and thanks to our veterans.

Questions? Don’t hesitate to contact Cape Ann Veterans Services at 978-325-5730.

Mark Nestor’s connection with service runs deep in his family. His father Edward fought in an artillery unit with the storied Big Red 1 in WWII throughout Europe, while on the other side of the world, his mother Helen, an Army lieutenant nurse, was one of the Angels of Bataan, 77 nurses held for more than three years by the Japanese as POWs in the Philippines. His parents met while standing in the pay-line at a base in California. Edward was recovering from wounds he’d received in Europe and Helen had just been repatriated to the US from her internment and was collecting three years of back pay.

One of three adopted children, Mark was born in Brooklyn, NY. He started attending Penn State University in 1965, a college career that was interrupted by his service in Vietnam. He joined up in 1967 and became a helicopter pilot because, he said, “I didn’t want to walk.”

After basic training, a year of language school and flight school, he was deployed to Vietnam in December 1969 to serve in the 4th Aviation Battalion of the 4th Infantry based primarily in the Central Highlands, but not before being introduced to his future wife, Louise Salvaggio, by his friend Denny Reed (a fellow Vietnam Helicopter pilot who served two tours) before shipping out.

In Vietnam, Mark flew Hueys for troop insertions and Jet Rangers for observation & intelligence gathering missions. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1970 for heroism in conducting reconnaissance missions over hostile territory.

On his return stateside in late 1970, Mark worked for a while before returning to Penn State where he finished his BA. He and Louise married in 1972. He received his law degree from Boston University in 1976. He and Louise have just celebrated their 52nd anniversary. They have two children, Rachael and Jeremy. They moved to Gloucester in 1986 where he established a successful law firm.

Mark remained in the US Army Reserves until retiring as a Major in 1993. He continues his service as Commander of the CPT Lester S. Wass American Legion Post 3, a post he will have held for nearly 12 years when he steps down in June of this year. He remains deeply committed to advocating on behalf of veterans.

Cape Ann Veterans Services

📣 Attention 📣

Please note that Gloucester City Hall will be closed on Monday, April 15th in observance of Patriots' Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, April 16th at regular business hours.

Additionally, trash and recycling will not be collected on Monday, April 15th. Collection will follow a holiday schedule for the week with collection one day later.

Thank you to the surrounding communities providing support and coverage to the City of Gloucester as we mourn the loss of one of our own, Coast Guard Veteran and Gloucester Firefighter Sander Schultz. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends as they go through the difficult task upon them today.

Join us on Saturday April 13th at 11:00 am as we welcome Brig. General Enoch O'Dell Woodhouse II, on of the few remaining Tuskegee Airmen. He will share his experiences with us. Reservations are required. 978-468-5595.0

New beginning for Gloucester's VFW: Open house on Sunday Retired U.S. Army Master Sgt. Keith Manning has the Doucette-Lingard Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1624 on Eastern Avenue given a new lease on life.

Gloucester remembers those lost in Vietnam About 100 Cape Ann veterans, family, and well-wishers braved a raw, windy and rainy Friday morning under a tent at the city’s rededicated Vietnam War Memorial on Hough Avenue to

‘Be proud of what you did’ By Ethan FormanStaff Writer The lines in their faces captured in black

Please join us this Friday, March 29, 2024 RAIN or SHINE!!!

Wreath Laying: 11am Vietnam Memorial Stacy Boulevard - Gloucester, Massachusetts

Veterans Luncheon: 12pm Gloucester MA Elks Lodge #892

These events are open to ALL Veterans and their families.