‘Humbled’ Driscoll is Veteran of the Year

Nov. 12, 2015 | Chris Goudreau
cgoudreau@thereminder.com

Massachusetts Army National Guard Col. John Driscoll was named Springfield’s 2015 Veteran of the Year.
Reminder Publications photo by Chris Goudreau

SPRINGFIELD – The city named Massachusetts Army National Guard Col. John Driscoll 2015 Veteran of the Year, during a ceremony on Nov. 5.

Springfield Veterans’ Activities Committee Chairman Richard Tyrell said Driscoll, a 20-year Springfield resident, joined the United States Army in 1990 and served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He now serves as the G1, deputy chief of staff personnel for the Massachusetts Army National Guard at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford.  

“It’s not what [veterans] do for other veterans – it’s that they continue to serve our community and make our community better for all of us and that’s why these men and women that we’ve selected in the past,” he said.

Driscoll, after the ceremony, told Reminder Publications he graduated from Northeast University in 1989 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant after four years of active service. He joined the Massachusetts Army National Guard in 1994 and became a full-time member of the guard in 1998.

“I’m the people guy,” he added. “I run all the personnel actions – promotions, pay, transactions, anything you need to do when you’re military record I handle.”

Driscoll said he felt humbled to be chosen Veteran of the Year because of the caliber of character seen in those chosen in the past.

“Thank a veteran,” he noted. “They’re very humble and you would never know you’re standing next to a veteran unless they have some sort of insignia on and when you get them talking they’ll tell you everything, but they won’t be the one bragging.”

He added veterans’ services are critical for communities.

“A lot of veterans come in and they serve, they do their time and they leave unaware of all the benefits that go with it,” he added. “Some of them aren’t aware of what they actually qualify for and Massachusetts is one of the few states that requires a veterans agent in each town to be able to be smart enough and well versed to explain to veterans what they’re entitled to.”

Driscoll said he believes Massachusetts’s practices regarding veterans’ services should be a model for the rest of the country to look to.

“Communication’s everything,” he added. “Any problem we always have – 90 percent of it is communication. If you have somebody who knows what they’re talking about and can communicate that to a veteran it makes everybody’s job a whole lot easier.”

Mayor Domenic Sarno said he believes it’s important that everyone remembers the sacrifices veterans have made.

“Sometimes I think that’s missing from a lot of our young people – that we need to respect that – because of our veterans they’re able to lead the lives that they lead whether it’s good or bad,” Sarno said.

“I also want to give a shout out to our Vietnam [War] veterans because they were at the forefront of really reaching out to the community for the younger veterans coming back from the Iraq conflicts to make sure that these type of events move forward,” he continued.

Sarno said Springfield is one of the top cities in the Commonwealth that serves veterans.

“We are always ever vigilant that we can do more,” he noted. “I know [Holyoke Soldiers Home Superintendent] Paul Barabani, he is looking to build an adult daycare center and I believe he has federal money that’s been reimbursed at 65 percent. He’s hopeful that he can pick up the rest of the money from the state. Holyoke Soldiers Home does a great job. We all have friends and family there.”

Barabani was also named the 2015 Veterans’ Day Parade Marshal during the ceremony.

Also in attendance were state Reps. Benjamin Swan and Carlos Gonzalez as well as a representative of state Sen. James Welch.

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