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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MAy 30, 2025 Page 7 Medal of Honor hero from Fall River figured prominently in Memorial Day weekend ceremony at Riverside Cemetery By Mark E. Vogler Fall River native Thomas Jerome Hudner, Jr. was a primary focus of the War stories shared at Riverside Cemetery last Saturday at the town’s annual Memorial Day weekend ceremony. It was a decade ago, Saugus Veterans Council Commander Steve Castinetti noted in his speech, that the Medal of Honor recipient was the keynote speaker and addressed the crowd in front of Saugus Town Hall during that year’s Memorial Day weekend. On November 13, 2017, Captain Hudner passed away at home in Concord, Mass., at the age of 93. During the spring of the following year, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Castinetti then told the story of then-Lt. Hudner’s heroics on Dec. 4, 1950, when six Corsairs launched from the aircraft carrier USS Leyte and flew north to the Chosin Reservoir with LT Hudner and wingman ENS Jesse Brown, the first black naval aviator. “Chinese forces were closing in on the 1st Marine Division. During the mission, ENS Brown’s plane was shot down over the Chosin Reservoir,” Castinetti said. A HERO’S STORY: A special video prepared by Saugus TV Studio Associate John Prudent — displayed on the Beantown Enterprise truck parked at Riverside Cemetery — featured a segment on Medal of Honor recipient Thomas Jerome Hudner, Jr. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) Then he read from Hudner’s Medal of Honor citation: “fully aware of the extreme danger in landing on the rough mountainous terrain and the scant hope of escape or survival in subzero temperature, he put his plane down skillfully in a deliberate wheels-up landing in the presence of enemy troops. With his bare hands, he packed the fuselage with snow to keep the flames away from the pilot and struggled to pull him free. “Unsuccessful in this, he returned to his crashed aircraft and radioed other airborne planes, requesting that a helicopter be dispatched with an ax and fire extinguisher. He then remained on the spot despite the continuing danger from enemy action and, with the assistance of the rescue pilot, renewed a desperate but unavailing battle against time, cold, and flames.” Saugus Veterans Council Commander Steve Castinetti presided over Memorial Day Weekend ceremonies again in Saugus. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) In his address, Castinetti recalled that in the spring of 2012 “Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus bestowed a rare honor on an Andover alumnus by declaring that a naval destroyer now under construction at the Bath Iron Works in Maine would be named the USS Thomas Hudner.” “At that time, since the 1970s, just 11 vessels have been named for individuals who were living when the naming was announced,” he said. On Oct. 21, 2014, a book about Capt. Hudner’s actions in North Korea, “Devotion,” was published by Adam Makos. In April of 2017, the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) was christened at Bath Iron Works. Castinetti noted that on Dec. 1, 2018, “USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) was commissioned in Boston, Mass., on a frigid day, likely similar to the day when he crashed his plane in North Korea in an attempt to save his wingman and friend MEDAL OF HONOR | SEE PAGE 8 “You have to spend within your means” T eachers, school administrators, parents and even students packed the back rows of both sides of the second floor auditorium at Saugus Town Hall Monday night (May 19) to advocate for the Annual Town Meeting to support full restoration of School Superintendent Michael Hashem’s $36.3 million operating budget request for the 2026 Fiscal Year that begins July 1. After more than an hour of testimony from supporters advocating for Town Meeting to come up with some $1.5 million to narrow the gap in the initial budget requested by the superintendent and Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree’s proposed operating budget for Saugus Public Schools, Meeting members voted overwhelmingly to support the town manager’s budget. Advocates for the schools argued that classes were underfunded and challenged, particularly for addressing the needs of Special Needs students. Precinct 2 Town Meeting Member Matthew Parlante’s motion to use free cash to fund the School Department’s operating budget failed, 348. “Free cash comes from line items that aren’t getting used,” said Parlante in his explanation as to how Town Meeting could close the budget gap. “There are items in our own budget that can be cut,” he said. In response to Parlante’s proposal, Crabtree called it a bad idea that “goes against the financial policies that we have.” “Frankly, this is irresponsible. It’s just reckless,” Crabtree said. “If this article is supported, it will have an effect on the bond rating,” the town manager said. “You have to spend within your means,” he said. Parlante insisted that the town had the money to fund Hashem’s request in full. “He has no idea what he’s talking about. It’s embarrassing, Crabtree said. Finance Committee Chair Kenneth DePatto called Parlante’s proposal a “bad business practice.” DePatto noted that some surrounding communities face fiscal hardships from taking that approach. “I strongly recommend that you don’t use single source funding,” DePatto told Town Meeting members. Town Meeting members voted 38-3 to approve the FY 2026 operating budget, which totaled $119.5 million – including $34.8 million for the School Department. The total Municipal Department budgets add Operating budget approved by Town Meeting falls $1.4 million short of what Saugus Public Schools requested By Mark E. Vogler up to $84.8 million. Precinct 2 Town Meeting Members Parlante and Robert J. Camuso, Sr. and Precinct 5 Town Meeting Member Ron Wallace voted against Article 2. “We’ll do what we need to do to make things work,” said Hashem when asked by Selectman Anthony Cogliano whether he thought the schools could function on the approved budget. “It’s not ideal,” he said. There will be no Town Meeting session next Monday, which is the Memorial Day holiday (May 26). Members will meet again on June 2 for the third and final Special Town Meeting.

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