Mass. leaders honor fallen, present Medals of Liberty and Fidelity at Memorial Day observance

Governor Maura Healey and other state leaders presented the Commonwealth's Medals of Liberty and Fidelity to next of kin at a Memorial Day ceremony in the Executive Chamber in Boston on May 20, 2025.

The annual observance included remarks from Governor Maura Healey; Lieutenant Governor Kimberly Driscoll; Major General Gary W. Keith, adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard; and John Santiago, secretary of the Executive Office of Veteran Services. As part of the program officials read the names of multiple service members and invited recipients of the medals to the stage.

The ceremony opened with ceremonial music, an invocation by Chaplain Ziegler and formal introductions of state and military officials. Governor Maura Healey said the event was a time to "pay tribute to service members who gave their lives for our country and to offer a token of gratitude to their families who miss them dearly." She noted the state is marking the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and said the sacrifices of past and present service members should remain central to public remembrance.

Secretary John Santiago, who leads the Executive Office of Veteran Services, thanked National Guard members and legislative partners and described family conversations that have guided his office's work. "Our mission is to honorably serve those who served us," Santiago said, linking the memorial observance to the office's priorities of transforming veterans homes, reducing veteran homelessness and updating laws and regulations to protect service members and veterans.

Major General Gary W. Keith of the Massachusetts National Guard urged attendees to "tell the stories of the fallen" when observing Memorial Day and described two state medals as ways the Commonwealth recognizes different kinds of service-related deaths. The program materials and presenters identified the Medal of Liberty as established by law in 2009 and the Medal of Fidelity as a later law recognizing deaths from service-connected illnesses and exposures; both medals were presented to next of kin during the ceremony.

Officials named individual recipients and family members who received medals, including Private First Class James E. Palmeri (Vietnam), First Lieutenant John H. Mahoney (World War II) and others; presenters asked the families to come forward as each name was read. The ceremony also included readings that described eligibility for the medals: the Medal of Liberty was described as for Commonwealth service members who were killed in action, died of wounds, died in designated combat areas, or died as a result of training accidents in the line of duty; the Medal of Fidelity was described as for members or veterans who died from service-related illnesses or exposures.

The event included remarks thanking the families of the fallen and references to the state's ongoing work on veterans' issues, including rebuilding veterans homes in Chelsea and Holyoke and efforts to address veteran homelessness. Those programmatic items were referenced in speeches as policy priorities of the administration and the Executive Office of Veteran Services; no votes, motions, or formal policy actions were taken at the ceremony.

The ceremony concluded with a benediction by Chaplain Ziegler, service songs and the departure of the official party. "God bless our troops and their families. God bless the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the great United States of America," Governor Healey said near the close of her remarks.