Three local veterans were recently honored by the Haverhill Rotary Club during its fourth annual Veterans Day Awards Breakfast.
Ralph Basiliere, U.S. Marine Corps; Dr. Gerard Boucher, U.S. Marine Corps; and Dudley Farquhar, U.S. Army, were honored at the ceremony. The event also featured a welcome from Haverhill Rotary Club President Megan Shea, Presentation of Colors by the Haverhill High School Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and an address by state Rep. Linda Dean Campbell, the only woman veteran serving in the legislature.
Basiliere was a member of the 22nd Marine Expedition Unit, attaining the rank of corporal serving as a rifleman, reconnaissance man and water survival instructor. He responded to multiple world crises including the coast of Tunisia where the Israelis had bombed the PLO Headquarters, the Achille Lauro hijacking. He also provided President Ronald Reagan with “less than war” contingency options. He received two admiral letters of commendation, two meritorious promotions, three sea service ribbons, and a Congressional Humanitarian Award. He is chairman of the Haverhill Vietnam Veterans Memorial Ad Hoc Commission.
Boucher joined the Marines in 1966, shortly after graduating from the Haverhill Vocational High School. He was trained in guerilla warfare and went to Vietnam as a lance corporal. On Oct. 7, 1967, he was wounded in a mortar attack which also killed a comrade. Blinded, losing some of his hearing and suffering nerve damage, he was sent to rehabilitation training at the VA in Illinois. He also joined the Blinded Veterans Association “to honor his comrade and keep the honor alive for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.” He recently received his 50-year pin for his active membership in the Disabled American Veterans, where he is past commander. He is also a member of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission Haverhill Commissions on Disabilities.
Farquhar served in the U.S. Army, 1st Infantry, attaining the rank of staff sergeant. He was a military policeman at San Francisco Prison at Presidio, served a year deployment in Germany and then volunteered for Vietnam. He served in Vietnam during 1969-70, receiving the Bronze Star. He served in the Army Reserve for seven years after Vietnam. He is a disabled due to Agent Orange exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder. In 2012 Dudley received a much-needed liver transplant but continued to persevere in supporting service personnel around the world. In 2009, Dudley and his wife Barbara started “Operation Platoon Mom,” sending coffee to those deployed oversees.
Haverhill Rotary’s Allison Field served as chairwoman of the event.