WESTFIELD–When Scott Thomas heard about the Purple Heart Trail project being put together in the city by ward 4 councilor Mary O’Connell and Don Wieglus from American Legion Post 454, he knew he had to reach out.
Thomas, along with his father-in-law Robert “Charlie” Goyette, were both purple heart recipients. Thomas earned his while fighting in the Vietnam War, while Goyette earned two during World War II. Thomas said that he first saw a mention of the Purple Heart Trail in an article from The Westfield News and saw that Wieglus and O’Connell were seeking out Purple Heart veterans and decided to reach out to them. He feels that the Purple Heart Trail is an honor not just to him but to all of the veterans from Westfield, especially his father-in-law.
Raymond “Charlie” Goyette (left) and Scott Thomas (right) pose with the Purple Heart Trail sign that will be erected soon (Photo by Don Wielgus)
“When I hear that they were doing it in Westfield, it’s just one of those moments,” Thomas said. “Veterans need to have the continuing appreciation and this is just one more step toward that. It lets people know the community cares.”
The project, which was presented to O’Connell initially by the Holyoke city council, has been put together with the help of Marine veteran Don Wieglus and the American Legion Post 454. The trail will be connecting to the one that runs through Holyoke along Route 202, and will continue down Route 202 in Westfield to Southwick, which is about 10 miles.
Thomas’s Purple Heart was awarded after he was involved in the Battle of Ngok Tavak in May 1968. Thomas, who served with the 2nd Division of 13th Marines as a Navy medical corpman, was hit by shrapnel and suffered a concussion when his post was attacked by the Viet Cong 1st “Ba Gia” Regiment. the post was overrun and 13 US soldiers were killed.
The result of the Vietnam War led to many decades of an inability to recover those who were killed there, and it wasn’t until 2005 when the US government was able to recover the remains from Vietnam.
For Goyette, his Purple Hearts came during his service to the 2nd Infantry division 12th Field Artillery during World War II. Goyette’s unit was one of the many waves of forces that stormed the beaches of Normandy, arriving on the second day to provide support. the unit trekked across Europe, going to France, Belgium, Germany and Czechoslovakia. However, Goyette was first injured by shrapnel in Belgium in 1944, and returned to service before being severely injured in Germany in 1945 when his vehicle was hit with artillery fire.
Collection of the military medals and awards of Goyette and Thomas
Goyette returned home according to Thomas, and was treated at Cushing General Hospital in Framingham, Massachusetts, for over a year and a half between initial treatment and therapy. He survived his wounds and currently lives with Thomas and his wife.
Donations and Purple Heart recipients are still being sought by Wielgus and O’Connell. If anyone would like to donate, wants to be recognized as a Purple Heart recipient, or want to do either action in honor of a friend or family member, they can contact O’Connell at (413)218-4344 or [email protected], or Wielgus at (413)568-7767 or [email protected].
Donations can be made out to the American Legion 454, Post Office Box 367, Westfield,MA 01085.
The trail is expected to be put in place as early as next week.
