while the shining stars of Fall River such as Dr. Irving Fradkin, the founder of Dollars for Scholars get this:
In 1958, Dr. Irving Fradkin founded the initial "Dollars for Scholars" chapter by challenging everyone in his community, Fall River, to give at least one dollar toward sending its youth to college. 50 years later Dr. Fradkin's "Scholarship America" has provided scholarships for over 1.5 million students and he still lives right here in Fall River.
I think that Mayor Correia may have gotten the commemorations backwards. Certainly Fradkin deserves something more honorable than a 1 foot by 1 foot sign hanging from a metal post.....
I recently went to visit the Paul K. McGovern square that Mayor Correia dedicated a few weeks ago. It is a lovely tribute to an obviously beloved restaurateur of Fall River but I couldn't help feeling that it belongs in a cemetery rather than a city square.
Hiding behind the giant McGovern memorial, was a tiny plaque that I discovered. The plaque indicated that the square, now McGovern Square, had previously been dedicated to Corporal David L. Miller, a son of Fall River. It reads "In Memory of David L. Miller, Corporal in the United States Army, a son of Fall River. Survivor of the Bataan Death March of 1942, he died in a Japanese prison camp in 1943. Lest anyone forget, may this garden serve as humble reminder of the sacrifice of all who gave their lives for liberty."
The plaque in the square that was once a tribute to a Fall River soldier who died in the line of duty now lies in the shadow of an enormous slab of granite memorializing a restaurateur.
If we are honoring notable Fall Riverites, where is the tribute to Fall River's resident Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. David Greer? In 1985, a group that Dr. Greer and five other American physicians established in collaboration with six Soviet Union physicians, The Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, won the Nobel Peace Prize.
29 comments:
SHAMEFUL
To Bob Correia "honor" and "payback" are the same thing. It's tough to get a campaign contribution from a dead soldier hero.
anonymous 18:25
You are the "freek" you can't even spell. I'm a vietnam vet. O.K. that and a dollar gets me a cup of coffee. I've been there and done it. What have you done?
Wooow...I see you have hit a nerve.
I did not realize that small piece of land had been dedicated to a war hero.
Mr. McGovern was a great guy, but since that piece of land was taken the city should have looked elsewhere.
And it is a huge shame on this city that Dr Irving Fradkin, the champion for education, not only here but across the nation, got a little piece of dirt named after him and a man who had nothing to do with education gets a school named after him.
What Bob Correia did was shameful, disgraceful and slap across the face to Dr.Fradkins tremendous hard work.
I am not knocking down C. Viveiros, but Correia should have known better.
Conspiracy freek, lol? I guess providing all the research and information plus photos to go along with it is very upsetting to the Correia crowd. They don't like facts especially those that demonstrate what a terrible Mayor Bob Correia truly is. Now I'm not saying that Mr. McGovern didn't deserve some type of recognition but we couldn't find a patch of land that wasn't already dedicated to a war hero? Correia's act is shameful and disrespectful to veterans.
“Lest anyone forget...” How unbearably heartbreaking. This brave young soldier, so far from home and family, endured 60 miles of misery and torture to preserve Bob Correia’s freedom to piss on his memory. “Lest anyone forget…”
The city has had enough of this administration and now that they are vocalizing it , they seem to be hitting a lot of nerves.
The people vocalizing their discontent are the same people who opposed the Mayor before the election. With the internet the same small group of people can flood the local blogs and the HN site with their whining.The silent majority will re-elect him easily.
What you are understimating and experiencing right now is the number of people that can now be reached via the internet.
Have you ever heard of a grass roots campaign? Obama
Anonymous 10:49 -
Please don't be lulled into a false sense of security just because this information is merely compiled on a blog. I will not hesitate to use any and all resources I have to compile Bob's affronts on the citizens of Fall River and disseminate them broadly throughout the community before the next election.
It is foolish to think that bloggers and commenters on the HN site are the only people upset with Bob's antics. You are overlooking the obvious factions of voters he has already turned against him: firefighters, teachers, local business owners paying giant stormwater fees, residential property owners with his proposed tax increase, and now war veterans...oh yeah and the handful of bloggers.
And Lest I forget, Anonymous 18:25-
I dare you to click on the link I provided in the blog post about the horrific tortures suffered by American soldiers who were victims of the Bataan Death March, where those that were beheaded were the lucky ones who escaped other fates that awaited the American soldiers such as rape, disembowlements, and bayonet stabbings. This brave soldier, Corporal David Miller, survived those war crimes only to die shortly thereafter in a Japanese prison camp.
Call me a conspiracy "freek" if you want but only a fool can deny the egregious error Bob Correia made in digging up this soldiers memorial and shoving it in a corner to make room for a tribute to a restaurateur.
I'm with you Shamrock. If it was just on issue that we disagreed on that would a different story. But
this administration is just blatantly running over the voters and citizens with only regard for their political and power aspirations. I will campaign for
anyone but bob.
I meet people everyday who are disgusted with the manner in which this City has been run since our new Mayor took over. He is rewriting this city's history one day at a time. The elections are closing in keep voicing your opinions. There is strengh in numbers
Makes you wonder why the "silent majority" is not silent and they are now defending themselves by becoming bloggers and talking on the radio and not being silent!
The "Silent Majority" is Bob Correia's Dream.
Keep em quiet!
Whining? Because people are upset by the treatment of those who built this city, or died for their country and are callously tossed aside by some idiot who feels the need to name everything in the city after acquaintances of his. It is so pathetic that peoples' self esteem would be so low, that they would stand by a man who has shown such little regard for their very existence.
God, this makes me sick. I can't believe this -- it's so blatantly disrespectful -- yet classic Correia.
This is great work Shamrock ...
The more I think about this, the worst I feel.
How could Bob Correia disregard not only a WWII soldier, but a man that died in a prisoner of war camp?
That little piece of land was set aside for a hero, and Bob Correia as usual does not care. Its his way and that is it.
Can you imagine if this was your father or uncle?
This is an outrage!
I have an uncle that is honored and I'm just waiting for the day this gets changed. Just awful.
The Herald News should cover this but maybe won't because of the connection to McGovern's. This is so idiotic, I don't begrudge Mr. McGovern his honor but is that the only place we could find is one that had already been dedicated to a war hero? Totally disgusting of the Mayor to disregard a hero like that. Where are the veterans groups? They should be upset about this too.
How about this for an idea...
Perhaps there could have been a memorial to Mr. McGovern on the property of the restaurant!
Really especially since veteran's day was just 10 days ago. That would have been quite the story.
Calling Carlton Viveiros a lackluster former Mayor is giving him too much. He was a god-awful Mayor. There is not one positive thing that anyone can point to that he did for our city. Anyone care to take up this challenge? What a f**king joke.
Tom-
I am having the same feelings as you. The more I think about this, the more upset I get. To make things worse, and I don't think I made this clear, Corporal Miller's plaque was actually dug up by the city and moved from its original center location in the square and relocated to the end facing traffic to make way for the McGovern memorial.
I didn't have the pleasure of knowing Mr. McGovern. I am sure he was a nice man and deserves some type of memorial, but this one was already taken by a war hero who died in a prison camp on November 23, 1942. The anniversary of Corporal Miller's death is in 2 days and I would really like to do something to honor him.
Can a memeorial be put on someone's private property that is on a main street and visible??
Should a veteran's group be contacted??
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=veteranstopic&L=2&L0=Home&L1=Honors+%26+Records&sid=Eveterans
Shamrock,
email me at foureyes08@hotmail.com
if you are able to get in touch with anyone in regards to this.
I will try veterans groups.
I'm sure the Mayor and Council Members as well as other City officials had to be informed of the previous dedication to allow such re-dedication to occur.
Politics trump another citizen's dedication. This is truly a sad situation.
I can only hope the parcel of land can be re-re dedicated to commemorate all the persons that truly deserve recognition.
Move the big slab to in front of his home, anywhere but where it is. Among our friends is another survivor, age 93. I would never allow such a thing to happen to him
This is a joke. Pretty sure Carlton is considered one of, if not Fall River' best Mayor. He started many great things. Are we forgetting that if it was not for him & Judge K we would not have a court house?
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