HANSCOM AFB, Mass.– Arnold Bain was honored by Hanscom Federal Credit Union at a Lowell Spinners game here.
Mr. Bain, who passed away in 2013, was nominated for Hanscom FCU’s Hero Among Us program by his daughter. He served in the US Army during World War II.
“My father will forever be my greatest hero in life,” said Westborough resident Karen Bain-Morgado.
Bain, a young private serving in Europe towards the end of the war, was witness to the aftermath of the Gardelegen massacre in April 1945. Over 1,000 prisoners burned to death inside a barn as German troops retreated across the countryside.
He did not speak of his experience until Ms. Bain-Morgado was in her thirties. “He told me how the graphic sights, smells and feel of this experience rocked him to his core and haunted him for years afterward – long after he had returned home, married and had his children. I was so moved by his courage in sharing with me this obviously painful story, that was still so graphic in his psyche nearly forty years after the fact, that I have carried the lesson of his strength and humanity from it ever since.”
Mr. Bain’s great grandson Luca threw out the first pitch, and several family members watched the game in a luxury suite sponsored by Hanscom FCU.
Separately, Hanscom FCU also supported the graduation celebration of the year’s most recent Airman Leadership School class. Ten Airmen and two Coast Guard E-4s completed the Hanscom-based five-week ALS course. This training is designed to develop junior enlisted members into effective front line supervisors. The ALS at Hanscom Air Force Base is unique because it offers the course to multiple services.
Col. Michael Vogel, commander of the 6th Air Base Group and Hanscom Air Force Base was a guest speaker, as was command chief CMSgt Craig Poling.
“We are happy to help recognize this achievement in a young person’s life,” said Chairman of the Board Paul Marotta. “These students are poised to become leaders and it’s exciting to be a part of that.”