CONCORD250 EVENTS
Beyond 1775: Concord and the Massachusetts National Guard
Special pre-Veteran’s Day tour, Nov. 9, 2023, 10 a.m. – a chance to be taken into the special collection of the Concord Armory to see rare artifacts and how materials are preserved.
Be one of the first to explore Concord’s 1915 armory and learn about the near 400-year history of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, the oldest component of the United States Armed Forces. Hear stories of remarkable service and view the objects that witnessed war. The tour will also offer participants a special glimpse into the Massachusetts National Guard Museum while it prepares to open to the public. Concord may be famous for April 19, 1775, but its service to the Commonwealth and Nation continue to this very day.
Tour meets at 91 Everett Street Concord
This tour is provided in partnership with the Massachusetts National Guard Museum.
Endorsed by Concord 250 Committee
Concord and the Vietnam War
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2023
2:00—4:00 PM
Goodwin Forum, Main Library, 129 Main Street, Concord, MA, 01742

Concord and the Vietnam War: Vietnam Veterans Recount the Protest They Staged at the Old North Bridge in 1971 and How it Led to One of the Largest Mass Arrests in Massachusetts History
On the opening night of Memorial Day Weekend in 1971, men wearing fatigues began to gather at the Old North Bridge in Concord to protest the ongoing war which they had just returned home from fighting. Their plan was to camp overnight and then march all the way to Boston Common. Photographs of them crossing the bridge were splashed across the region’s newspapers. For the liberal press, these were the new Minute Men.
On a panel moderated by Elise Lemire, author of Black Walden and Battle Green, Vietnam, three Massachusetts Vietnam veterans recall why they chose to stage their protests against the Vietnam War at New England’s most storied battlefields, their decision on the second day of the march to emulate Thoreau by occupying the Lexington Battle Green without permission, and their reception in Concord when they were tried in Middlesex Court for civil disobedience. This panel with Vietnam veterans Bestor Cram, Christopher Gregory, and Lenny Rotman, will explore the role of memorialized battlefields, the principles of civil disobedience, and the role protest can play in healing moral injuries.