The city of Springfield, Massachusetts will have a Veterans Day Parade Saturday where people will have a chance to cheer the city’s Veteran of the Year.
Through the years, Al Rodriguez has been a familiar sight at every event in Springfield that salutes veterans.
“I love my veterans,” Rodriguez said.
As a facilities manager for the city, he’ll make sure flags are ready to be raised, wreaths aligned in the proper order for placement at monuments, podiums set up, and microphones working.
And at parades, Rodriguez, a big man who typically wears a baseball cap with a veterans insignia, can be seen riding his motorcycle.
At this year’s Veterans Parade, Rodriguez will ride in the parade wearing a sash identifying him as the Veteran of the Year. It is an honor he said he wants to share with everyone who served their country in uniform.
“They’re the reason why we’re free, we’re a free country,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez, a Connecticut native, enlisted in the U.S. Army right out of high school in 1977. He served for six years as a food services specialist at Fort Bliss, Texas. After a career as a corrections officer and then a small business-owner in Connecticut, Rodriquez moved to Springfield where his wife, Jackie, is originally from.
She is a breast cancer survivor and the two have devoted much time to raising money for the Rays of Hope breast cancer charity. In 2020, they became the first Hispanic couple to chair the organization’s fundraising initiatives.
For his philanthropic work alone, Rodriguez is a worthy choice as Veteran of the Year, said William Walls, chairman of the Springfield Veterans’ Activities Committee.
“We select a veteran who has not only served our nation but continues to make contributions for the betterment of society,” Walls said.
Rodriguez found out two weeks ago that he was to be named Veteran of the Year when he got a phone call summoning him to the office of Mayor Domenic Sarno.
“I got kinda nervous and thought ‘Oh boy what did I do? I hope my staff didn’t do anything wrong’,” Rodriguez said.
He was shocked when the mayor told him had been selected for the tribute.
“I was lost for words,” Rodriguez said. “I am a humble person and I said ‘mayor there are veterans out there more deserving than I am’. This is not an Al Rodriguez day, this is Veterans Day.”
The parade marshal this year is Francisco Luna, a Springfield police officer and 17-year member of the Army National Guard.
The parade steps off at 11 a.m. at Springfield Technical Community College and will proceed down State Street to City Hall.
