Three generations of soldiers mark Veterans Day in Peabody MA

From left, Louis P. Girolimon, Frederick L. Howcroft and Frederick J. Howcroft represent three generations of military service within a single family. Girolimon served in World War II, Frederick L. Howcroft served in the War of Terror, and Frederick J. Howcroft served in Vietnam. Matthew Viglianti/Staff Photographer

A family of heroes: Three generations of soldiers mark Veterans Day in Peabody

By Alan Burke
Staff writer


We all have responsibilities as citizens, but some of us carry more of the weight. And some carry it farther.

Yesterday, three generations of American warriors gathered at Peabody City Hall to mark Veterans Day. Included was Army National Guardsman Frederick L. Howcroft, his father Frederick J. Howcroft and his grandfather Louis Girolimon. Among those remembered was Girolimon's son, Lance Cpl. Louis M. Girolimon, killed in Vietnam on June 10, 1968.

Grandfather Louis, now 83 and a retired Peabody patrolman, began the family's American military tradition in World War II. The son of an Italian immigrant, he went into the Army on graduation from Peabody High School.

"I've been patriotic all my life," he says. "It's something you have to do as a man. ... As long as we uphold our honor, that's the important thing."

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