BOSTON — Fourteen Medal of Honor recipients in Boston for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society convention arrived on Boston Common for a Statehouse visit in seven Massachusetts National Guard Black Hawk helicopters.
Hundreds gathered to watch as the veterans returned in the helicopters from school visits they made Wednesday morning around eastern Massachusetts. Gov. Charlie Baker greeted them at the Statehouse.
A monument on the Common across from the Statehouse honors the black 54th Massachusetts Civil War regiment, one of whose members was the first black soldier to receive the Medal of Honor.
Massachusetts has three living recipients. Two, Korean War veteran Thomas Hudner and Vietnam veteran Thomas Kelley, have headed the state's veterans services.
The society says more than 40 of the nation's 78 living Medal of Honor recipients are expected to attend its convention this week.
