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Assistant Secretary of the Navy Sean J. Stackley speaks at the dedication ceremony for the Captain Gerald F. DeConto USN Veterans Memorial Stadium on October 23rd, 2015
SANDWICH – An emotional night took place Friday at a formal dedication ceremony of the Captain Gerald F. Deconto USN Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Gerald DeConto died while working at the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001. He frequented Sandwich sports fields in high school and, according to his mother, played on many teams.
His classmate at the Naval Academy, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley spoke during the ceremony.
“The great philosopher Euripides taught us: when good men die, their goodness does not perish, but lives, though they are gone, through the lives they have touched,” Stackley said. “Jerry has touched each of us here today, and in dedicating this stadium, it is sure that his goodness will not perish.”
DeConto’s mother, Pat DeConto, described the pain she and her family went through when the Captain lost his life.
“The only way to pull yourself back into reality is to have a goal, an idea, a plan; you need to have a vision, and this was our vision.”
The DeConto family’s contribution of $250,000 in 2005 originally ignited public and private support for the stadium. They have since donated an additional $200,000.
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A new synthetic turf field, press box, scoreboard, track and bleachers were all installed. The stadium can seat up to 1,500 observers.
After the ceremony closed, the Sandwich High School Football team took to the field to play the Marshfield Rams.
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