Apr 17, 2026
The town of Arlington, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, is a thriving community with strong public schooling and beautiful New England scenery. Two-and-a-half centuries ago, however, the town was known as Menotomy, and its inhabitants were called to arms to fight for the sovereignty of a forming nation.
About 12 miles south of Arlington, in Needham, Massachusetts, VFW Post 2498 honored the lives of five Needham Minutemen on April 19, 2025, in an annual ceremonial walk for the 250th anniversary of the “shot heard ’round the world.”
The event begins each year at 8:45 a.m. Participants gather at the center of Needham, where they’ll ready themselves for a 12.6-mile walk to the Jason Russell House in Arlington — an approximate six-hour trek, following the same route the Minutemen took.
Post 2498 members helped make up more than 100 participants in the walk. According to Post Chaplain Tom Keating, he, along with other Post members, arrived at the site early to help support and set up. Walkers and other supporters were gifted with VFW flag pins.
FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS
Built in 1745, the Jason Russell House in Arlington, Massachusetts, is the site of one of the first firefights of the Revolutionary War, and where 185 Needham Minutemen marched to more than a quarter of a millennia ago. Five of these men would die fighting the retreating British troops.
According to an article written by Bob Baker for the Needham Observer, the 185 Needham Minutemen made up more than 20% of the entire town’s population. The deaths of the five troops “devastated” Needham — the combined children of the men totaled 36.
The five men, according to the Needham History Center and Museum, were Lt. John Bacon, 54, Private Amos Mills, 43, Private Nathaniel Chamberlain, 57, Sgt. Elisha Mills, 40, and Private Jonathan Parker, who turned 28 that day.
Keating was invited to say a prayer at the Jason Russell House in remembrance of these men.
“Our Post members felt honored and proud to do this on the 250th anniversary, to be part of the ceremony,” said Keating said. “We are New Englanders, and we were taught in school how brave those Minutemen were and what they did that day in Lexington and Concord, and here at the Jason Russell House in Arlington. We wanted to pay our respects to these men this day.”
Along with participating in other local events in Needham, Post 2498 also hosts dinners for VA patients. Last Christmas, the Post hosted a holiday dinner for 60 patients and staff from Boston VA health care facilities.
This article is featured in the 2026 March/April issue of VFW magazine and was written by Danny Cook, senior writer for VFW magazine.