U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton will lead the lineup of speakers at ceremonies next Saturday dedicating the bridge spanning the Shawsheen River on The Great Road to the memory of a decorated Air Force pilot.
Major Barry Seidman, a Bedford resident for almost 40 years, will be honored at ceremonies beginning at noon at Veterans Memorial Park.
Seidman, who served in the Air Force for 20 years, flew 901 combat reconnaissance missions and logged more than 1,400 combat hours during his 27 months in Vietnam.
Moulton, whose district includes almost all of Bedford, is a U.S. Marine veteran who served four deployments to Iraq. The Salem Democrat is a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
State Rep. Kenneth Gordon of Bedford, who spearheaded the dedication of the state-owned bridge, said the commander of the 66th Air Base Group at Hanscom Air Force Base is also scheduled to speak at the ceremony.
Col. Taona Enriquez was first assigned to Hanscom in July 2016 for a two-year stint as a director of contract operations. She was named group commander almost a year ago.
Gordon also plans to speak, as does Seidman’s widow Valerie, who will read excerpts from the Silver Star citation he was awarded for bravery.
Valerie Seidman said family members and friends from many parts of the country are expected to attend the ceremony, including one of her husband’s pilot training classmates who now resides in Florida.
Seidman, who died in December 2020, grew up in Belmont and graduated from Boston University.
He received the Silver Star for a mission in March 1967, during which he attracted the attention of enemy forces to protect American troops surrounded on the ground. “His radio had died,” Valerie Seidman recounted. “He kept flying low to distract attention so the enemy would shoot at him and not the ground troops, time and time again. That saved hundreds of American lives.” Overall, Seidman received 36 air medals for valor and bravery.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1982, he managed his family’s stationery business in Cambridge.
The program will take place at the park, just east of the corner of The Great and Bacon Roads, to accommodate everyone safely. The sign dedicating the bridge, three-quarters of a mile to the east, will be unveiled at the start of the program.
In case of rain, the dedication ceremony will take place in Buckley Auditorium at Bedford High School.
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