Army Sergeant Killed in Iraq Left Off New School Memorial Scoreboard, Sparking Community Outrage

U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Gregory Belanger lost his life in 2003 during the Iraq War and his memory had been memorialized in his hometown for over 20 years, until now.

Belanger’s family and the broader South Deerfield, Mass., community are speaking out in his defense after his former school district, Frontier Regional School, erected a new baseball field scoreboard but decided not to move a memorial plaque in Belanger’s memory with it. That plaque, installed in 2004, was dedicated to the 1998 graduate.

The Frontier Regional School District School Committee, however, voted June 11 not to move Belanger’s plaque formerly situated underneath the old scoreboard to the new one. The vote was resounding, with seven committee members voting against moving it while just two supported it.

“I was honestly pretty shocked,” Allison Tudryn, Belanger’s sister, told Military.com.

She explained that the item was part of the June 11 agenda due to her mother, Kathleen Belanger, who implored the district to move the memorial to the new scoreboard to honor her son’s memory and legacy. Frontier Superintendent Darius Modestow said the scoreboard became “non-functional” shortly after its installation due to electrical issues, according to the Greenfield Recorder.

The dispute also lies in the district’s own memorial policy, instituted in 2018, which states: “The School Committee recognizes that the death of a student, member of the staff or prominent community member is deeply felt by the school community. As places designed primarily to support learning, school sites should not serve as the main venue for permanent memorials.”

“My mom, Greg’s mom, went and spoke at the June 11th school committee meeting and made a simple request: move his memorial plaque from point A to point B,” Tudryn said. “She spoke during public comment, and they [the committee] took that into consideration. … Any existing memorials could only be removed if the school committee voted to remove it.”

After a committee member urged a vote to get members on record, it led to a lopsided result and community backlash. Belanger did not find out about the decision until she read in the newspaper.

“I don’t understand why they made a mountain out of a molehill,” Kathleen Belanger said post-vote, according to the Greenfield Recorder. “I don’t think it should’ve gone on this long. Here, we’re [celebrating] our 250th birthday for the United States of America and Greg is a part of it, and I want him always to be remembered.”

Tudryn called the vote result “even more surprising” considering that her mother publicly vouched for the simple task of moving the memorial that “has four bolts,” partially joking that if her brother was still alive he would have probably just moved it himself.

Frontier District Response

Military.com reached out to the Frontier Regional School District School Committee as well as top faculty members but received no response.

Tudryn said that the committee has assured her and her mother that Belanger’s memorial is not being removed, which remains to be seen. Currently, it remains attached to a non-functioning scoreboard. Since the June 11 vote, Belanger’s family has followed every available process to ensure the relocation, requesting that the vote be reconsidered and placed on a future agenda.

Frontier Committee Chair Melissa Novak acknowledged their request, Tudryn said, but has not formally committed to placing the matter on the Sept. 8 agenda. Instead, the discussion has shifted toward developing a broader memorial policy.

In correspondence between Novak and Tudryn that was shared with Military.com, Novak apologized for the delay in the process, citing “scheduling challenges” while adding that the committee is”currently in the process of scheduling a school committee meeting dedicated to addressing this matter.”

“Because of summer vacations, and other scheduling conflicts have affected the availability of both committee members and members of the public, we are looking at dates in late August or early September that will allow for the broadest participation,” Novak wrote Tudryn via email. “As we prepare for that meeting, committee members have also been learning more about the history of the various memorials and remembrances located throughout the Frontier Regional campus.

“That broader context helps explain why this issue is more complex than it may first appear and why the committee believes it is important to take the time to thoughtfully consider all aspects before making any decisions.”

That discussion, according to Novak, could include reconsideration of the original request or other possible approaches that recognize Belanger’s service while also considering the committee’s policies and the many memorials that exist throughout the campus. At this juncture, no decisions have been made.

Tudryn, who has gone back and forth with the committee since the vote, has formally requested that they put the item on the next agenda or call a special meeting to rescind their vote.

“It is being turned into a discussion about the broader policy for memorials, which our family fears,” she said. “My fear is, we understand you need to have a broader policy that goes into more detail. … There are no other soldiers killed in action. There are other memorials, but we’re a very small town. My brother, our graduating class is four towns, 100 people. Very small school.”

That small town mentioned by Tudryn has galvanized behind this issue, from average citizens to local businesses and organizations standing with the Belanger family.

A statement issued by Hale-Clapp VFW Post 3295 and shared by Tudryn with Military.com described “its profound disappointment and deep concern” about the decision.

“For more than twenty years, Sergeant Belanger’s memorial has stood as a visible reminder of a young Frontier Regional graduate who answered his nation’s call and made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the United States Army,” the statement says. “The Belanger family did not ask for a new monument, a new memorial, or special recognition. They asked only that the existing plaque be moved from the old scoreboard to the new one so that future students, families, and visitors would continue to see and remember one of their

own.”

The committee’s refusal represents a profound failure to honor both the sacrifice of Sergeant Belanger and the enduring obligation every community bears to remember those who gave their lives defending our freedoms.

Tom Peabody, president of the South Deerfield Polish American Citizens’ Club, called moving the memorial a “no brainer” and now the club is reconsidering its donations to the school, according to the Greenfield Recorder. The club reportedly makes consistent contributions to Frontier’s sports teams and raises money for graduates’ scholarships.

Nicole Ciesluk, a local market owner, told the publication that Belanger was like a brother to the community’s residents and that the committee’s decision “really [hurt] a lot of people’s feelings.”

Carrie Fydenkevez, a local pharmacist, questioned why the committee was even “messing with a veteran who gave his life for our country.”

The sentiment was echoed by Laura Thiem, a local baker who said the “bigger picture” emanating from something like this could potentially lead to families questioning whether their children should even attend the district in the future.

“It’s not just a plaque, it’s a representation of showing the Frontier students that we support them post-grad,” Thiem said. “It keeps the memory alive…and helps the community grieve.”

That outpouring “takes my breath away,” Tudryn said, adding that she and her mother post-vote have been stopped at local businesses and gathering places by other citizens sharing their opposition to the decision.

“It’s so overwhelmingly positive that it just has brought up a lot of old and existing feelings of when everything happened,” Tudryn said. “It brings me back to the moment when the streets were lined, honoring his casket coming home. The the town did a hero’s tribute and stood and lined the streets, and there was a delay in the plane, and they stayed out there.

“The community stayed out for hours, so that when the police escorted his casket back, the streets were lined with American flags. It shows that my brother’s impact has just been so lasting, not just for our family but for the whole community. … It’s overwhelming, and I just feel so proud of him because he’s still he’s still making an impact, even this many years later.”

Answers Sought by the Belanger Family

Tudryn said she, her mother and the community await whether the situation becomes rectified.

She recalled her brother’s zest for life, engaging in prototypical teenage activities like driving pick-up trucks around town, swimming in local waterways, and hanging out at bonfires. He was on the school wrestling team but also had a passion for cooking. The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks made him want to defend his nation.

“He was the guy that you could call in the middle of the night who would come and help you no matter what the issue is,” she said.

The main unaswered questions that exist are whether the request to rescind the June 11 vote will be placed on a future agenda, and if a new memorial policy be developed before their family’s request is ever considered. Novak has offered for Tudryn to meet with the school superintendent to discuss what he perceives as broader issues with current on-campus memorials.

For Tudryn and others, the issue has snowballed into something almost beyond belief.

“It seems like they could have just taken back their vote,” Tudryn said. “Move the damn sign. It’s literally like a 2-foot-by-6-foot ‘in memory of.’ But instead, we wanted to wrap this into policy.

“It’s like, you should listen to your town and the community. They’re outraged.”