Veterans to protest Soldiers' Home cuts

The commander of the Hampden County American Legion wants to give Governor Deval Patrick a piece of his mind. Daniel Hamre of Springfield will get that chance on Monday when he and other veterans group leaders hold a news conference to protest the closing of outpatient clinics at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.

Hamre told 22News, he wants to think that re-opening the clinics one day is not out of the question.

“I know for a fact that one of our past commanders took out his checkbook and said he would write a check of a $1,000. He said, if you get 900 more people in the state to do it, that puts the money back into the budget,” said Daniel Hamre, commander of the Hampden County American Legion.

In a last ditch effort to save the outpatient clinic from closing, the state legislature put back the money cut by the Governor. His veto then sealed the fate of the Soldiers’ Home clinic.