DALTON, Mass. — Longtime resident and member of the Dalton American Legion Stanley Kmon has been selected as our November Community Hero of the month. 

 

Community Hero of the Month is a 12-month series that honors individuals and organizations that have made a significant impact on their community. This year's sponsor is Window World of Western Massachusetts. Nominate a hero here. 

 

Kmon has lived in Dalton for more than 60 years. During that time, he became a cornerstone of the community — not only as a resident but as a public servant.

 

His commitment to service is perhaps most evident in his long-standing membership in the Dalton American Legion Post 155.  

 

In this capacity, he volunteers with the placement of flags at all town cemeteries, along with the Craneville Elementary students and Scout troops before Memorial Day, said Tom Callahan, Legion member. 

 

He joined the Legion in 1973 and has held several offices, including two years as commander in 1986 and approximately 30 years as post adjutant.

 

"If it wasn't for our veterans, who knows where the country would be now. Personally, I was fortunate in the sense that when I was of young military age, there was no active conflict going down — it was between Korea and Vietnam, so I was lucky not to have been in any active military," Kmon said. 

 

In August 1961, he enlisted in the Coast Guard Reserve and was honorably discharged as a port security man, first class, in March 1967.

 

He is the captain of the Post 155 firing detail, which performs the gun salute at Dalton cemeteries when the Memorial Day exercises are over and at military funerals. 

 

"That's a very, very satisfying thing, because traditionally, there's a way to say goodbye, and we do the gun salute, and for some strange reason, you get satisfaction and the thought that you did something well," Kmon said.

 

Many veteran posts in central Berkshire County have a cherished tradition of visiting veterans in nursing homes during Christmas.

 

Alongside fellow members of Legion, Kmon brings gifts, compassion, and  companionship to veterans who may otherwise feel forgotten, said Kelly Dewey, Craneville Place of Dalton's activities assistant. 

 

"He remembers that they did a good service for our country, and he doesn't let them forget that. He tells them how appreciative they are and that they're not forgotten even though they're in a nursing home and they're disabled, they're not forgotten," she said. 

 

"I’m very glad to know him, and I think he's a great asset to our community."

 

Kmon also served on the Dalton Zoning Board, where he oversaw many complex zoning subdivisions and property disputes, making sensible, reasonable and easily implementable decisions, said John Boyle, Select Board member. 

 

In March 1982, Kmon and his late wife, Brenda, were instrumental in campaigning to have a traffic signal at the Main Street and Carson Avenue intersection installed after their son was hit by a vehicle there, resulting in a serious injury, Callahan said. 

 

"The petition was signed by over 1,000 residents," he said, adding that the implementation of that traffic light may have saved several lives.

 

"Stan is a quiet guy, quietly serving the community in sort of a background position, and just doing good deeds for the betterment of the community, and without looking for any kind of recognition," he said. 

 

"We can’t survive without people like that — people that do the public's bidding and serve the public quietly and efficiently and on a volunteer basis, I might add. A community cannot survive without people of that type."

 

Kmon's biography could go on forever because of all the things he does in the community, Callahan said during a flag-raising ceremony on Friday dedicated to Kmon. 

 

His decades of devotion has made him an inspiration — to his family, to veterans, and to several people in Dalton.

 

"He has always been a hard worker no matter what he's done, and he has definitely instilled that in me for my whole life," Kmon's daughter Michelle Beaudoin said. 

 

Having someone like that in the community encourages people to become part of their community, she said. "He has been an amazing father, he's an amazing grandfather, and now he's an amazing great-grandfather."