Local connections
From Fort Devens to Hanover Theatre, remembering Gen. Colin Powell's ties to Central Mass.
Paywalled
In 2014, Gen. Colin L. Powell
took the stage at Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts in Worcester, before an audience of students from Worcester Technical High School.
Powell, years removed from his tenure as U.S. secretary of state and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the young onlookers that his unimpressive grades proved to be no roadblock to hard work and determination.
“You’ll find, my young friends, that satisfaction and success in life come day by day,” said Powell,
who died Monday. He was 84.
During his Hanover appearance, Powell mentioned that he was familiar with Worcester - he was forgiven for his pronunciation - dating to his early days in the military.
Powell was stationed at the former Fort Devens in Ayer in the early 1960s, having joined the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps while at the City College of New York.
At Fort Devens, no longer a post and now known as Devens, Powell commanded a company of the 5th Infantry Division; in 1962 he was promoted to captain, according to a biography on a
military website about joint chiefs of staff. He was soon assigned to Vietnam.
During his time at Fort Devens, Powell went on a blind date with a student from Emerson College. Alma Johnson and Colin Powell would eventually marry. She survives him, as do their three children.
‘A Great Loss': Local Lawmakers Mourn Colin Powell's Death
Didn't realize he was that old!
