The Hillsboro-Deering High baseball team kicked off Operation Hat Trick season at their game on Friday, with veterans throwing out ceremonial first pitches and players, current military and veterans participating in the color guard. On Saturday, Concord High’s baseball team joined H-D to help clean the Veterans cemetery in Boscawen, where they also learned about Rolling Thunder’s work on behalf of POWs, MIA service members and military families. H-D’s players then went to the Veterans Home in Tilton to spend time with the state’s veterans, including serenading them with “Ring of Fire.”
Steve Mello, Concord’s Director of Physical Education and Sport, brought Operation Hat Trick to the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association’s attention two years ago, and each spring teams from schools across the state participate in events to honor veterans and sell ball caps with the proceeds supporting the recovery of wounded service members and veterans.