WHITMAN, Mass. (AP) – An 80-year-old veteran was killed Thursday morning when he was run over by a van as he prepared to march in the town’s Veterans Day parade.

William Hammond, of Abington, was a decorated World War II Army veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. As captain of the color guard, he was lining up with fellow veterans at the start of the parade route when the van backed over him, witnesses said.

The van was owned by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter and was operated by a close friend of Hammond. The driver, 80-year-old Joseph E. Davis of East Bridgewater, was taken to a local hospital to be treated for distress.

Police on Friday asked the state Registry of Motor Vehicles to consider pulling Davis’ driver’s license .

Police have not filed charges against Davis, but asked the RMV to conduct an “immediate threat” assessment, according to deputy chief Raymond Nelson.

“They decide whether he should be driving,” Nelson said. “All we ask is for the Registry to look into it.”

The RMV said Friday it could not confirm that it had been asked to investigate Davis. But such requests are common after accidents that result in serious injuries, said RMV attorney Erin Deveney.

“It’s not automatically revoked,” Deveney said. “The agency makes sure the action is appropriate and necessary.”

Nelson said police are waiting for a state police accident reconstruction report before deciding whether to file charges.

“It’s devastating,” said Richard Slowey, adjutant of VFW Post 697. “Bill is a very warm and very kind person.”

A man who answered the phone at Hammond’s house declined to comment. Post members said he and his wife, Irene, had several children and that Hammond owned a contracting business.

Junior vice commander Robert Wessa said Hammond was a past commander of the 765-member post who stayed active, traveling to a local school with Wessa this week to talk about Veterans Day.

Many post members had just gotten together Wednesday night for their monthly meeting.

“I was with the man last night, and we were just having a grand time because we loved to give each other the jab,” Slowey said.

Wessa remembered Hammond as a strong leader and a good friend. He was still an avid motorcyclist and completed a road trip around Canada and the United States when he was in his late 70s. Just this past year, he rode to a national veterans meeting in Cincinnati to participate in a motorcycle parade, said Leon Litchfield, the post’s senior vice commander.

“He was quite a guy,” Wessa said. “It’s a sad day over (at the post) right now.”