Sentence:  It was the opinion of some of us that these must be part of the Committeemen who had <WSD>been</WSD> in the Battle of the North Bridge , which entitled them to a sort of veteran status , and we felt that if they employed this tactic , it was likely enough the best one . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  happen, occur, take place; this was during the visit to my parents' house"