Throughout the area this weekend, residents took time out from their Memorial Day cookouts and other activities to reflect on the sacrifices our fallen soldiers made in armed conflicts in defense of our freedom.
Observances were held Monday in Lynn, Lynnfield, Nahant, Peabody, and Swampscott. Saugus’ ceremony was held Saturday.
Lynn: Decorated pioneer speaks
In Lynn, native Brigadier General Andrea Gayle-Bennett, the first African-American woman in her rank, spoke in front of veterans, gold star families, government officials, and ROTC students Monday at Pine Grove Cemetery.
In the parking lot outside Manning Field, members of the Lynn English Junior ROTC twirled their rifles to the beat of the Lynn All City Band’s drum as they prepared to march alongside war veterans and government officials to Pine Grove Cemetery.
By 2 p.m., Mike Sweeney, director of Veterans Services, began the service by inviting Rev. Alphonse Ferriera, a veteran chaplain in the U.S. Marine Corps, to the mic for an opening prayer.
“It certainly is a pleasure to be here and to be able to remember and not forget […] for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms that we enjoy every day, we consider how they have followed in the footsteps of the greater man,” he said. “No greater love has a man, then when he lays down his life for his friends.”
After the English Jr. Marine Corps performed their rifle demonstration, Gen. Gayle-Bennett said that one of the few universal facets of soldiers is their sacrifice.
“Ladies, and gentleman, everyone who’s here, I’m just thrilled that you’re here,” she said. “Opportunity, legacy, duty, purpose, patriotism — these are some of the reasons for choosing military service, but it differs from person to person. As varied as the reasons are, there’s a universal understanding: service means sacrifice. Even if that sacrifice is one’s own life. I’m deeply honored to stand with you today commemorating the sacrifices for those military men and women who laid down their lives for our nation,” Gayle-Bennett said.
Before the ceremony concluded with a gun salute, a wreath laying, and a performance of “Amazing Grace” performed by Lynn singer Gayle Bastarache, Gen. Gayle-Bennett said that the death of a soldier impacts not only his friends and family, but everyone.
“It’s not a day to remember battles or wars, but a day to remember those we lost as they defended our nation.The impact of this ultimate sacrifice ripples through all of our communities. A service member’s death touches more than just the lives of their loved ones and their friends.”
Lynnfield: Pausing to remember
For the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic Lynnfield held an in-person Memorial Day observance.
The day included a parade, ceremonies at town cemeteries, a ceremony on the Town Common, music, and a cookout.
It also included a poignant tribute to former Lynnfield resident Lauren Lengyel, who spent six years as a Prisoner of War during the Vietnam War.
“Today we remember the more than one million men and women who died serving in the United States military. We put aside our differences, and we become unified,” said Lynnfield Veterans Services Agent Bruce Siegel.
“We come together to honor the heroes who answered the call to serve. Today is the day we all stand up and say, ‘We remember you, we are grateful to you, and we thank you.’ Thank you for the sacrifice you made to help make our world a safer place.”
The parade made stops at the South Burying Ground, Willow Cemetery, the West Burying Ground, the Old Burying Ground, and Forest Hill Cemetery. Ceremonies were conducted at each location.
The parade ended at the Town Common, where a formal ceremony was held.
The Lynnfield High School Band played the National Anthem.
In his opening remarks, Siegel said, “We must never forget the sacrifices made by America’s fallen heroes. We put our servicemen and women in harm’s way every day. We are here today to recognize and honor those that never came home. The brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice to serve, protect, and defend our great nation. We collectively share our heartfelt sorrow and gratitude.”
Select Board Chair Phil Crawford said Americans have been answering the nation’s call to duty since the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington and Concord.
“We’ve awarded medals to many soldiers, added their names to monuments, and named buildings for them to honor them for their bravery,” Crawford said. “But nothing can ever replace the hole left behind by a fallen service member and no number of medals or ribbons can comfort the ones left behind.”
Marine Corps veteran Alice Ward, founder of the non-profit Veterans of War Aid Foundation, said Memorial Day always hits home with her.
“Memorial Day is the toughest one for me because it could be me,” she said.
Middle School fifth grader Lucas Wilkinson read the Gettysburg Address, while fellow students Riley Gardner and Olivia Asaad read the honor roll.
State Rep. Bradley H. Jones, Jr. and State Sen. Brendan Crighton also shared their thoughts.
“We can never forget our fallen veterans and we must strive to honor them not only on Memorial Day, but each and every day and visible reminders command us to do so,” Jones said.
“Today we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Crighton. “While time might heal some of those wounds, they (veterans’ families) carry the pain of their sacrifice,” Crighton said.
Siegel said Lengyel, a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. who died in April, was shot down in August 1967 in North Vietnam. For two years he was listed as Missing in Action.
After Lengyel was released in 1973, the town honored him with a hero’s parade and Town Common ceremony.
“This is what he said that day: ‘I am the happiest and proudest man in the world today. My only regret is that so many have not been as fortunate as I. They paid a high price, but a great country and great people like you will always be worth that price,'” Siegel said.
Lynnfield Post 131’s Color Guard firing squad honored the dead with a gun salute. Lynnfield High junior and band member Lucas Adreani closed out the observance with the playing of Taps.
Nahant: Rev. Long salutes fallen Troops
Residents gathered outside their houses to the tunes of the Swampscott Big Blue marching band to watch the town’s first Memorial Day parade in two years.
The Parade wound its way along the coastline, stopping briefly at a dock, where the Nahant Honor Guard Police performed a rifle salute following a moment of silence. After arriving at Greenlawn cemetery, Rev. Patricia Long began her opening prayer by saying that we have grown too accustomed to death and loss.
“Spirit of life, spirit of peace, spirit of love, we come to this memorial day 2022 way too familiar with loss and death and the toll it has taken on the human heart. What have we learned, we have learned to remember in order that none have died in vain. We remember our war dead; those soldiers who have marched bravely, not fearlessly, but bravely, into battle, into struggle, and did not return,” Long said.
Audience members stood silent, some weeping, some hanging their heads, as Rev. Long concluded the prayer with a remembrance of those who sacrificed themselves for their country.
“We remember these courageous men and women who died, just so that we may live, and that we may live freely. We remember the gifts they gave us. Through the strength of their commitment, the depth of their love of country, the courage of their dying, and the fullness of their living, ” Long said. “We remember, we say their names, and we learn to do in our time what they have done in theirs, for there is no greater love than to lay down your life for another. So we pause, in silence, to remember.”
Peabody: We will always remember
Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt, Jr. spoke in front of city hall to pay his respects to members of the armed forces who have sacrificed their lives for their country.
In the 85 degree heat, residents lined the sidewalks on Washington Street as the Memorial Day parade made its way to city hall. There, Veterans Council Director Robert Dunne welcomed the audience, many of whom were veterans, and paid respect to members of the Veterans Council who have recently passed away.
“Some of the veterans who were here last year are no longer with us. We’ll always remember them on Memorial Day,” Dunne said.
After Peabody Veterans Memorial High School student Riley Linger sang the national anthem, Bettencourt said that he would like to honor not only those who sacrificed their lives for their country, but also those who survived with physical or mental wounds.
“It’s important to be here today as we honor those who have served and made the ultimate sacrifice for us, and for our nation,” Bettencourt said. “Today we honor those who were not able to come home, and we will always remember them. I also think of those who did come home, and were scarred physically, mentally, and carried that with them for the rest of their lives. How can you repay that? Other than to say you will always remember and to say thank you.”
Congressman Seth Moulton shared a story from his time in Iraq in which he came back from a quick break to find that a young Marine had been killed.
“The hottest day of my life was in Iraq in 2004, and there’s a picture of me that day lying down in front of a gravestone in a cemetery, and I had my flak vest open because it was so hot, I was taking a quick break. It’s one of the hardest photographs for me to look at from my time in the war, because when I was done taking a break, I put my flak vest back on, and walked 30 yards forward up to the line, and that’s when I found a young marine named Larry Wells who had been shot and killed while I was taking a break.”
Moulton said that he spoke about his time in Iraq to remind people that Memorial Day is about individuals who died in service.
“I thought a lot about how Larry died alone. I share that quick story because I think that as we model Memorial Day every year back home, and we watch the old veterans march in parades, and we see the names of people on a wall that we probably have never met, it’s easy to forget that Memorial Day is about individual Americans, most of which died very young.”
State Rep. Thomas Walsh said Memorial Day is always bittersweet.
“I am always reminded by the names on the monuments here; they are not just names etched in stone, they were real people connected to the people who are here today. It’s really impressive when you see that parade come down Washington Street and Main and see everybody celebrate,” said Walsh. “But there’s also a solemnity to it because you know that some of the people out here had uncles, parents, brothers, sisters, who they lost in conflicts. It’s pretty important and pretty heavy in some respects.”
Swampscott: Freedom isn’t free
The message Monday at the Swampscott Cemetery was that “Freedom isn’t Free.”
From the reading of a poem of the same name by Boy Scout Jake Henry Walger from Boy Scout Troop 53 to the main address by Lt. Col. Tonia Costa of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, that refrain served as a reminder to the throng of people who attended Monday’s Memorial Day ceremony that there’s a cost for defending democracy and that it is a high one.
Lt. Col. Costa spoke of three people under her command, all of whom died while performing heroic duties — two in Somalia and one in Iraq.
“All three stories I shared had in them common ground,” she said. “And that is service, patriotism, and sacrifice. The cost of freedom remains the same, and it is not free.
“Death touches more than family and friends,” she said. “It becomes part of a collective narrative of towns like Swampscott.”
Also speaking was Selectman David Grishman, who said, “our responsibility is to remember the men and women who gave their lives for freedom. God bless all of those who are in harm’s way.”
Mike Sweeney, director of Veterans Services for both Lynn and Swampscott, served as the master of ceremonies. He served under Lt. Col. Costa in the National Guard. Also speaking was Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald.
“There is nothing more important you can do than to be here today, This is our democracy, and it doesn’t come free,” he said.
The National Anthem was sung by Scout Myers of the Ocean Bay Girl Scouts; and Gayle Bastarache performed both “God Bless America” and “Amazing Grace.” A wreath in memory of Swampcott’s fallen service men and women was laid by Jaclyn Raymond, mother of Army Specialist Jared Raymond; and Raymond Harris, father of Marine Capt. Jennifer Harris, both of whom lost their lives in the War on Terror, was laid.
Rev. Mark Templeman, the Swampscott Fire Department chaplain, delivered the opening and closing prayers.
Lt. Col. Costa wanted to make sure the “next generation” got involved, and asked a young boy, Robbie Kurkowski, to speak.
“I want to honor all the men and women who fought for this country. May you always be remembered,” he said.