Honoring Fallen Heroes
Wakefield, Massachusetts pays tribute on Memorial Day
The morning fair skies that greeted those attending 2015 Memorial Day ceremonies at the West Side Social Club gave way to increasing clouds by the time the town’s afternoon program got underway on Veterans Memorial Common. But Monday’s summer-like weather helped to draw large numbers of Wakefield citizens to honor those who died in service of their country.
The WSSC observance got underway promptly at 10 a.m. at Moulton Park with Sean Curran presiding. Curran, a US Marine Corps veteran of Desert Storm and a Lieutenant with the Wakefield Fire Department, told of the “extremely emotional experience” he had when visiting Pearl Harbor while he and his wife were honeymooning in Hawaii.
“How would our country and this world be different,” Curran asked, “if everyone remembered that our freedoms come at a very high price.”
Curran introduced WSSC President Peter Hubbard.
“We are here today to honor out service men and women and remember the sacrifice they made for honor, duty and country,” Hubbard said. “It is you who have made the American way of life possible for the rest of us. Thank you for answering the call of duty and we honor you for protecting our great nation.”
Wakefield Town Administrator Stephen P. Maio brought the greetings from the Board of Selectmen and the town.
“This ceremony is particularly wonderful,” Maio observed, “with the expression of life and the dedication of the trees surrounding a place where children play.”
Following the rededication of those 29 trees planted in memory of fallen heroes, Curran introduced keynote speaker Alicia Reddin, Wakefield’s Veterans Service Officer. A US Navy veteran, Reddin earned the Global War on Terrorism Medal while serving with the Navy Mobile Construction Battalion.
Reddin spoke of losing a shipmate while she was deployed as a heavy equipment operator in Guam.
“Just a few weeks before our tour was complete – on March 15, 2007 Gunner’s Mate second class Jarred Krutke was killed while on duty in the Armory,” Reddin recalled. “He was 24 years old. He left behind his wife Nicole, his infant month-old daughter Elizabeth, a heartbroken family and an entire battalion of Seabees who miss him every single day.
“His daughter is 8 now,” Reddin noted, “close in age to my own daughter – the difference being that Elizabeth only knows Jarred through other people’s memories. This death was particularly difficult to manage. His life was taken by a fellow sailor who was suffering from a mental illness, an invisible wound.
“Each Veteran here today has lost a comrade or a shipmate,” Reddin said. “They were our brothers and sisters. As a result we have each lost a piece of ourselves.”
Following a 1 p.m. parade down Main Street from the Galvin Middle School, the town’s Memorial Day exercises got underway in front to the World War II Monument on Veterans Memorial Common.
American Legion Commander Thomas Collins served as master of ceremonies and called Rev. Bruce Lomas, Rector of Trinity Church in Melrose for the invocation.
Following the National Anthem sung by Wakefield High School Senior Adam Tarpey, Collins introduced Selectman Phyllis Hull.
“I am humbled by the fact that our veterans of all wars sacrificed so much so that we could be here today, free,” Hull said. “They deserve to be remembered not only today but every day.”
Hull said that she especially remembered her husband, John Hull, a Marine, and her brother Joseph Marangi, who received the Purple Heart for injuries he sustained during the Invasion of Normandy.
State Rep. Paul Brodeur noted that on Memorial Day, “We honor and remember all who served, but we especially pay tribute to those who died in military service and resolve to keep them close to our hearts. Thank you to you and your families for your service.”
Rep. Donald Wong said that honoring veterans should be a daily occurrence.
“Every day that we get up and open our eyes,” Wong said, “we should say, ‘Thank God for the Armed Forces and our veterans.’”
Wong then read a Memorial Day proclamation for Wakefield sent by Governor Charlie Baker.
Collins introduced featured speaker Wakefield VSO Alicia Reddin.
“The greatest glory of a free nation,” Reddin said, “is the ability to transmit our freedom to our children. But we must remember, there is always a price and it was paid with the lives and sacrifices of the brave men and women who cannot be here with us today. The ones who didn’t come home. It is our duty and responsibility to ensure that the traditions surrounding Memorial Day are preserved and carried on through our children and their children.”
Reddin then read a proclamation officially designating Wakefield as a “Purple Heart Community.”
“The purpose of the Purple Heart designation is to create a symbolic and honorary system of roads, highways, bridges, that give tribute to the men and women who have been awarded the Purple Heart medal,” Reddin said.
“This is accomplished by creating a visual reminder to those who travel through Wakefield that others have paid a high price for their freedom to travel and live in a free society.”
Reddin noted that “Purple Heart Community” signs will be posted at main entry points to Wakefield and decals will be placed on street signs of every street coming off Main Street.
“This designation not only speaks to the dedication of the men and women who have earned the Purple Heart,” Reddin said, “but also to the Town of Wakefield’s dedication to serving and honoring all veterans.”
[This story originally appeared in the May 26, 2015 Wakefield Daily Item.]
SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM 2015 MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCES IN WAKEFIELD, MA
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Feature stories, News, Photography, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Adam Tarpey, Alicia Reddin, American Legion, Donald Wong, Gold Star, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Memorial Day, Paul Brodeur, Phyllis Hull, Purple Heart Community, Sean Curran, Tom Collins, veterans, Veterans Services, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, West Side Social Club
Search this site
Categories
Flickr Photos
Archives
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
Recent Comments
Mark Sardella on A very Special Town Meeti… John Breithaupt on A very Special Town Meeti… Mark Sardella on A very Special Town Meeti… John Breithaupt on A very Special Town Meeti… Dan Noren on A very Special Town Meeti… Blog Stats
- 368,034 hits
LINKS
No Responses Yet to “Honoring Fallen Heroes”