5 years after bombings, city’s healing continues
BOSTON — The bells of Old South Church in Boston rang at 2:49 p.m. to commemorate a citywide moment of silence in honor of Boston Marathon bombing survivors and victims.
It was an emotional moment on the eve of the 122nd edition of the race. Sunday was a day filled with service projects and ceremonies to remember those affected by the deadly bombings five years ago.
Boston began the anniversary of the attacks with Mayor Marty Walsh and Gov. Charlie Baker laying wreaths at the spots along downtown Boylston Street where two bombs killed three spectators and injured more than 260 others April 15, 2013.
Both addressed families and survivors at a private ceremony at the Boston Public Library.
“On April 15, 2013, our city changed forever, but over the last five years, we have reclaimed hope. We have reclaimed the finish line, and Boston has emerged with a new strength, a resilience rooted in love,” said Walsh in echoing the city’s rallying cry in the wake of the attacks, “Boston Strong.”
Jane and Henry Richard, siblings of the youngest victim Martin Richard, and members of the family’s foundation, also spoke. Henry Richard urged those listening to follow Martin’s message to “choose kindness and do more.”
The family’s foundation was founded in 2014 to connect young people with opportunities for volunteerism and community engagement.
Victim Lu Lingzi’s uncle, Sherman Yee, was also present. He said, “The family has been overwhelmed by love and support from all over the world.’” He called Lingzi an “extraordinary girl” who represented the youth who come to the U.S. from China to study.
“While she didn’t realize her dreams, as her family, we invest in the youths through our foundation to keep her memory going,” he said.
The bombs also killed 29year-old Krystle Campbell, of Arlington. Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier was killed during a confrontation with bomber Tamerlan Tzarnaev, a Kyrgyzstan-born man of Chechen ethnicity who was a follower of radical Islam.
Roxanne Simmonds was at commemorative ceremonies to honor her son, fallen Boston police officer Dennis Simmonds. Simmonds suffered a head injury April 19, 2013, during a shootout with Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother and co-conspirator Dzhokhar as law-enforcement personnel closed in on the brothers.
Tamerlan was killed in the shootout. Dzhokhar was wounded and apprehended. He was sentenced to death and is being held at the Supermax prison in Florence, Colo.
Simmonds suffered a fatal brain aneurysm a year after the shootout. Roxanne Simmonds said “DJ” was “brilliant and fearless — he just loved Boston.”
Arreen Andrew, of Boston, said she was in the crowd across the stand when the first bomb went off in 2013.
“It was sheer panic,” she recalled. “Just this sense of ‘No, this can’t happen to us.’ ”
For some, the anniversary is about planting the seeds of change. Heather Abbott of Newport, R.I., hosted a fundraiser for her foundation that supports amputees. Abbott, now 43, was outside of Forum, a restaurant by the finish line, when the impact of the second bomb blew her through the entrance. Former New England Patriots lineman Matt Chatham and his wife, Erin, were in the restaurant, and carried Abbott to safety.
Abbott’s left leg was amputated below the knee. In 2014, Abbott started her foundation to help amputees with financial difficulties afford prosthetics and expensive co-payments.
“I want to make some changes in the world of health insurance and help them understand why people need these devices,” said Abbott.
Though the anniversary is still a reminder of painful memories, Andrew said it has also become a day about the relationships that have been formed and “reformed and recreated our entire community.”