‘WE WILL NEVER FORGET’
Lowell veterans are honored at Centralville ceremony
LOWELL >> Forty years ago, veterans began honoring their fallen comrades at Centralville Memorial Park, which commemorates thousands of service members.
To respect their memory and continue the annual tradition, dozens placed flags across the site at a Memorial Day service Monday morning, organized by the Centralville Veterans Memorial Committee.
Committee President Bernie Lemoine entered the Naval Reserves as a senior in high school in 1955, serving until honorably discharged in 1961. Having recognized his fellow veterans for decades now, Lemoine said "every Memorial Day is a special day."
"Today's the day that we honor all the dead," Lemoine said, "but primarily here, we honor all the veterans who paid the supreme sacrifice to serve their country … We only have what's been given to us by sacrifice by all these veterans who've made it possible that we have such a wonderful country, something to be proud of."
State Rep. Rodney Elliott, D-lowell, and City Councilors Rita Mercier and Paul Ratha Yem attended, and members of the Lowell Police Department Honor Guard stood by, armed with rifles and an American flag.
The names of an estimated 3,000 veterans — from World War I and onward — line the stones at the memorial, with nearly 550 former West Centralville veterans represented. The park's centerpiece recognizes West Centralville native and U.S. Navy Airman Normand Brissette, whose plane crashed into the Sea of Japan days before the bombing of Hiroshima, claiming his life.
Since the first shots of the Revolutionary War, millions of Americans "have fought and died on battlefields here and abroad to defend our freedoms and the American way of life," Dracut Selectman Tony Archinski said. Archinski, a U.S. Army Vietnam-era veteran, said they represent a distinguished class.
"They were ordinary people who responded in extraordinary times," Archinski said. "They rose to the nation's call because they wanted to protect a nation that has given us so much."
Lowell Director of Veterans' Services Eric Lamarche led attendees in a prayer and a rendition of "God Bless America." In remembrance of the veterans
lost, those still living should carry on their mission to spread peace, justice and freedom, Lamarche said.
"Lord, may you bless us all present here today as we memorialize those who lived and died to preserve liberty and freedom in our nation and across the world," Lamarche said. "We are blessed to be living in a free society because of the brave men and women who sacrificed everything for everyone. God bless our heroes. God bless those who are currently serving to preserve our freedom and livelihood."
Recordings of taps and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" played before Lamarche and other guests placed wreaths dressed in red, white and blue ribbons and flowers around the site.
Mercier also shared words from a veterans prayer, in which she thanked veterans — "our brave American heroes" — for their service and their work protecting and securing "a land of abundance and freedom and a beacon of liberty."
"Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it," Mercier read. "It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died to protect it."
At an upcoming City Council meeting, Mercier said she and Mayor Sokhary Chau plan to introduce a motion that would secure free parking for combat veterans in Lowell. That would just "be a start," she said.
The United States is home to free speech, civil disagreement and assembly, Mercier said, which are not always afforded in other countries. That's why it's important to pay tribute and "remember the courage and commitment" of young men and women, she said.
Veterans walk among us, Mercier said, but they often keep that status, that identity to themselves. It's often only after their death that their neighbors, friends and colleagues learn about their service, she said.
"I knew this man all these years as a neighbor. I never once thought that this man was so distinguished as a soldier, as a veteran. I'm honored by that," Mercier said. "Veterans don't brag about, ‘I have this medal' or ‘I have that.' I'm so impressed about that."
The ceremony was but one that took place in towns and cities in Massachusetts and beyond, Archinski said, and it's that collective spirit that ensures veterans' memories live on.
"Our gathering here is just one small spark in the flame of pride that burns across our country today and every day," Archinski said. "Your presence here today and that of people all across America is a tribute to those who have given their life to their country. It is a way to say that we remember, but more importantly, it is a way to say we will never forget."