‘To all our service members . . . Thank You:’ Tributes to veterans mark Memorial Day

By: John Hilliard

Across the region on Memorial Day, people gathered together to pay touching, heartfelt tributes to service members who gave their lives defending the country.
During a ceremony in Lawrence, veterans who have died were remembered, including a young Marine who was killed in Afghanistan last year. On board the USS Constitution in Boston, the ship’s fallen crew members were honored with a 21-gun salute.

At the Puerto Rican Veterans Monument Plaza in Boston early Monday afternoon, Governor Charlie Baker and Mayor Michelle Wu gathered with other leaders to commemorate veterans’ sacrifices. Earlier in the day, at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Winchendon, Baker pointed to the courage shown by service members called to do their duty.


“Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and reflection, and a time to come together to pay tribute to those we love who have given their lives for this great nation,” Baker said, according to a statement. “The service and sacrifice of these heroes will never be forgotten, and we are forever grateful for their acts of courage and valor.”

After two years of largely virtual commemorations of Memorial Day, Monday’s in-person ceremonies allowed people to look one another in the eye as they shared their memories, or offer a comforting touch while wiping away a tear.

In Lawrence, those remembrances included US Marine Sergeant Johanny Rosario Pichardo, who was among 13 service members killed outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Aug. 26. Rosario Pichardo, 25, was a 2014 graduate of Lawrence High School.

Mayor Brian A. DePeña and US Representative Lori Trahan joined other community members at the city’s Bellevue Cemetery to remember Rosario Pichardo and other fallen service members.

DePeña and Trahan laid a wreath at the base of a cemetery flagpole. Members of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment Infantry lifted flags into the air, and stood at attention before the ceremony.


At one point during the commemoration, Andy Jimenez was moved to tears before officials presented him with a plaque honoring his son, US Army Staff Sergeant Alex Jimenez, who was killed in Iraq in 2008.

A fellow Gold Star parent, Alexandra Santos, reached out to him, and placed her hand on his knee as Jimenez wiped away his tears. Santos’ own son died while training at Parris Island in South Carolina last year.

Trahan, in her remarks, reflected on the bravery of the nation’s veterans.

“They and so many others knew the weight of their decision to volunteer. They knew the risks, and they served anyways,” Trahan said during her remarks, which were broadcast by WCVB.

Later in the day, at the ceremony honoring Boston’s Puerto Rican veterans, Wu, who spoke in both English and Spanish, highlighted the important role members of the Puerto Rican community have played in defending the nation.

“It’s incredibly important to us as a city to present a reminder, and a reflection of all of our community in the history of this country,” Wu said in remarks shared on social media, and noted their contributions to “secure our freedom and our liberty.”

She also offered her gratitude to veterans on social media Monday: “To all our service members in Boston & beyond: Thank You.”

The grounds of the monument were decorated with US and Puerto Rican flags. Baker, at one point during the ceremony, stood near the monument and bowed his head.

Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo said the memorial had special meaning to him — members of his family have served in every US engagement since World War I.

“Honoring those who gave their all means taking care of their families & our veterans by ensuring they receive the services & care they deserve,” Arroyo wrote on Twitter.

“We remembered and prayed for our #GoldStarFamilies and those U.S. service members who made the supreme sacrifice for our nation,” Flynn wrote on Twitter.

In Charlestown, USS Constitution crew members read the names of sailors and Marines who died while serving on board the ship. Starting at noon, the ship performed a 21-gun salute in honor of its fallen crew members, and fired one shot each minute for 21 minutes.

Nicknamed “Old Ironsides” — during combat, cannonballs could be seen bouncing off its wooden hull — it is the world’s oldest commissioned warship and fought in the War of 1812.

“There is no more fitting place to honor Memorial Day than here,” a crew member said during Monday’s ceremony. “This ship is a monument to our early navy, and a living memorial to those who served during a time when America’s future was fragile.”