9/11 Remembrance: “We Will Never Forget”

Members of the Bellingham Memorial/Veterans Day Committee held a ceremony to honor the lives lost in the terrorism attacks of September 11. Jim Hastings, USMC Vietnam veteran and head of the committee, welcomed the crowd of over 100 participants. He spoke about those lives lost on that day twenty years ago, ending with “We will never forget!”

Robbie Oliver sang the National Anthem and Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” Deacon Dave Ghioni, from St. Brendan’s Church, shared words of remembrance and blessed everyone present. Throughout the ceremony, bagpiper Mary Tierney, from Gardner, played “Amazing Grace,” “The Armed Forces Song,” and more. She really set the tone for the one-hour ceremony that first took place adjacent to the Town Hall. (See photo gallery below.) The ceremony was then followed by a walk over to the War Memorial at the Town Common. Brandon Perrella, Bellingham Police Officer and Memorial/Veterans Committee member, safely directed everyone across the road from the Town Hall to the Town Common.

 

At the Town Common, Jim Hastings spoke of the thirteen Marines killed recently in Kabul, Afghanistan. Local veterans read the names of those men and women aloud to the crowd. Bellingham residents and Boy Scout Troop 100 carried large U.S. flags. Denis Fraine was on hand to help with the sound system, and Paul Thibault played “Taps.”  Representative Mike Soter was also in attendance, after having attended a ceremony in Uxbridge.