Memories stolen at Harris Vet Day event

LYNN – A camera full of memories of a Swampscott military hero was stolen at a Marine Corps Veterans Day event in Lynn.The North Shore Marine Corps Detachment was officially named the Capt. Jennifer J. Harris Marine Corps Detachment on Sunday evening at the Franco American Hall on Western Avenue in Lynn.Capt. Jennifer J. Harris, a 1996 graduate of Swampscott High School, was one of seven U.S. Troops who was killed in February when the U.S. Marine transport helicopter she was piloting was shot down by insurgents northwest of Baghdad.Swampscott Veterans Agent James Shultz said there were more than 700 photographs of the event on the memory card in the stolen camera.The ceremony, which was part of the Marine Corps Birthday Ball, was photographed so it could be included in the Marine Corps League periodical “Semper Fi.””We also wanted to provide photographs for the family,” he said.Joe Furtado, judge advocate for Capt. Jennifer J. Harris Marine Corps Detachment, said the camera belonged to Melissa Gibney-Disegna, a professional photographer who volunteered her services that evening.”She did this out of the kindness of her heart,” he said. “The camera was in her purse. She sat her purse down on a table for (a few) minutes and when she came back the purse was there but the camera was gone.”Furtado said the camera is a Sony Model # DLSRA 100 and the flash unit is a Sony HVLF36AM, memory card.Furtado said members are heartbroken over the loss of the camera.”We just want it back,” he said. “It’s a pretty low thing for somebody to do at an event like this.”Shultz urged whoever has the camera to return it or least the memory card- no questions asked. He said the equipment could be sent to the Marine Corps League, 8 Pine St., Swampscott, Mass. 01907 or Swampscott Police Department, 86 Burrill St., Swampscott, Mass. 01907.