Swampscott relocates Raymond Sq.

SWAMPSCOTT – Jared Raymond Square has been moved from the intersection of Essex Street and Burrill Street to the corner of Danvers Road and Essex Street.Army Specialist Jared Raymond, the first Swampscott military casualty of the Iraq War, was killed Sept. 19, 2006 while responding to an attack on a convoy. According to the Army, an improvised explosive device blew up the tank he was riding in. He joined the Army in July of 2004 – less than a month after his graduation from Swampscott High School. His classmates, family and friends described the only child as a kid with “a heart of gold” who wanted to serve his country.Town Administrator Andrew Maylor said the Raymond family and Veterans Agent Jim Schultz requested moving the memorial.”At the intersection of Danvers Road and Essex Street there is some green space,” he said. “It allows for plantings and some active space for benches. It makes sense to move it there.”Schultz said the original monument was dedicated Nov. 11, 2006, less than three months after Raymond was killed.”It worked well because it was close to the home where he grew up,” Schultz said. “But it was basically a plaque on a pole in the ground in a small patch of dirt. It was very difficult to decorate and there wasn’t any place to plant flowers. When the family said they wanted it moved I suggested Danvers and Essex.”Schultz said ultimately the family would like to erect a small flagpole, a couple of park benches and keep the area decorated with flowers.Schultz pointed out Raymond’s monument is now located only a few hundred feet from Capt. Jennifer Harris Square, which already has green space with enough room for plantings and a bench.Harris, 28, was a helicopter pilot with the elite HMM-364 Purple Foxes. She was killed Feb. 7, 2007 during her third tour of duty in Iraq, just days before she was scheduled to return home. Harris, the state’s first female causality of the Iraq War, was one of seven U.S. troops who died when the U.S. Marine transport helicopter she was piloting crashed in flames in a field northwest of Baghdad.Schultz said it is fitting the monuments to the hometown heroes are so close together.”They died in the same conflict and they died a few months apart.”Schultz said a dedication ceremony, which has not been scheduled yet, would be held at the new Jared Raymond Square.