Fenway honor for family of a Marblehead patriot

MARBLEHEAD – Patriots’ Day, the third Monday of each April, is the holiday when Bay Staters commemorate the anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord back in 1775.However, since 9/11 and the advent of wars in both Iran and Afghanistan, there are many more modern-day patriots to remember as well. One of them, Army Staff Sergeant Chris Piper of Marblehead, died of injuries sustained in battle in Afghanistan back in 2005. His widow Colleen, 17-year-old daughter Deirdre, and 16-year-old son Christopher will be among three families to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before this morning’s annual Red Sox Patriots Day game at Fenway Park at 11:05.”It just came together so suddenly, within the past 48 hours,” said Colleen Piper about the first-pitch invitation. “Peter Trovato, who founded the Mass. Soldiers Legacy Fund a few years back when he was a student at UMass-Amherst, called me and asked if we wanted to do it, and would the kids want to be there. I wasn’t sure at first, because I had to work, but my boss told me that I absolutely couldn’t miss it, so we’re going in (to Fenway).”In 2004, Trovato, who captained the men’s hockey squad at UMass, had a senior project to do for school, and he decided to come up with the fund, after reading about a fallen soldier that never got the chance to see his newborn son. The fund raises money for the children of Massachusetts soldiers that helps further their respective education.”It pretty much started with Peter and his parents setting up a table at some of the malls and raising money that way, and has now become a million-dollar trust fund,” said Piper. “I don’t know his connections, but there’s always a fundraiser every year. One year, he had all four owners of the Boston sports teams there, along with (former BU hockey player) Travis Roy. It’s now a non-profit organization, and Peter does this as a side job in addition to his fulltime job.”Piper mentioned that her kids, who were 13 and 12 when their father passed away, have done plenty of growing over the past few years. “They’ve been through a lot, and really don’t like the attention. But what’ll be taking place (on Monday) is a recognition of the sacrifices made by the soldiers from Massachusetts along with their families. I want them to be appreciative of what Peter does and to see the Sox play.”She provided an update on her children. “Deirdre will be going to college in North Carolina, near Camp Lejeune, and she really loves the military environment. Christopher played both offense and defense for the first Marblehead freshman football team that finished with an unbeaten record in more than 30 years. They’re so much like their dad.”Piper also would like people to realize one very important detail. “People need to recognize that there are men and women in two different countries, and not getting the recognition that they deserve. It’s easy to forget that when you’re in Marblehead, and think you you’ve had problems, but there are people laying down their lives every day.”