Lynn ceremony honors fallen soldiers

LYNN – Before the parade and all the respectful homages to come during the upcoming long weekend, the federal holiday came early for veterans, their families and supporters as they gathered in Lynn City Hall’s Veterans Memorial Auditorium Tuesday evening for the opening Memorial Day ceremony to honor fallen soldiers.”We are here today to remember that freedom is not free and the world is not perfect, but there are those who have died to make it so,” said Jim DePhilippo, the Polish Legion of American Veterans Post 56 Commander, as he opened the ceremony.The ceremony offered a full program that included patriotic music by the Lynn High School Band and singer Gayle Bastarache, drill demonstrations by the Lynn English High School Marine Corps Junior ROTC team and several veterans who spoke about what the observance really means to Lynn.Guest speaker John MacGillivray, Past Commander for the Metrowest Marine Corps League and a strong veterans supporter, spoke about the importance of remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice, citing a famous yet anonymous quotation, “Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but beggard is the nation that has and forgets them.”He then added thanks to the audience for showing their support: “Thank you for making Lynn a memorial for veterans and making every day a memorial in Lynn.”In addition to honoring soldiers from past wars, Michael Sweeney, Director of the Lynn Department of Veterans Services, announced the formation of a new committee that will make a point to observe the sacrifices of soldiers from the War on Terrorism in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq.The Department of Veterans Service Memorial Committee’s first task is to design and select a location for two separate memorials to honor soldiers from the recent wars. “We want this project to be led by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans? not bestowed on them,” said Sweeney.”There’s no limit to the amount of people who want to be involved, especially Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their loved ones.” The committee’s future tasks will be to keep up the appearances of other memorials, including the 82 memorial veteran squares around the city and also to update information about the memorials online.One emotional highlight of the ceremony was a dedication of a very special flag to Joe Bourgeois, Chief Marshal of this year’s parade. Bourgeois is an Army veteran who dedicated three decades of service to the armed forces, first enlisting in 1941. A Lynn native, he lost his grandson, Specialist Matthew Stanley, when he was killed in action while serving in Iraq in December 2006.To honor Bourgeois’ and his grandson’s service, the Junior ROTC team folded a flag on stage that once flew over an Army base in Iraq as DePhilippo described what the 13 folds of a folded flag mean. Bourgeois, 91 and legally blind, stood to accept the flag. He later said, “I’ll cherish this moment forever,” and added a request for his follow veterans and supporters: “When you go home this evening, say a prayer for all those in military service that they return safely.”After honoring Bourgeois, the Junior ROTC drill team demonstrated their award-winning talent for the audience, tossing and twirling guns in complete unison and rhythm. They were followed by a routine from the female National Championship-winning team.To honor those veterans sitting in the auditorium who weren’t on the stage, the Lynn High School Band played a “Patriotic Medley” that featured songs of each of the armed forces. Veterans were asked to stand when the song of their branch was played as the audience clapped in appreciation.”Out of all the ceremonies I’ve attended here, this was one of the best,” said Marine veteran Tom Miller, 70, who served two tours in Vietnam and lost two brothers to the ultimate sacrifice – one in Vietnam and one in the Persian Gulf War. “It was a very moving ceremony, and I’m proud of all the men and women veterans.””You see these people everyday,” said Sweeney of the vete