SWAMPSCOTT — Outside Town Hall, a sea of lawn signs will wave through Memorial Day weekend, bearing the names and stories of the nearly 400 Massachusetts service members who lost their lives since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Lynn and Swampscott Veterans’ Services Director Michael Sweeney, a volunteer team comprising town officials and first responders, and Boy Scouts Troop 53 lined up rows of signs Friday evening before a name-reading ceremony at 6 p.m.
“These warriors raised their hands and committed to military service — no matter the path, no matter the sacrifice. It is important that we remember them on days like today throughout the year. To do so, we should say their names,” Sweeney said.
Gold Star families, including relatives of fallen Swampscott veterans, sat before the array of signs as volunteers took turns reading more than 400 names of deceased service members out loud.
Among those reading names was Gold Star mother Jodi Cabino, whose son, Marine Shayne Cabino, was killed at the age of 19 alongside three other Marines by a roadside bomb near al-Karmah, Iraq in 2005. Before reading her son’s name, Cabino took a pause.
“My boy — Shayne Cabino,” she read.
Also in attendance was Raymond Harris, the father of Marine Corps Capt. Jennifer Harris who was killed in a helicopter crash while serving in Baghdad, Iraq in 2007. State Rep. Jenny Armini (D-Marblehead) took a pause before reading Harris’ name.
After all the names were read, Sweeney noted the names of the four fallen Swampscott veterans — Harris; U.S. Army Spcs. Jared Raymond and Gabriel Palacios, who were killed in Iraq; and retired U.S. Army Spc. Justin Mooers, who died from injuries he sustained in Iraq.
“People paused before certain names, and that’s because they knew those names,” Sweeney said. “These were all local, young soldiers who gave their lives for this country.”
After a moment of silence, the Boy Scouts concluded the ceremony by laying a wreath in honor of Swampscott’s fallen service members.
The Field of Heroes display will remain on the Town Hall lawn through Memorial Day weekend.
The Honorable Few Marine Corps League Detachment 1302 motorcycle club will hold a memorial ceremony for Harris at the corner of Windsor Avenue and Foster Road Sunday. On Monday, Raymond’s mother, Jaclyn, and Raymond Harris will lay the wreath at 10 a.m. to honor the fallen at the town’s Memorial Day program in the veterans’ section of Swampscott Cemetery. The program will precede a separate program sponsored by the VFW Post 1240 Auxiliary at 10 Pine St.
