To the editor,
This year’s Veterans Day celebration and Veterans Memorial dedication was a tremendous success. On behalf of the Department of Veterans Services and the Veterans Memorial Committee, I would like to thank the following participants:
Town Administrator and Master of Ceremonies Rob Dolan; the Essex County Sheriff’s Department Color Guard; the Lynnfield Pioneer Singers for their beautiful performances; Select Board Chairman Richard Dalton; State Senator Brendan Crighton; State Representative Brad Jones; and Ave Maria Pastor Father Paul Ritt.
Thank you to Retired Colonel Joe Connell; featured speaker Retired Navy Admiral William Merz; the combined high school and middle school band, directed by new director Eric Blackman; the Department of Public Works; and Bob Priestly of Boston Audio Visual.
Special thanks go to the Lynnfield Girl Scouts for their heartfelt recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and their hand-written “Thank You for Your Service” cards, as well as the Boy Scouts for distributing American flag pins and programs.
I also want to thank the high school students — Matthew Squadrito, Gianna Micieli, Hannah Doherty, Lilli McSweeney, Zarrar Raja, Andrew Orlofski, Charlie Verdile, Amir Elhamrawy, Nandana Nishanth, Shea McCarthy, and Sam Curley — for their informative war narratives. A shout-out to trumpeters Max Lin and Alex Adreani for their moving performance of “Taps.”
Lastly, a special thank you to my wife, Candy Orlando, for her incredible photos and unwavering support.
To the many veterans, special guests, and residents of our great town who attended, thank you for making the day so meaningful. God bless you all, and God bless our veterans.
Sincerely,
Bruce Siegel
Veterans Services Officer/Director of Veterans Services
