NEWBURYPORT — The Exchange Club of Greater Newburyport will present its 15th annual Field of Honor on Sunday, Sept. 15, at noon on the Bartlet Mall, a date tied to the 9/11 attacks on the country.
The field, with some 250 flags, honors those who serve, whether military, fire, police, EMT, medical or essential worker in a time of crisis, plus personal heroes in our own lives. Each flag represents one such individual.
The Merrimack Valley Concert Band will offer patriotic music at several points throughout the ceremony.
Remarks will be offered by Newburyport Mayor Sean Reardon; Veterans Affairs Officer Kevin Hunt; State Rep. Dawne Shand, D-Newburyport; and State Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester. Representing the clergy will be Rabbi Alex Matthews of Congregation Ahavas Achim.
Keynote speaker will be veterans advocate and activist Dudley Farquhar of Merrimac, who served as a U.S. Army staff sergeant in Vietnam. He will be addressing the issue of POWs and MIAs.
Adding poignancy to the ceremony will be the presence of a Newburyport Fire Department sculpture created from the steel wreckage at the World Trade Center in New York.
Flags may be purchased ahead of time for $40 at the Bartlet Mall site from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday preceding the event or ordered on-line at xcnbptflags.com
Each flag may include a dedication that will be read aloud at the end of the ceremony in what is called a “verbal wall.” All are welcome to attend the Sunday ceremony, whether purchasing a flag or not.
The Exchange Club is a national service organization that honors those who serve and offers programs of community service to youth, to the prevention of child abuse and to general community service where need is seen.