HAVERHILL — More than 50 people gathered March 29 in Mill Brook Park, the site of the city’s Vietnam War Memorial, to honor those veterans who are still with us and to remember the sacrifices of those who perished in the war, including 13 sons of Haverhill.
City Councilor Melinda Barrett, a member of the city’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission, served as emcee for the city’s National Vietnam War Veterans Day recognition event.
Those in attendance included City Councilors Tom Sullivan, John Michitson and Joseph Bevilacqua; School Committee member Shaun Toohey, members of the city’s police and fire departments, and local veterans, including Louis Fossarelli — a former city councilor and Vietnam War veteran who was instrumental in getting the memorial moved from the north side of the Basiliere Bridge to Mill Brook Park, which is located across from the entrance to the Plug Pond recreational area.
In his invocation, Chris Manning, commander of the American Legion Post 4, asked the crowd to remember those Vietnam War veterans who are still here with us and those who lost their lives in “that terrible war.”
“Remember to stop and bow our heads when we visit this beautiful monument and that we do so in celebration of their lives,” he said. “In God’s name, Amen.”
In between speeches, trumpeter Neil Flewelling performed the Ukranian National Anthem, the U.S. National Anthem, and a medley of armed services hymns and songs, including “Father Eternal” (the Navy hymn).
Linda Gambino-Baxter, a member of the city’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commission, read the names of the 13 Haverhill men lost in the Vietnam War. One of them was her brother, Michael Gambino.
In his keynote address, Mayor James Fiorentini said the Vietnam War resulted in protests across the country and that the healing started in 1973 when the Paris Peace Accords were signed and the war began to wind down.
“The 2.7 million Americans who fought in Vietnam, the 58,000 people who paid the ultimate price, and the 13 men we honor today were the victims of the war, not the cause of it,” he said. “I pray these young men sent off to fight in a war they should never have been sent off to never be forgotten and always be remembered as the heroes that they are.”
The Vietnam War Memorial in Mill Brook Park was completed in August of 2020 and dedicated post-COVID on Sept. 11, 2021. During Wednesday’s event, wreaths were laid on the Vietnam monuments by Haverhill Veterans Services Officer Jeff Hollett and City Council members Thomas Sullivan and Joseph Bevilacqua.
Following the ceremony, Commission Chairman Ralph Basiliere, who organized the event and whose uncle Ralph T. Basiliere was the first Haverhill man to be killed in the war, treated the crowd to coffee and doughnuts provided by Patrick Driscoll of Driscoll Funeral Home.