PETERSHAM — Memorial Day services in Petersham on Monday honored not only those residents who have served and fallen in America’s wars, but also police officers and firefighters who served the community over the course of the town’s history. In front of the American flag, flying at half staff on the town common, Fire Chief Dana Robinson read the names on the Fire Department Honor Roll, followed by Police Chief Dana Cooley, who remembered those whose names are on the Police Department Honor Roll.
Prior to the reading of those names, the Rev. John Pastor, in a prayer in remembrance of first responders who have passed, commented, “those who have kept us safe from harm, those who went off to work in the face of danger. Their example is their legacy passed on to the firefighters and police that now serve our town. We honor their courage and their commitment. It is with dignity, pride, and a grateful heart this Memorial Day that we remember those who have served us.”
Ceremonies then moved to the Village Cemetery, where the names of Petersham patriots who served in the Revolutionary and Civil wars were read by Charles Tower and Fredrik Marsh, respectively. A prayer was once again offered by Pastor.
Back at the common, with attendees surrounding the town’s gazebo, Bob Pasic read the names of those who answered the call to serve in World War I. The presentation was followed by youngsters from the Petersham Montessori School singing “It’s a Grand Old Flag” and “God Bless America.” American Legion Auxiliary Post 415 Chaplain Diona Lafond read the poem “In Flanders Fields,” written in May 1915 by Canadian Lt.-Col. John McCrae following the second Battle of Ypres.
Petersham Center School students then entertained attendees with the signing of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” followed by “It’s a Grand Old Flag.”
Mahar Regional High School senior Jordyn Berry of Petersham recited President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, followed by an a cappella rendition of “God Bless the USA,” by Lee Greenwood.
The honor rolls of those who served in World War II, the Korean War, and in Granada, Panama, Iraq, and Afghanistan were then read in turn by Michelle Read, Dana Kennan and Ronald DeJackome.
The benediction was offered by the Rev. Cynthia Crosson-Harrington, a Petersham native who now leads the Congregational Church in Whately.
“On this Memorial Day,” said Crosson-Harrington, “we pause to reflect upon the blessings of our nation, and the high cost of those blessings. We honor those who have given their lives in service to this country. Our prayers, too, are with their families, who have suffered their losses. May they know our gratitude.”
“And in the future,” she continued, “may we hold our leaders accountable that peace with justice might be established in our world. We also think of those who are serving today. May God protect them and bring them home safely.”