Turley Publications photo by Ruth M. Lyon

Police Chief Bernard Duvernay, and officer Sue Mullican assisted in raising the town flag and leading the salute.

New Braintree holds Memorial Day observance

By Ruth M. Lyon

Turley Publications Reporter

NEW BRAINTREE - The Yankee Doodle procession stepped briskly off at 9 a.m, alerting spectators that this town’s Memorial Day observance would begin promptly and with proper protocol in place.

Following the pledge of Allegiance, led by the sixth grade, the heartfelt program continued with a moment of silence to honor the town’s fallen veterans and soldiers currently serving our country. Introduced and prominently on display were photographs of four fallen soldiers from New Braintree – Robert LaCoste, Raymond Letendre, Joseph Brazowski, and Joseph Crevier.

Guest speaker, State Rep. Anne Gobi thanked the students for inviting her. “This is my favorite Memorial Day program; I wouldn’t miss it for the world. You understand and respect the sacrifices of the men and women who leave this place to serve this country and protect us. I thank you for what you’re doing here today, and what you will do in the future to honor their service, and what you yourselves will do in the future to keep this country great,” she said.

The school’s band and string orchestra played accompaniment to the patriotic songs performed with customary fervor by each grade. Kindergarteners sang “America” and “Proud to Be An American” was performed by grades two and three.

Each year the school’s pupils work to offer a special presentation, other than the music, in honor of the occasion. This year, the children had created large colored representations of eight flags central to our country’s history.

As each flag was held up for display, a reader provided the flag’s history, commentary on its design, and the dates in which it held prominence. Once displayed, the flags were placed in an array before the audience. Following placement of the final, 50 star flag grades five and six offered a rendition of “God Bless the USA,” accompanied, of course, by the band and orchestra.

New Braintree Police Chief and officer Sue Mullican assisted with the raising of the town flag near the school, and led the salute. Finally, Jennnifer Kane’s trumpet rendering of Taps brought the program to a close.