WORCESTER — Rain may have poured down on Elm Park Sunday, but it did little to deter the city's annual Memorial Day Water Ceremony honoring soldiers lost at sea.
"It's a Water Ceremony, might as well have a little more water," Patrick McAdam, who threw a wreath off the Myra Hiatt Kraft Footbridge into Lincoln Pond Sunday, said.
Phil Madaio, president of the Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans Memorial, served as master of ceremonies for the event commemorating those who were lost at sea while serving the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Merchant Marine.
“We got to honor these people. It’s what made America great. This is what made this country,” Madaio said.
Water Ceremony returns
The Water Ceremony returned after the event was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Madaio said those who served and gave their lives in the military helped make the U.S. the country that it is today.
Pastor George Vogel offered the invocation at the start of the ceremony and the benediction to close it. Vogel asked for God's continuing support as the country remembers past wars and conflicts and deals with newer adversaries.
“We do this every year when weather allows, but each time we do it, it seems to have more significance and meaning,” Vogel said. “We know that although this weekend is seen by many as a long, enjoyable weekend to officially start the summer, we come here for a much different purpose today. We come here today to honor those who have lost their lives at sea and other bodies of water.”
Mayor Petty, others, honor soldiers lost at sea
Vogel’s invocation was followed by a singing of the national anthem by Evelyn Rose Bousbouras and remarks by Mayor Joseph M. Petty.
“The fighting men and women who go to sea carry a special place in the minds and hearts of every country,” Petty said. “Since the dawn of the age of exploration, we have given captains special powers and reverence, a tacit understanding of the risk that they take on every time they go to sea.”
The Worcester Detachment Marine Corps League served as the firing detail while Worcester police officer Sean Lovely, a U.S. Army veteran of the Persian Gulf War, played the bagpipes. Alex Arriaga, director of veteran's services for the city, threw a wreath on Lovely’s behalf in honor of those lost in the USS Bennett.
McAdam served in the USS Intrepid from 1969 to 1973 and has participated in the Worcester ceremony for seven years.
"We need to remember, never to forget," McAdam said. "People gave themselves and you don't want to forget those guys."
McAdam honors 243 lost at sea on USS Intrepid
McAdam, who is originally from New York, said he liked the Water Ceremony from the very first time he saw it. This year, he dedicated his wreath to the 243 who were lost at sea on the USS Intrepid, especially for Richard Francis Urban. McAdam said Urban was 19 when he died in 1972. The Intrepid was launching jets in rough waters and a runaway jet took Urban off the side of the ship, McAdam said.
Urban and McAdam both worked on the flight deck of the Intrepid in different divisions. McAdam said he reflected on the life he got to live after serving on the Intrepid and how Urban was not able to have that phase of his life.
“I think of him a lot because he was the same age as me. He was 19 years old,” McAdam said. “Here I am. I'm 69 now and he didn’t live that part of his life.”
Ceremony one of Toomey’s favorite events of Memorial Day weekend
Among the handful of spectators who braved the rain to attend the event was City Councilor-at-Large Kathleen M. Toomey. The Water Ceremony is one of Toomey’s favorite events during Memorial Day weekend.
“It’s really a meaningful ceremony. It's beautifully done and I think to be able to get out and to join together in memory of those whose lives have been lost at sea is really a very cathartic experience for all of us,” Toomey said. “It’s important that we don’t forget history.”
Toomey said she hoped people remember the reason why Memorial Day was created.
“People have to remember that this weekend was created to remember those who gave the supreme sacrifice so all of us could live in freedom. And it’s not about sales, it’s not about barbecues and things like that. It’s great to enjoy family and those times, but we all should take a few minutes to remember those that gave that supreme sacrifice.”
The Link LonkMay 31, 2021 at 04:19AM
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Honoring soldiers lost at sea: Rain does little to diminish spirit of Elm Park Water Ceremony - Worcester Telegram
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