5.28.2023 Memorial Day Parade

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welcome to Fall River government television's Live annual coverage of Memorial Day events here in the city of Fall River Memorial Day first began traditionally following the Civil War in 1865. known back then as Decoration Day when women placed flowers on the graves of Civil War dead buried in hastily dug graves in fields farmlands and cemeteries across our country north to south from that somber tradition became

Memorial Day I am Pamela Martin and I am very honored to bring you along with the crew from Fall River government television and students from Fred TV our live coverage of this annual parade my thoughts as always and every day but especially today are with the gold star families in our great community of Fall River Massachusetts by state law every city in town in Massachusetts that's

351 must have a veteran service officer now the job varies right depending on the size of the community some are full-time jobs with large staff others are part-time jobs and others are done by volunteers but there's one criteria every veteran service officer in Massachusetts must be a veteran Michelle Hamilton was sworn in as fall River's veteran service officer in March of this year she's a woman I've known a

long time based on many of her Civic and Community volunteer roles she joined the army back in 1975 and she was a physical trainer her Mission and her goal and she did it successfully was to train soldiers to escape in the pool with 70 pound rucksacks on their backs very heavy boots and clothing Michelle did that successfully and now she's our veteran service officer I was in the Army my job was a physical

activity specialist so my job was physical training and I loved it what kind of brought me to this job is I've been a part of the outer community of Fall River through various charity work that I've done here in the city so one of the very first things that we ever did was put a pow chair aboard the USS Massachusetts I understand that we have the second largest most active only behind like Boston veterans service

officer and agency here yeah we are busy we are busy we handle a lot of chapter 115 we handle a lot of VA claims and then we handle all those other things too you know people who just need a little bit of help with something there's a homeless veteran community and we put them in touch with resources through the veterans kitchen they can eat through Pine Street they they can eat through the veterans kitchen they

can get groceries through Pine Street they can get groceries so all of the veterans groups in the city are actively helping the community I think that the fact that the VA recognizes PTSD more than it ever did in the past and the fact that Society understands a little bit more about mental health puts us all in a better position as far as helping veterans so it's it's a huge problem a societal

problem not just a veteran problem life is not easy for a lot of people yeah communication is key reaching out friendships right it's very hard for people to be that vulnerable and and I think I always try to tell everybody this whether you served in a war space or not a lot of post-traumatic stress disorder the identifiers the things like hyper vigilance lack of sleep and all of that

it's trained into military members if you think about it you're on guard duty at night you can't sleep you are always paying attention to what's going on around you those things are training things so whether or not somebody fought in the theater in many instances to me is kind of irrelevant a lot of veterans have PTSD and my goodness things move quickly here we're already at the start of the parade

this is the Rolling Thunder I will not talk about them so here we go enjoy and again again dead here on this Memorial Day

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okay I think we're back here for a little bit um the best part of my job certainly is the people over the years that I meet and talk with and I do like to talk I love learning about nuances and the things that make people tick behind the scenes so we just spoke with our veterans Service Officer Michelle Hamilton I learned that she is a licensed acupuncturist she's been doing

this practice for over 15 years she says her acupuncture has helped people recover from all sorts of ailments including chronic pain the after effects of chemotherapy and cancer treatment as well as anxiety depression and stress and may is mental health awareness month so I want to show you some of the numbers that will come up on your screen hopefully that will guide you in the

right direction if you feel that you are struggling and could use some assistance in your personal life there is number 988 that is a 24-hour web phone line that's open veterans can press number one to be directed to a person who is able to assist them other numbers for people in crisis is texting seven four one seven four one facilitators there say that is very helpful and useful to teenagers who

oftentimes prefer to communicate via text or other social media and of course the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-talk or 1-800 273-8255 you can see that those numbers are up on your screen now if you have any other questions please reach out to the licensed social worker or call 9-1-1 in your community and you will be directed to areas that can assist you because resources can be found all over

our community and meetings are sometimes for Zoom or in person don't suffer alone new flags have been placed on the graves of 11 000 veterans buried here in Fall River and 35 Memorial wreaths have been put at some of the memorials and you see the islands and the city streets that honor again are War dead I want to thank Victor farius he is our flag officer in Fall River he works tirelessly to make

sure that every war dead is remembered on Memorial Day with a crisp flag now I do have a list of the city's War dead thank you Renee it's somber it's 12 pages from the Civil War on up to operation enduring freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan it's 12 Pages three columns of just the people that we've been able to identify that one's called Fall River their home I will be happy to provide you with a

copy if we need any reminders of why we are here on Memorial Day and not simply just a barbecue the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia is contains the unnamed American Casualty from France in World War One at ground level are Crypts that also hold other unknown War dead but here in Fall River a group of Marines and friends they got to talking about

the ultimate sacrifice and how they could pay tribute to those who have given their life they decided to recreate the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier they worked nights and they worked weekends in their garages and in their backyards and they created this display to educate the public and honor our war dead combining Beauty honor and history takes boundless courage so consider the challenge of recreating a sacred and

renowned symbol of love and Liberty it's pretty much a perfect replica everything was done by pitches which were enlarged to see all the detail work even the picture on the back the recent one just came off the back of the original and it's showing all the cracks and stuff where the newer pictures fill them in we're trying to get as close as we can to be an exact replica other than the size

in 2015 veterans stated their mission to build a replica Tomb of the Unknown Soldier because as a veteran we know what that means we know every time we put that uniform on we represent the men that gave everything they paid the ultimate sacrifice you know what there's a saying that says a veteran somebody that wrote a check payable to the United States in the amount up into including their own life they did

and we cashed it tomb Guardians are sadly ambassadors of the bloodiest times in history we have people come to us and ask us how it was built what it stands for we study up on it every time before we go we try to answer all our questions and we just try to be proud Marines who are representing the tomb bag draped casket donated by Hathaway Family Funeral Homes we decided to add

the flag drape casket to the front of the Tomb because we had the cross but by adding the casket it gives people the understanding that this is a vision of what the ultimate sacrifice looks like over the years Somerset Home Depot supplied building materials valued at more than eleven thousand dollars including PVC siding and trim from my standpoint these gentlemen were the ones doing all the work so anytime you put a

big name and plaque on it it's you know I didn't do it I had nothing to do with it I had the least part of it other than just trying to help them get all the materials they needed to complete it but they're the ones did all the hard work they should be the ones that get the recognition for um you know where it sits and what it's going to do and all the parades that's

going to be in that type of thing so um you know as a company we don't do things for recognition we do things because it's the right thing to do for our community the piece is weather resistant and a self-contained unit with hidden storage for the casket and flags and the Fall River tomb has five times one top military honor in the Bristol parade in Washington D.C since 1937 platoon leaders of the third infantry

regiment of the United States Army have been on goody excuse me on duty guarding the Crypt they are an elite group it takes six hours to flawlessly prepare their Woolen uniforms for The Changing of the Guard it is an amazing sight to see and as Dennis and Tony were able to tell me if you have not gone to DC and seen The Changing of the Guard then perhaps we haven't really seen DC but of

course there's the Vietnam veterans memorial wall that is also a moving tribute and we'll take a closer look at that wall later on in the program I want to draw attention to to the flags here that we have on gramada Plaza outside of government center which is where we are Broadcasting Granada Plaza often holds flags for different reasons whether it's in December for World AIDS day and of

course to celebrate Flag Day in different countries and Independence Day in different countries and ethnicities of the people that we have here in Fall River calling Fall River their home I can hear the parade now there were many other events that happened over the weekend and others to come tomorrow aboard Battleship Massachusetts there is a wreath-laying toss overboard big Mamie that's an emotional ceremony

to see if you have not witnessed that Chris and Tyrell over there is helping to organize there is also a new exhibit at Battleship Cove that recently opened for Memorial Day it includes a Vietnam Chopper that has been refurbished and I think that will probably be emotional for many of the veterans who head to Battleship Cove over the next few days all right the parade has started it kicked off from

Kennedy Park we'll bring you the sights and sounds of the Memorial Day Parade 20 23 here in Fall River thank you

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thank you Cody who's Manning my camera over a friend TV at surfing High School just a freshman right Cody okay see we like getting their feet wet though pretty quickly Cody's gone out with me a couple of times to different events throughout the city including concerts Film Festival so Cody has been a great addition here to Fred TV at Durfee High School so the parade has officially

started we saw the motorcycle Brigade go by with the Fall River Police Department and now the honor guard which means that members of the sad but very proud and distinguished Gold Star Family will be following our gold star families do so much to not only alleviate their pain but to remember their loved ones

they hold toy drives they hold food drives they make sure that veterans and their families know where to turn in a time of need they organize support groups

foreign we have members of the Green Chapter 9 Disabled American Veterans Charlie denmead our facility manager here in Fall River just went by as well another proud veteran all my buddies thank you so much Larry barola if you watch channel 18 on Memorial Day or Veterans Day or any other sacred event here in Fall River you see Larry and his bugle he is a special friend I've known him for a very long time

does take a lot of hands to put this parade together some volunteer other agencies work to make sure that people know where to organize and step off from this event happened a day early on Sunday this year 2023 and we still have a pretty good showing I hear marching band coming at the moments it's it's a sacred day that I showed you that 12-page list of fall River's War dead and that's the reason

that we're here people in Fall River want to make sure that this is much more than just a happy Memorial Day of barbecue I'll step back and let you hear the bands coming up

some of our elected officials Heading by I hate to start naming names because I might miss someone City councilor Linda Pereira I see Andrew raposo Alan silvier I State Rep Carol Fiola our State Rep mayor Paul Coogan Shelly Pereira

I think I got everything Brad killed me Laura Washington

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largest collection of Warships in the country they have these fabulous regular replica summer PT boats that they tow every year they're 81 000 missing or prison of the war service people in the United States and more than half of those served in the Navy and the Coast Guard they went to ordering Graves and it is unlikely that those demon will ever be identified Veterans Association of Briscoe County

Kim carvallo Wagner a real treat over there if you have not met Kim she is a hero people here in Fall River so again there are other events uh last night I'm proud to say my co-worker and friend Evan Masood saying the national anthem at the Vietnam memorial tribute which was held at our beautiful replica Vietnam Wall we'll take a closer look at that wall later on in the program I just

don't want to get too ingrained in any of the pieces or talking and then parts of our parade go by and you miss the action that you tuned in on so remember you can watch the parade again on channel 18 you can watch it on Facebook maybe you're live streaming now or watch it on demand on channel 18 as well but we rebroadcast this parade many many times it's important because we want

people to also be able to participate in the parade and come out as well as head home if you are homebound or prefer to stay home also feel like you are paying your tribute to those who have been killed in battle all right I think we're at the second half of the Memorial Day Parade right now so I'll step aside and narrate as I can do best

hi thank you for your service right thank you

I thank you the veterans kitchen at Corky row certainly deserves a shout out supported by the family of Sergeant Gilbert Carvalho as well as other gold star family members and here we honor our veterans this is a piece that was used to raise funds for a replica Vietnam Wall which is down at Bicentennial Memorial Park what a tribute it is the names of over 58 000.

men and women killed in Vietnam NJ ROTC

great turnout by members of the Middle School they've joined forces to work on a marching band we filmed many of those concerts spring concerts that can be seen on our sister channel channel 9 which is red TV

Sheriff Perot of Bristol County large content Heading by now asked us to put a shout out that he is in need of corrections officer and other support staff Gillette mixed martial arts I can't say enough about this local company that's been in the city for such a long time really established and well known for helping youth with oh gosh just self-confidence self-control friendships

respect they are at every parade rain or shine here in Fall River and they have been for many many years

the Fall River sons of Italy the Italian-American War veterans there is a monument at the bicentennial Memorial Park and the Polish American citizens Club

American Legion Post 314

. now this truck I think you're looking at it now is kind of a icon in Bristol County it's it's just a guy who decided to spruce up his truck I've seen it everywhere uh he has it in different parades and kids just love to see it and figure out what's on it

hahaha hahaha the Department of Community maintenance has rolled out a new Street a sweeping schedule and a graffiti hotline clean machine so uh keep an eye out for that Department of Community

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EMS now

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responds to hundreds that's right hundreds of calls in one week

Beth fonts oversees the Fall River EMS department and boy does she tell me the job has certainly changed over the years she takes great pride in making sure that her staff is trained with new challenges that we didn't see in past Generations and just as the parade begins with the Fall River Motorcycle unit and so too does it end with the Fall River Motorcycle unit a shout out as well to

the Durfee High School marching band who I believe went by I'm not sure we were able to get them on camera

58 320 names are etched in the Vietnam veterans memorial wall it is the most well-known site in Washington D.C and perhaps in the entire national park there we in Fall River are honored to have a replica wall 80 percent size here down at bison Centennial Veterans Memorial Park where there are many monuments for you to see and what better way to go do that than on Memorial Day so here is a

look at our wall and the undertaking that took a little over three years to make it a reality foreign Fall River is in the Forefront of honoring members of the Armed Forces the community preservation act funded upgrades to the veterans memorial Bicentennial Park in May 2021 Fall River dedicated the Vietnam veterans memorial wall an 80 scale replica of the original the aluminum panels are engraved with

the names of more than 58 000 Heroes killed or missing in action during the Vietnam war project including Landscaping exceeds Recreation and open space requirements set by the community preservation Act ten years ago Fall River voters approved a 1.5 percent surcharge on property tax bills to incentivize history travel and diversity three hundred and ten thousand dollars was designated to build this powerful

tribute which has become a location for reflection and healing the park is now fully handicapped accessible and is open to all at no costs dawn to dusk CPA funds have supported thousands of significant projects in Massachusetts thank you for your continued interest in community beautification and betterment foreign

river is the only replica wall in the east coast thank you to our Fred TV senior Anthony granham for voicing that piece he has been a pleasure to work with over the years graduation is June 2nd Durfee at 7 pm and lastly I want to draw your attention to the red poppy that I am wearing given to me by a very special friend Marine veteran Ray dolber the red poppies became a symbol of the

bloodiest fields in Belgium Flanders Field after World War one and there is a poem that will probably move you to tears in relation to the red poppy they're given out they're not to be sold occasionally they are as fundraisers and I suppose as long as that money goes to help a veteran or a veteran's family in need I'm okay with that but again if you see someone wearing a red poppy today

you know why it is in memory of those that we have lost from this great country in the United States of America I'm Pamela Martin thank you enjoy the rest of your weekend and for you gold star families I wish you peace healing and much love thank you

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