The Fall River Memorial Day ceremony was held on May 29, 2022, at Griffin Park, honoring Staff Sergeant James T. Griffin, a World War II veteran and former Corky Row resident. The ceremony commenced with an opening prayer by Chaplain Edward Bailey, followed by remarks from Mayor Paul Coogan, who emphasized the solemnity of the event. A list of deceased veterans since the previous Memorial Day was read, including Leroy "Buzzy" Mills, Faris Luke Nassef, Robert Nolan, and Nancy Asatoulo. Two park benches were dedicated during the ceremony. Jamie Tyrell dedicated a bench in memory of his uncle, Private James Tyrell, who was killed in World War II on March 17, 1945. Kristen Nolan dedicated a second bench to her great uncle, Master Sergeant John Thomas Nolan, a Korean War prisoner of war who died on February 3, 1951, from malnutrition and illness. A message from Mark Chicaris, President of the Corky Row Club, detailed Sergeant Griffin's service as a B-17 turret gunner, his death on June 11, 1943, over To Sense, Netherlands, and his posthumous Purple Heart. Command Sergeant Major Harry Terrion delivered a speech reflecting on the profound sacrifice made by veterans. The event concluded with a performance of "Amazing Grace," a closing prayer by Chaplain Bailey, and a symbolic white dove release.
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Council
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good morning everyone and welcome to the memorial day ceremony here at griffin park or griffin playground as i always knew it uh growing up i would like to call for us the chaplain
0:51chaplain edward bailey
1:00please uncover thank you father first and most of all i want to thank you for this wonderful beautiful day you've given us to come here and pay tribute to our fallen brother and families father we ask that today's blessings become on all memorial people all the brothers and sisters we have lost but most of all as we continue our event blessed lord bless each and every one that's here today
1:34and thank you all for coming amen
1:44cover
2:06um
2:37uh
3:02hey
3:38yes
3:57um obviously this is another solemn memorial day event to honor someone that lost their life serving their country which led to all of us being out here today to honor to honor him griffin park is a well-known establishment in the corkiro neighborhood and it's a fitting tribute to name it after sergeant griffin who gave everything he could to keep this country safe and secure and i know there
4:25are other events today i hope people get out to attend a few of them and again it's also a time to pray for the people we've lost in appreciation for what they've given thank you
4:44um
5:00meeting of the deceased veterans that have passed since last memorial day leroy buzzy mills united states navy korean conflict faris luke nassef united states army korean conflict robert nolan united states army korean conflict nancy asatoulo long time committee member now i'd like to call up jamie tyrell and kristen nolan to dedicate the two park benches in griffin park good morning everyone um i'm here to
5:37dedicate the park bench which is located over here for my uncle private james tyrell who's killed in the second world war on st patrick's day december march 17th 1945 two days shy of his 19th birthday every time i say that out loud i think of the you know they were just boys really 18 years old this bench came about a number of years ago when my dad was still alive my dad passed away in 2018
6:09here on on a day just like this a memorial-based service here at griffin park and later at the club at the clocky road club the then veterans agent ray hague mentioned that he might have some money for veterans monuments and if my father had any idea around his brother and my father asked perhaps about a bench there used to be a bench right up on plymouth avenue and fifth street in front of their house
6:36where as a young boy my father's brother was seven years older than he they would sit and talk on the avenue on the bench and after a number of years even though my father passed and is not here to see it today he was aware that it was happening so our family is very grateful for the bench being there um i don't know jim reilly was here earlier there he is mr riley tip your cap
7:01riley is 98 years young grew up here in the clarkville neighborhood served in the second world war was a poor bearer at my uncle's funeral twice the family was notified of his death by the war department now the defense department um and got his dog tags but they did not get a body and so there was a funeral held and mr riley was one of the pallbearers and then about a year or so later there
7:31was a notification that they had recovered the body came in at the old train station and they had a second funeral and mr riley was a pallbearer again thanks for being here today mr riley and thanks to the city and to the veterans department uh for the bench we appreciate it very much thank you hello everyone like many parks can you hear me like many parks in fall river and throughout the country griffin park is a
8:04place where generations of children and family have come to play and to hope and to dream of the future many memories have been made here this is only possible because of the men and women who have served in our armed forces and especially for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom one of those men was my great uncle master sergeant john thomas nolan sergeant nolan was a resident of fall
8:32river and he lived right here in the corkiro neighborhood he served in the united states army in world war ii in the yankee division 328th infantry regiment he later went on to serve in the korean war in the korean war he was a member of the eighth cavalry regiment first cavalry division he was taken prisoner of war while fighting the enemy near unson north korea on november 2nd 1950 and died
9:05while a prisoner on february 3 1951 of malnutrition and illness in camp 5 pyeotong north korea in honor of his ser in honor of his service and sacrifice we're dedicating a bench here in griffin park in his memory it's the bench right over here may we never forget sergeant nolan and all of those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom thank you thank you very much
9:54hello
10:08uh
10:23um our president and my good friend marc jacarris couldn't be here as uh many families have had to deal with recently he's dealing with covid19 and his family right now it's very disappointed that he couldn't be here i do have some words that he wanted to read today i'll follow them up with a brief thing of my own
10:52good morning ladies and gentlemen first responders mayor coogan distinguished guests and valued veterans on this memorial day weekend we come to give thanks to all the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedoms from tyranny and injustice today we stand in griffin park named after world war ii veteran and former corky row resident james t griffin who grew up at 607 3rd street just two
11:22blocks from where we are standing now he was the first resident of corky road to be killed in action during the second world war james griffin was born on june 9th 1918.
11:34he enlisted in the u.s army air corps on january 11 1942.
11:39he rose to the rank of staff sergeant and was a turret gunner in the 379th bomber group 527th bomber squadron to put into perspective how unequivocally brave sergeant griffin was ball turret gunners on the b-17 flying fortresses had one of the most dangerous jobs in all of world war ii a ball turret was a plexiglass sphere set into the belly of a b-17 or b-24 and inhabited by two 50-caliber machine guns and one man
12:13when this gunner tracked with his machine guns a fighter attacking his bomber from below he revolved with the turret hunched upside down in his little the flying fortresses were heavily armed but extremely slow moving and were attacked by fighter planes often his crew flew two missions and on june 11 1943 they were part of a raid with the intended target the shipbuilding yards at bremen germany
12:41because of inclement weather the formation was diverted to a secondary target the submarine pens at willem's haven approximately 200 enemy fighters attacked the formation over the target two of them singled out his plane and shot it down over to sense staff sergeant griffin is buried in the netherlands american cemetery in margraton netherlands he was awarded the purple heart for his ultimate sacrifice
13:11the corkiro neighborhood the city of fall river the state of massachusetts and the united states of america owe sergeant griffin gratitude for his bravery in a time of great turmoil let us continue to remember that sergeant griffin was a beacon of fearlessness and resolve who valued the greater good of his nation above all else may he and all of our deceased veterans rest in peace again those words were uh from our
13:38president at the corky road club mark chicaris i also want to say that um it's it's easy to think of his sacrifice as being so long ago that it's hard to have perspective on it but the idea of sacrificing yourself for your community for your friends and family for your country and for your your fellow man is far older than 80 years old and it's as relevant today as it ever was
14:06and god willing it will be relevant tomorrow and naming a park and having a day once a year and having a parade to remember someone like sergeant griffin is the least we can do the more appropriate remembrance of him is to try to take every opportunity in our own lives to sacrifice not for the hope of a reward not for valor not in front of a camera for youtube or tick tock
14:35but simply because it's the right thing to do and knowing that any reward we might get if in fact we get a reward will come in the next world and not this one and that i think is a more fitting tribute so i want to thank you all for being here today and i want to remind everyone that we will have a full brunch at the club when our ceremonies here wrap up
15:01and if you're so inclined you can raise a toast as bill eddie would put it to those who came before us and thank you all for being here thank you i'd just like to briefly introduce some elected officials who took time out of what everyone has a busy schedule this weekend to be with us here this morning we have four of the city councilor linda pereira state representative carol fiola state representative alan silvia
15:43and you've already heard from mayor of the city forward paul coogan and now i'd like to call up our guest speaker command sergeant major harry terrion
16:03hi good morning tough to follow that uh that last speech that was excellent i guess we have to give thanks for such a beautiful day for the ceremony and and a beautiful day uh for the memorial weekend in its entirety most of you don't know me i know a few people here but i served 27 years of the marine corps or two years in combat i retired 30 years ago and yes this is my original uniform
16:39but i was invited here today to share this solemn moment with you by my friend bill damaris i didn't know staff sergeant griffin of course and i don't know any of the members of his family but i know that we're here to honor his sacrifice the ultimate sacrifice which was given on june 11 1942 you heard that he served in the army air corps not to be confused with the u.s air force
17:19but what i know about gun turrets those small bubbles glass cages or whatever you want to call them that were attached to those bombers that was not an easy task it took a lot of guts it took a lot of bravery especially when being attacked to get down into that glass cage staff sergeant griffin was truly a brave individual and i can tell you all all the veterans here you all know that when you join the
17:50military regardless of service you take an oath to defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic and it goes on to say i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and we all sign a contract no matter what branch of service you enter and it's not written anywhere but what you're saying and what you're doing is you're giving a willingness to die for this country
18:24there's no other occupation that calls for the death of an individual for his country having served two years in combat myself i can tell you that when you lose a fellow veteran a brother in arms and that's what we are it's a brotherhood like the police force the fire department you become brothers in arms when you lose a veteran especially if you're there at the time you feel that loss and you feel
19:00the loss for their family as well in the 27 years that i served i served with thousands of marines and and some whose names are inscribed on the vietnam memorial wall down in veterans park and excuse me when i look at those names uh i think of their faces like yesterday but the thing that i remember most and i i would say that families who lost family members in combat i think what you remember most
19:47is the smile the joking mannerisms the friendship and if you're a family member of course you miss the the love and the care that that person was providing and you will remember those people for the rest of your life there were many men and women who gave their lives in in all wars all conflicts from fall river from corky road from what i understand staff sergeant griffin was the first corky row resident
20:25to be killed in world war ii but i think as a veteran all veterans that that dedication to duty that sense of duty that commitment the honor to to serve your country i think that's what links us together as veterans and and you retain that for the rest of your life we're brothers in arms and you never forget that and even though i didn't know staff sergeant griffin staff sergeant griffin was a brother in arms
21:04and i respect that and now that i know who he was i respect the duty and the sacrifice that he made and i respect his family for that
21:22the only other thing i could think of saying is that that this park that was dedicated in his name and his family's name in 1946 hopefully this park will be here forever your children your grandchildren their children can come here to play to relax to enjoy the atmosphere and when they walk in and they see that name griffin hopefully they know what that name means and who that name stands for
21:56and the sacrifice that he made and as the former speaker said you know all we can do is hope for the best for our family our friends anyone who serves in the military we hope that they return some don't most do but those who have gone before us you know may god bless them bless their families and may they always rest in peace thank you thank you thank you sergeant at this point uh
22:35there's two other people uh veterans service officer michael britto over to the right and the commander of the former war veterans council over to the left a lot of people you see with their covers on belong to the war veterans council but more importantly hiding in the background alongside defense is mary queen and the family sergeant griffin so could give them a round of applause please we'll now hear amazing grace
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25:55um
26:59please come forward
27:14please uncover father we thank you for the blessings you have given us today for all the proceedings that are going on we ask you our blessings in jesus name i pray that when we leave here today god gives the blessing of safe travels to each and every one of you and that we can meet again done at the park and other events during the rest of this day god bless you all god bless
27:46the city of river and god bless the united states of america thank you cover mechanic a mechanic doesn't uh always fix his own car and we don't always release our own bridge it does i need a volunteer married you have a volunteer sergeant major today we're releasing one white dove for the solo sergeant griffin white does represent love and peace and uh we are they're going to be escorted home
28:25by combat ready homing pigeons the same as the ones that served with sergeant griffin other men and women in world war one and world war ii to carry messages that saved their lives now when sergeant tyrion releases this white dove please send upon its wings your own special message or prayer for sergeant griffin and all those that we've lost in combat and all those that are in our hearts
28:49thank you you may release the dove
28:56it will circle above and then they will return home they go right home thank you all very much you