8.7.2026 Purple Heart Day & PFC Manuel Pacheco Tribute

Those are all you guys' seats.

Order up.

Y'all may be seated.

Before we begin, I'd like to recognize the different pieces that came together today to kind of make this welcome home tribute possible.

We have the South Coast Nurses Honor Guard here, as well as the Fall River Lodge of Elks Elks Riders.

Fall River PD, Fire Department, EMS, EMA, as well as the Department of Veterans Services drivers.

Ladies and gentlemen, today on Purple Heart Day, the City of Fall River has the honor of welcoming the family of United States Army Private First Class Manuel Pacheco, a son of Fall River who gave his life during the D-Day invasion on June 6th, 1944.

We thank the Fall River Motorcycle Squad, our public safety personnel, all participating veteran riders for escorting the Pacheco family to the sacred place of remembrance.

Please stand.

At this time, I would like to welcome forward Emily Naraki for the national anthem.

And following her will be City Councilor Andrew Raposo for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Present arms.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed At the twilight's last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming.

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave Star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Thank you, Emily.

Thank you, Emily.

Naraki people, thank you.

Uh, Councilor Raposo, please.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Don't move.

Order!

At this time, he will also be doing our invocation.

Order colors.

Good morning.

Please join us in prayer.

Lord our God, today we honor our veterans, worthy men and women who gave their best when they were called upon to serve and protect their country.

We pray that you will bless them, Lord, for their unselfish service in the continual struggle to preserve our freedoms and our safety, and our country's heritage for all of us.

Today we especially pray for Private First Class Manuel Pacheco.

Bless them abundantly for their hardships they faced, for the sacrifices they made, for their many different contributions to America's victories over tyranny and oppression.

We respect them, we thank them, we honor them, we are proud of them, and we pray that you will watch over these special individuals and bless them with peace and happiness.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Amen.

Please be seated.

Good morning.

On behalf of Mayor Paul Cooey and the City of Fall River, the Department of Veterans Services, the Greater Fall River Veterans Alliance, and our community as a whole, My name is Talosa D. Ferris, and I have the honor of serving as the Director of Veterans Services for the City of Fall River.

I also have the privilege of serving as the master of ceremonies for today.

Today we gather for the City of Fall River's Purple Heart Day observance and welcome home tribute to United States Private First Class Manuel Pacheco.

We gather to honor all who were wounded or killed in service to our nation.

And we gather in a very special way to welcome home the story and sacrifice and family of one of Fall River's sons.

Private First Class Manuel Pacheco left Fall River as a young soldier.

He gave his life on the shores of Normandy during the D-Day invasion.

For more than 80 years, his family carried his memory.

Today, Fall River stands with them At this time, I would like to welcome forward Mayor Paul Coogan to offer us a few words.

Yeah, um, first of all, I want to welcome everyone down to Bicentennial Park for this very solemn ceremony.

When you think of what happened to the Pacheco family over 80 years ago in 1944, you realize how these things go from generation to generation to generation, and they have to deal with this unfathomable tragedy.

These families gave everything they have to keep this country safe and allow us to be here on days like this to honor these special, special people.

And Manuel Pacheco was one of them.

We're here to acknowledge him, and let's make sure that our focus is on Manuel Pacheco and the family and all they gave over 80 years ago during World War II.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor Coogan.

As I started to put this together, I began to learn more and more about this special, special family.

Their home was over on Hicks Street in the South End at 521.

As little boys, they played— little boys and girls, they played around that home in the area around Hicks and Bowen and the areas that surround that, that particular region of the city.

Uh, his brother is here with us today.

And again, I cannot say this enough.

This is a family of service.

His brother is a former recon— excuse me, let me rephrase and catch myself.

His brother is a recon Marine from Vietnam, 3 times over a Purple Heart recipient.

They lost their other brother in the Battle of the Bulge.

At this time, we pause to recognize the Purple Heart Day.

Purple Heart Day and the Purple Heart Award is awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces who were wounded or killed as a result of enemy action.

It is one of the most solemn decorations our nation, our nation can bestow, and it represents sacrifice paid in blood.

Today we recognize all Purple Heart recipients the families of Purple Heart recipients and all Gold Star families as well, who carry the lifelong cost of service and sacrifice to this great nation.

If you are a Purple Heart recipient or you are here representing a Purple Heart recipient or a Gold Star family, we ask that you please stand or raise a hand so that we may recognize you.

Thank you all for being here, and thank you for your service as well to those who have served our nation.

At this time, I will be reading the Presidential National Purple Heart Day Proclamation.

August 6th, 2026, by the President of the United States.

A proclamation.

On National Purple Heart Day, we honor the immeasurable sacrifices of every valiant service member wounded or killed in combat, in defense of our nation, and we reaffirm our eternal gratitude to their unrivaled heroism.

First bestowed by George Washington in 1782, the Purple Heart stands as our nation's oldest military decoration, reserved for those wounded or fallen in defense of our country.

From the battlefields of the Revolution to the deserts and mountains of the War on Terror and across every conflict far and wide, it represents excuse me, its recipients have displayed valor beyond measure, sustained by an abiding love of liberty and unfailing devotion to our country.

Purple Heart recipients endured grievous wounds and withstood the horrors of battle, and some even paid the ultimate price to preserve our freedom.

The gallantry reflected in the purple fabric on their chest is forever woven into the red, white, and blue thread of our shared American story.

And their service remains a solemn reminder of the immense cost of freedom and the sacred responsibility borne by those who wear our nation's cloth.

While we never— while we can never fully repay the recipients of this hallowed medal, we are honoring their sacrifice by ensuring Americans remain the greatest beacon of freedom on Earth.

My administration has swiftly rebuilt our military into the strongest and most powerful lethal fighting force in the world.

Restoring pride in military service and achieving record recruitment numbers.

We are supporting our veterans beyond the battlefield by strengthening the Department of Veterans Affairs, eliminating as much bureaucracy and waste as possible, and slashing its processing backlog by more than 74% since I returned to office.

We are opening new veteran health clinics, fighting to eradicate veteran homelessness, and providing financial relief to senior veterans by ending taxes on Social Security.

Under my leadership and our commitment to America's veterans, it is absolute, and we will always protect the freedoms they secured.

As we continue to celebrate 250 years since the founding of our great country, we recognize the independence we cherish today was secured by the blood, sweat, and tears of the men and women who answered the call to defend it.

Today and every day, we salute our American warriors, who bear the Purple Heart and whose courage carried forward the enduring blessings of freedom.

We recognize the families who share in their sacrifices.

Above all, we pledge to never forget their service and to forever honor their indelible legacy.

Now, therefore, I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 7th, 2026, a National Purple Heart Day.

I call on all Americans to observe this day by honoring the courage and sacrifice of our Purple Heart recipients and expressing gratitude to our veterans.

Here in witness whereof, I have hereunto set by hand this 6th day of August in the year of our Lord 2026 of the independence of the United States of America, the 200th 51st.

It's a lot there.

On every Purple Heart Day, we honor those who shed their blood and those who gave the life— gave their lives in defense of our nation.

Today, Fall River has the extraordinary responsibility of welcoming home the story of one of those heroes, a young soldier A son of this city, a brother, a member of a Fall River family, a United States Army soldier who gave his life on D-Day.

We now turn our full attention to the life, service, and sacrifice of Private First Class Manuel Pacheco.

Private First Class Manuel Pacheco was a son of Fall River, Massachusetts.

He served in the United States Army during World War II as a member of the 149th Engineering Combat Battalion.

On June 6th, 1944, Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

It was one of the most significant military operations in our world's history.

PFC Pacheco was aboard Landing Craft Infantry LCI L-92 as it approached Omaha Beach.

That vessel carried American soldiers toward one of the most dangerous and consequential battlefields of the Second World War.

As LCI-92 approached the beach, it was struck by an underwater mine and came under heavy artillery fire.

PFC Manuel Pacheco was among the service members killed during that action.

For generations, he was listed among the missing.

His family carried a memory without the closure that every military family hopes and deserves.

For more than 80 years later, PFC Pacheco and his fellow service member 15 of them connected to the loss of LCI-92 were formally honored at Omaha National Cemetery back in May.

Today, his flag and his medals and his story, but even more so his family, have returned to this city.

This is where his story began.

Fall River remembers him not as a name lost to history, but as one of our own.

At this time, I have the distinct pleasure of welcoming forward, again, it is my honor to introduce our featured military speaker, Command Sergeant Major, and forgive me, Sergeant Major, I'm going to murder your last name, Peter P. Pouliot.

Pouliot serves with the Massachusetts Army National Guard as their senior enlisted leader and represents the leadership, discipline, and commitment of today's soldiers.

His presence with us today is especially meaningful because PFC Manuel Pacheco served in the United States Army and because Command Sergeant Major is here as a personal connection to the Pacheco family.

On this Purple Heart Day, we are grateful to have the voice of a senior enlisted Army leader here to help us honor a Fall River soldier who gave his life in service to this nation.

Thank you, sir.

Members of the Pacheco family, Mayor Coogan, representatives and elected officials, neighbors and friends, and citizens of Fall River.

My name is Command Sergeant Major Peter Puglio, and I am the senior enlisted leader of the Mass— Massachusetts National Guard.

I am honored to be here with you today to remember the service and the ultimate sacrifice of one of Fall River's own sons, Manuel Pacheco, who was killed in action during Operation Overlord on D-Day in Normandy, France, on the 6th of June, 1944.

Private First Class Pacheco was an Army soldier of the 149th Engineer Battalion, and he was killed when his landing craft struck a mine during the initial assault on Omaha Beach.

The vessel's fuel storage exploded, killing him and 25 members of his engineer unit.

The combat engineers were among the first to land at Omaha Beach.

Combat engineers are highly trained to go in advance of the main fighting force and set the conditions for success.

Often under the most difficult circumstances, they were sent to clear the way, destroy the mines, reduce the obstacles, eliminate the barriers of the well-established German defenses for the follow-on forces of the Army's 1st and 29th infantry divisions.

They did so under a barrage of artillery and machine gun fire.

We know now that their— that the price they paid was high, and many of the engineers from Manny's battalion never reached the shore alive, including him.

They gave their lives in the opening hours of one of the most consequential battles in the struggle for freedom and peace in human history.

On D-Day, during Operation Overlord, over 4,400 Allied forces, including 2,500 American service members, would die on that day alone.

Over the next 2 months, the Battle of Normandy would claim over 20,000 American lives, and at the end of World War II, over 250,000 American lives would be lost.

In Europe alone.

There are well over 9,500 American service members buried at Normandy in a cemetery on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach.

This represents only a portion of the total casualties, as many of the service members have been returned home at the request of their families.

But Manuel Pacheco was not laid to rest in either place for 80 years, for over 80 years.

There was no final honors, no closure for his family.

On March 12th, PFC Manuel Pacheco was interred at Omaha National Cemetery in Nebraska in a communal area reserved for him and his brothers in arms who fought with him in Normandy.

He was brought home today, and then he was brought home.

Today we celebrate and remember Manuel here in Fall River, where he, where he was from, and where there is a long history of military service and especially sacrifice.

In World War II, over 16,000 residents served in the armed forces from Fall River.

We remember his sacrifice here in this special place where Fall River honors its fallen.

Manuel Pacheco exemplified the values of hard work, dedication, patriotism, and heroism at such a young age and during a critical time in our nation's history when so many had to answer the call.

Their service made all things possible that we enjoy today.

In our remembrance, we must also recognize the families who continue to bear the weight of such loss, showing such immense strength and perseverance throughout the years.

To PFC Pacheco's family, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for his service and condolences for your loss.

Let us honor his memory by pledging to uphold the values he fought for, the path that he and his brothers in arms cleared that morning led to the liberation of a continent.

May God grant you eternal peace, and may your memory be a blessing to us all.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sergeant Major.

At this time, I'd like to take a moment for us to recognize another significant group of people of people connected to PFC Manuel Pacheco.

Private First Class Manuel Pacheco did not face this final mission alone.

He did not serve alone, and he does not rest alone.

Today, while Fall River gathers especially for one of its own sons, we also must remember the fellow service members connected to LCI-92 who shared in that same sacrifice.

Though we may not have or know every name aloud or speak their name aloud today, we hold them in solemn remembrance.

Together in battle, together in sacrifice, together in eternal rest.

Please join us in a brief moment of silence.

Thank you.

At this time, we invite local Fall River firefighter and Army— or excuse me, I'm gonna make an Army veteran correct— an Army veteran Keith Dumaine to offer remarks on behalf of the family of Private First Class Manuel Pacheco.

Thank you, Talos.

And thank you for putting this all together.

We're pretty overwhelmed at what we're seeing out here and what we saw at our home and everything.

I'm speaking on behalf of the Pacheco family as the trophy husband of Uncle Manny's niece, Tanya.

I figured I'd lighten it up a little bit before we started getting too deep.

Um, Manny's family is loaded with tradition.

They've been here since the early 1900s.

Manny's father Joe served in World War I. Manny's brother Joe served in the South Pacific during World War II.

His brother Eddie served in the Battle of the Bulge.

His sister Dot served in the Army as a cook during World War II.

His sister Helen served as a nurse during the— in the Army during World War II.

It is super overwhelming to see the outpouring of people showing up here today, as much as it was overwhelming for us to go to Omaha and do it all there as well, receive flags, receive medals and awards that were due to Manny that we, uh, we never got to see before.

So it's a very big deal to the family.

I want to thank everybody that came out here.

I see friends out here, I see color guards, I see policemen, I see Fall River EMS, I see a lot of people who care about what we've done, care about what Uncle Manny has done, care about the Pacheco family.

And we're very overwhelmed and we're very proud of what the city has done for us to come back.

And I want to give special thanks to Command Sergeant Major Puglio, who I've been friends with for 25 years, served in the Army with.

And special thanks to All of the color guards, all the people taking time to, to do this for us because it means the world to us.

And, um, we're happy that we can all feel that Manny is back home.

Thank you.

Thank you, Keith.

Uh, could I get a water up here for the command sergeant major, please?

Moving further along in our program, one of the things that we decided to do, because this was such a special occasion, uh, we decided to make sure that the family had something that they could hold on to that would make this day from the city of Fall River more meaningful.

So we've teamed up with the team over at Riverside Art And they are putting together one of the most magnificent shadow boxes available for PFC Pacheco to house his flag and medals and service history in a proper fashion.

As part of our continued effort to honor PFC Manuel Pacheco, the City of Fall River Department of Veterans Services is working with the Parks Board and the city's Parks Department to explore other options to represent his sacrifice.

And those things are including a neighborhood marker in the area connected to his life and his family history.

Fall River has honored many of its fallen veterans through neighborhood markers and memorials designated throughout this city, as we have up on the Eastern Ave in different places.

So we're in the middle of doing an actual refurbishment process And we'll be looking to add another marker for a couple of other veterans to include PFC Pacheco.

And it's appropriate that we do, you know, the same for PFC Pacheco that we've done for many others here.

Fall River Never Forgets is our motto.

This effort will allow future generations not only to hear his name at ceremonies like this, but also to understand that he was part of a real family, a real neighborhood and a real community here in Fall River.

Another thing that we've done, we've identified a bench here in the park at the very, very top of the park.

When you walk in at the park, there are 3 benches that have not been memorialized, and the one at the very top of the park will be going to the memory, sacrifice, and service of PFC Manuel Pacheco.

At this time, we will conduct a wreath presentation in honor of PFC Manuel Pacheco.

All Purple Heart recipients and all Fall River service members who were wounded or killed in defense of the United States.

Wreath presenters, please come forward.

May these wreaths stand as a symbol of remembrance, gratitude, and the promise that Fall River will not forget.

Ladies and gentlemen, please rise if you are able.

We will now render honors in memory of Private First Class Manuel Pacheco and all who gave their lives in service to our nation.

Members of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 207 Honor Guard, prepare for rifle volley.

Please remain standing for the sounding of Taps, played by the Fall River Flags and Graves Officer Victor Farias.

Order arms!

Order arms!

Order colors!

Ready?

You may be seated.

We're coming to the end of our program here.

At this time, I'd like to offer the closing remarks to our Purple Heart Day observance and welcome home tribute.

Let us remember why we gathered.

We gathered because a young man from Fall River answered the nation's call.

We gathered because the young, the young soldier gave his life on D-Day.

We gathered because his family carried his memory for more than 80 years.

And we gathered because Fall River has a responsibility to remember its own.

Private First Class Manuel Pacheco Your mission ended on the shores of Normandy, but your story has returned to the city of Fall River where it began.

Fall River knows your name.

Fall River honors your sacrifice.

Fall River remembers you.

Welcome home.

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's ceremony.

We ask you please remain in place as the family of Private First Class Manuel Pacheco is escorted From the ceremony area, on behalf of Mayor Paul E. Coogan, the City of Fall River Department of Veterans Services, and the Pacheco family, thank you for joining us today.

May God bless PFC Manuel Pacheco.

May God bless every Purple Heart recipient and Gold Star family.

And may God bless our veterans.

And lastly, may God bless the United States of America.

Thank you for coming, everyone.

Watch this cord here, pull it right through here.

Okay, thank you all for staying respectfully seated.

Uh, at this time, color guards, retire the colors.

Detail, right face.

Forward march.

Okay, there's water in the back.

I know it is hot.

Thank you all for coming out, celebrating with us.

Thank you so much.