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Date: 9/18/2019
WEST SPRINGFIELD – Hundreds of residents and first responders gathered around the eternal flame that stands on West Springfield’s town common. Its simple plaque reads, “In Memory of Melissa Harrington-Hughes 5/29/70 - 09/11/2001.”
The town marked the 18th anniversary of September 11 with a service organized by Dan Roberts, a family friend of Harrington-Hughes, the West Springfield native who died when a plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York.
“What this date represents has forever changed our lives, our nation, and our community of faith,” said Deacon Jim Marcus.
Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) District 7 Commander Troy Henke spoke about how the morning of September 11 was a defining moment for a generation.
“Every single person here today remembers exactly where they were when they saw the images come across their TV screen,” Hanke said.
Marine Colonel Bennett Walsh, now the Superintendent at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke, was stationed at Fort Bragg during September 11. He remembered how everyone there wanted to leave that day to find whoever was responsible. Since then, Walsh said, almost 1 million soldiers have been deployed to Afghanistan.
With a flag hung from the raised ladder of a fire truck in the background, bagpiper Andrew Menard played “Taps” and “Amazing Grace.”
“The victims are as broad as America itself but as personal as Melissa Harrington,” said Police Chief Bob Duffy
Fire Chief Bill Flaherty recounted how he recently met a West Springfield resident who was at the World Trade Center on September 11 and said he remembered how people came together. Flaherty said, “we promise to never forget.”
Mayor Will Reichelt added to that sentiment, and said that when talking about September 11 on social media, people say “never forget,” but “Westside shows that we do never forget.” He urged the assembled crowd to remember the people who lost loved ones 18 years ago.
Reichelt also noted that next year will see the first high school graduates that were not yet born on September 11.
Harrington-Hughes’s father, Bob Harrington, thanked everyone who had come out and remarked that the commemoration gets bigger every year.
“The town is happy to stand in support and remembrance,” said Vikki Connor, director of the West Springfield Parks and Recreation Department, which provides the sound system for the commemoration.