thedrifter
05-20-09, 09:52 AM
Fallen Bridgewater Marine Kevin Preach to be honored on Memorial Day
Lance Cpl. Kevin Preach’s name to be added to the War Memorial on common
By Theresa Knapp Enos
ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT
Posted May 20, 2009 @ 02:14 AM
BRIDGEWATER —
The town of Bridgewater will honor fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Kevin T. Preach during its annual Memorial Day activities.
Preach, a 2007 graduate of Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, was 21 years old when he died in February from wounds suffered in Afghanistan when the Humvee in which he was a gunner was hit by an improvised explosive device.
Preach was stationed in Farah Province, Afghanistan, as a machine gunner with Weapons Company, 3rd Batallion, 8th Marines, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, and received the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and National Defense Service Medal.
“Lance Cpl. Kevin Preach’s name will be added to the War Memorial on the Common, where it will join the names of Bridgewater World War I, World War II, Korean and Vietnam soldiers lost in conflict,” said Bridgewater Veterans Agent Roderick K. Walsh.
Preach’s name will be placed on the War Memorial under the heading “Global War on Terrorism.”
“Kevin Preach is the first casualty that Bridgewater’s experienced since that monument was dedicated on Memorial Day 1988,” said Peter Northrup, a member of the Bridgewater Veterans Council, which has arranged Monday’s ceremony.
The rededication will take place on the Town Common after the town’s Memorial Day parade.
Marchers will begin organizing at 10 a.m. on Stetson Street and will step off at 10:30 a.m. The parade will proceed right onto Bedford Street (south on Route 18) and end at the War Memorial on the Town Common at about 10:40 a.m.
“It’s my hope that Lance Cpl. Preach’s brother, Daniel, who graduated from the Marine Corps on the day his brother died and who has been away (at officer training), will be there to pull the lanyards to unveil the monument,” Northrup said.
The rededication will be followed by traditional Memorial Day activities, including the firing of rifles, playing of taps, presentations and the national anthem.
“I think the dedication is amazing. I am glad the recognition of Kevin as a hero never stops, and I really hope it never will,” said Brianna Kelliher, who was Preach’s girlfriend for two years. “I also know it means a lot to his mother and his family, too.”
The Rev. Kristy Coburn, associate pastor at the Central Square Congregational Church and also a U.S. Navy chaplain, will speak on behalf of the family at the rededication.
Family and friends will again be selling “Remembering Kevin Preach” khaki-colored, camouflage-design bracelets outside the Bridgewater Roche Bros. store on Route 18 on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Proceeds from the $3 bracelets will be donated to the Injured Marine Semper Fi fund.
Direct donations can be made to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund (www.semperfifund.org), 825 College Blvd, Suite 102, PMB 609, Oceanside, CA 92057.
Ellie
Lance Cpl. Kevin Preach’s name to be added to the War Memorial on common
By Theresa Knapp Enos
ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT
Posted May 20, 2009 @ 02:14 AM
BRIDGEWATER —
The town of Bridgewater will honor fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Kevin T. Preach during its annual Memorial Day activities.
Preach, a 2007 graduate of Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, was 21 years old when he died in February from wounds suffered in Afghanistan when the Humvee in which he was a gunner was hit by an improvised explosive device.
Preach was stationed in Farah Province, Afghanistan, as a machine gunner with Weapons Company, 3rd Batallion, 8th Marines, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, and received the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and National Defense Service Medal.
“Lance Cpl. Kevin Preach’s name will be added to the War Memorial on the Common, where it will join the names of Bridgewater World War I, World War II, Korean and Vietnam soldiers lost in conflict,” said Bridgewater Veterans Agent Roderick K. Walsh.
Preach’s name will be placed on the War Memorial under the heading “Global War on Terrorism.”
“Kevin Preach is the first casualty that Bridgewater’s experienced since that monument was dedicated on Memorial Day 1988,” said Peter Northrup, a member of the Bridgewater Veterans Council, which has arranged Monday’s ceremony.
The rededication will take place on the Town Common after the town’s Memorial Day parade.
Marchers will begin organizing at 10 a.m. on Stetson Street and will step off at 10:30 a.m. The parade will proceed right onto Bedford Street (south on Route 18) and end at the War Memorial on the Town Common at about 10:40 a.m.
“It’s my hope that Lance Cpl. Preach’s brother, Daniel, who graduated from the Marine Corps on the day his brother died and who has been away (at officer training), will be there to pull the lanyards to unveil the monument,” Northrup said.
The rededication will be followed by traditional Memorial Day activities, including the firing of rifles, playing of taps, presentations and the national anthem.
“I think the dedication is amazing. I am glad the recognition of Kevin as a hero never stops, and I really hope it never will,” said Brianna Kelliher, who was Preach’s girlfriend for two years. “I also know it means a lot to his mother and his family, too.”
The Rev. Kristy Coburn, associate pastor at the Central Square Congregational Church and also a U.S. Navy chaplain, will speak on behalf of the family at the rededication.
Family and friends will again be selling “Remembering Kevin Preach” khaki-colored, camouflage-design bracelets outside the Bridgewater Roche Bros. store on Route 18 on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Proceeds from the $3 bracelets will be donated to the Injured Marine Semper Fi fund.
Direct donations can be made to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund (www.semperfifund.org), 825 College Blvd, Suite 102, PMB 609, Oceanside, CA 92057.
Ellie