On Memorial Day, Fall River held a remembrance ceremony at Battleship Cove led by Vietnam Veterans of America Post 207 and the Battleship Massachusetts Foundation, with Mayor Paul Coogan, clergy and local veterans groups participating.

The ceremony honored 36 servicemembers from the greater Fall River area who died in the Vietnam War and other conflicts. Don Ebert, secretary of Vietnam Veterans of America Post 207, said the local observance “marks the 33rd year the Vietnam Veterans of America and the Battleship Massachusetts Foundation have conducted this memorial ceremony” and noted the ceremony also recognizes Gold Star families.

The program included the presentation of colors by the Fall River Young Marines, an invocation and benediction by Father Rob Nemkovich, remarks by Mayor Paul Coogan and guest speaker Justin Lentini, and the reading of the local names by Gold Star family member Brenda Pacheco. After the names were read, VVA Post 207 placed a bouquet of carnations in the Taunton River to symbolize the ultimate sacrifice of the fallen. The ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute, taps and the singing of “God Bless America.”

Justin Lentini, president of the local VVA chapter and a member of the national board, urged attendees to remember the individuals on the Vietnam Wall and to keep their names spoken: “When your name is no longer spoken, you are forgotten,” he said, and added that veterans’ service in wartime and peace matters. Don Ebert asked the crowd to treat attendance as an act of remembrance that “gives their sacrifice meaning and delivers a powerful message to the dead and living alike that they are not forgotten.”

Organizers asked family members and designated escorts to place carnations at a table and walk to the ship’s port side to lay them in the river as the ship’s bell tolled for each name called. Attendance included Gold Star families seated near the front and volunteers from Battleship Cove who coordinated the 21-gun salute.

The observance emphasized local traditions and historical context: Don Ebert referenced General Order No. 11, issued after the Civil War formalizing Memorial Day observances, and noted the Battleship Massachusetts site as a focal point for the city’s remembrance. Mayor Paul Coogan said the city treats Memorial Day and Veterans Day “very, very seriously” and asked the public to hold those losses in “such high regard.”

No formal votes or policy actions occurred; the event was ceremonial. Organizers invited attendees to return next year and thanked volunteers, the Fall River Young Marines color guard and Battleship Cove staff for coordinating the ceremony.