(MassLive- Jeanette DeForge) They were heading out to deliver books to Afghanistan children when a homemade bomb exploded outside the gate of a military base in Kandahar.
Nine years later, state Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, a major in the Army National Guard, remembers being one of the people to carry the stretcher with Wilbel Robles-Santa’s body to an awaiting Blackhawk helicopter.
The base was in chaos. At least six people were dead, including four Americans, and other Americans and Afghans were being treated for serious injuries, including amputations. But Velis recalls the flight crew taking the time to salute Robles-Santa as they carried his body onto the helicopter.
“I hate this day, but on the other hand, it is the most sacred on Earth,” he said.
Velis, who served as the keynote speaker at the Memorial Day commemoration Monday, said his personal Memorial Day is April 6. In 2013 on that day, he was serving on the base when tragedy struck.
When the first bomb went off, he said he was scared. When the second went off, he knew it was bad and he and all other available personnel started running to the scene to help the injured.
Killed with Spc. Robles-Santa, 25, of Juncos, Puerto Rico, were Staff Sgt. Christopher Ward, 24, of Tennessee, and Spc. Delfin Santos, 24, of San Jose, California. Anne Smedinghoff, 25, of Illinois, the only member of the U.S. diplomatic corps to die in the Afghanistan War, also lost her life in the explosion.
Velis said he remembers playing basketball with Robles before the explosion — and losing. He remembers Ward as the guy who could bench press more than seemed humanly possible. Santos was able to do more pull-ups than anyone on base.
Velis told the roughly 100 people listening that less than half of 1% of the people who live in the country serve in the military. He asked the crowd of veterans, city officials and the general public to remember those who gave their lives while in service and to thank the surviving families and friends.
This year’s Memorial Day tribute, which was moved inside to American Legion Post 452 because of rain, brought multiple speakers, including Col. Colonel Jordan E. Murphy, commander of the 439th Maintenance Group at Westover Air Reserve Base; Mayor John L. Vieau; state Sen. Adam Gomez; and Stephanie Shaw, director of veterans services. Veteran Louis Brault served as emcee.
The Chicopee Comprehensive High School Band performed, the Chicopee High Air Force ROTC Jr. provided the color guard and The Earls added a light note as they sang a melody of military tunes, inviting veterans to stand when they reached the theme of the branch of the military where they served.
As is tradition, veterans and Gold Star families placed wreaths honoring Chicopee veterans killed in every war from the Civil War to the War on Terror.
State Rep. Shirley Arriaga, D-Chicopee, who is an Air Force veteran, talked about the Hero Act, a comprehensive piece of legislation that would increase benefits for veterans, broaden the definition of veteran, increasing the number of people eligible for benefits, and eliminate the fee for veteran license plates.
“We know there is work to be done and we are not done,” she said.
Velis was not the only speaker to remember veterans killed. Murphy told the story of a Westover B-52 bomber training mission during the Cold War that crashed into Elephant Mountain in Maine after hitting bad weather in January 1963.
Three were able to eject from the plane before it crashed and two of them survived. The six who remained in the B-52 were killed on impact. The two survivors were rescued after spending 20 hours on the mountainside in bitter cold, he said.
To honor those men, and “because we love freedom,” Westover remains ready to respond to any need at a moment’s notice, Murphy said.
“We are always well-trained, dedicated and motivated,” he said.
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