(WESTFIELD NEWS- Hope Tremblay) — A crowd gathered in the rain on Thursday to honor and remember Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers, formerly of Westfield.
Chambers was killed in action in January during a nighttime mission off the coast of Somalia. While his Navy SEAL team was seizing a vessel illegally transporting advanced weapons from Iran to Houthi rebels in Yemen, Chambers fell into the water between the Navy ship and the rebel ship. Neither he nor a fellow Navy SEAL who dived in to rescue him, Nathan Gage Ingram, resurfaced.
State Rep. Kelly Pease and state Sen. John C. Velis, both of whom are military veterans, spoke about Chambers and Ingram as heroes.
“There’s a saying that all gave some, but some gave all,” Velis said. “How appropriate that is. In this world today we’re surrounded by selfishness, but I want to be like these guys. They are the epitome of selflessness, and we are lucky and blessed to have this man a part of our community and the world is blessed to have had him join the military.”
Velis spoke about the Navy SEALs, an elite military group that often quietly protects the world.
“What these guys do on a daily basis and with no fanfare so we are able to be here …” said Velis, starting to get choked up. “… We use the word ‘hero’ a lot, some may say too much, but he was a hero.”
Velis laid a brick to honor Chambers in the Sons of Erin Memorial Pathway that leads to the 9/11 Memorial, which honors three Westfield residents killed during the 2001 terrorist attacks. Pat Murphy, a member of the Sons of Erin 9/11 Committee, said when he heard of Chambers’ death, he and the committee knew they needed to honor him in Westfield.