AS THE HANCOCK MEMORIAL COMMITTEE, JARVIS COFFIN AND HOWARD WESTON JOIN ME IN WELCOMING YOU TO THIS CEREMONY. YOU HAVE OUR GRATITUDE AND THANKS FOR JOINING US ON WHAT IS FOR US A VERY SPECIAL DAY. WITHOUT THE GENEROUS DONATIONS FROM MANY OF YOU WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE WHAT YOU WILL SOON SEE.

AS SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE HEARD, INITIALLY WE PLANNED TO PLACE A LARGE SLAB OF GRANITE FROM THE MEETINGHOUSE STEPS IN FRONT OF THE MONUMENT. HOWEVER, WE REALIZED THAT THIS WOULD DETRACT FROM THE QUIET SIMPLICITY OF THE MONUMENT BOULDER. INSTEAD WE HAVE MOUNTED TWO SMALL BENCHES WHICH YOU SEE COVERED TO MY RIGHT AND LEFT. WE DO PLAN TO CONVERT THIS AREA INTO AN ATTRACTIVE, RESTFUL PARK AREA AS BEFITS SUCH A MEMORIAL.

IF YOU STUDY THE NAMES ON THE MONUMENT NEAR THE BANDSTAND, YOU WILL FIND GENERATIONS OF FAMILIES SUCH AS LAKIN AND WASHBURN THAT HAVE RESPONDED TO OUR NATIONS CALL REPEATEDLY. AS TIME WENT ON THOSE NAMES GAVE WAY SUCH NAMES AS WESTON AND HAYWARD WHICH IN TURN GAVE WAY TO NAMES SUCH AS RUSS AND DALY DURING THE VIETNAM CONFLICT. THE COMMON THREAD IS THAT HANCOCK SONS AND DAUGHTERS, HUSBANDS AND WIVES, MOTHERS AND FATHERS HAVE MAINTAINED AN UNBROKEN RECORD OF ANSWERING THEIR COUNTRIES CALL TO DUTY TO THIS DAY.

SO WE MEET HERE TODAY TO DEDICATE THIS NEW MONUMENT TO THOSE WHO SERVED IN THE THREE MOST RECENT CONFLICTS THAT ARE NOW BEHIND US. BY MOUNTING AN APPROPRIATE PLAQUE ON THIS PIECE OF HANCOCK GRANITE, WE BELIEVE THAT THE MEMORIES OF THOSE LISTED WILL JOIN THOSE ON THE FIRST MONUMENT AND REMAIN WITH US FOR AS LONG AS THIS STONE WILL, WHICH SHOULD BE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.