MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY
Monday, May 29th 2017
Town Common / Matthew Hawkes Square
11:00 am
The Town of Hingham Department of Veterans’ Services and the Hingham Veterans’ Council are proud to announce that the Annual Memorial Day Observance will be held on Monday, May 29th 2017. Hingham Town Moderator, Michael Puzo, will begin the ceremony promptly at 11:00 a.m. on the Town Common.
All Veterans [and their families], the HHS Band, and Scouts will be pre-positioned on Middle Street. Honor/Color Guards will be in the park and the general public is invited to congregate on the Common. [Please feel free to bring a chair]
The Principal Speaker will be Hingham native, and 1986 graduate of HHS: Colonel Richard John Harries III, USMC. Colonel Harries was trained as an Infantry Officer and later a Naval Aviator where he flew over 3000 hours in the F/A-18. During his most recent deployments the Colonel has served as Deputy Director Plans and Policy Division – United States Forces – Afghanistan, and as the Battle Director for Air Operations, United States Central Command Area of Operations.
BIO - Colonel Richard John Harries III, USMC
Colonel Harries graduated from Hingham High School in 1986 and from Tufts University in 1990, where he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps via the ROTC program.
Colonel Harries was trained as an Infantry Officer and later a Naval Aviator where he flew over 3000 hours in the F/A-18. He has served with Marine Fighter-Attack Squadrons 314, 323, 101, 134, and 112, including aboard the USS Constellation leading strike operations into Iraq. As a Forward Air Controller and Air Officer he has served with 3rd Battalion – 7th Marine Regiment, 4th Tank Battalion and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. This October, Colonel Harries will assume the position of Director, Aviation Command and Control Team, the Marine Corps’ aviation integration liaison to the other services.
During his career Colonel Harries has supported Operation Southern Watch (Iraq), Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), Operations Decisive Storm and Restoring Hope (Yemen), Operations Freedom’s Sentinel and Resolute Support (Afghanistan), and Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq and Syria). During his most recent deployments Colonel Harries served as Deputy Director Plans and Policy Division – United States Forces – Afghanistan, and as the Battle Director for Air Operations, United States Central Command Area of Operations.
Colonel Harries is a graduate of the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course, Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course, and the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, or Top Gun. He holds and Bachelor of Arts in Quantitative Economics and a Master of Arts in National Security Studies.
Colonel Harries personal awards are commensurate with his rank and time in service, and include the Bronze Star Medal and the Air Medal - Strike Flight with Numeral One. He is married to the former Cecilia Henriksson of Vastervik, Sweden. They reside in Bonn, Germany, with their two children, Jack and Eva.
Hingham, MA