The full text of this speech was found on the WEEI sports radio website. It is a very impressive tribute to the sad events of the Boston Marathon.
The following is the script executed by Fenway Park public address announcer Henry Mahegan for what was a memorable pregame ceremony, remembering the tragic events that unfolded at the Boston Marathon, and the heroic actions executed in the days that followed:
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Fenway Park.
This past week has been unlike any other in the history of Boston. We have experienced trauma and tragedy, devastation and despair, physical injuries and emotional wounds.
Our week has had its share of suffering, sorrow, and sadness.
This week has also brought out the best in Boston. Volunteers rushing into the smoke. Marathoners running even further—to hospitals to give blood. Doctors and nurses showing why they are the best in the entire world.
And our law enforcement officers…pursuing every lead, scouring every tape, and working relentlessly, fearlessly, and triumphantly, to seek, find, and bring those responsible to justice.
And our Governor, our Mayor, and our police officers thank you, for the way citizens responded, for the contributions they made to the apprehension, and to the way we demonstrated such fierce unity.
Today, we gather as one. And we affirm to ourselves and to each other that we are one—one community, one nation, one world, full of love, full of compassion, and full of generosity. Those feelings, powerful all of them, fuel us with passion. To never quit. To persevere. To prevail.
We will run another marathon—one bigger and better than ever. We are one. We are Boston. We are strong. We are Boston Strong. (pause) As we come together today, we first remember those whom we have lost..
We hope these families feel our sympathies.
We also want to reciprocate the sentiments that have come to us from across the country and around the world by extending our hearts to our brothers and sisters suffering in the City of West, Texas, and to the thousands impacted by today’s earthquake in China.
And, as we think of our 176 adults and children who were injured, including MBTA Officer Richard Donohue, won’t you join us as we observe a moment of silence, contemplation, and prayer, and in particular, for the 58 who are still hospitalized.
(Pause 10 seconds) Thank you. We wish each of you a speedy recovery. (pause)
Throughout this week, in the aftermath of tragedy, one truth has emerged: we are resilient. Thursday, our President, our Governor, and our Mayor urged us to rely on that resilience. For the past 38 hours in particular, that resilience has been on grand display. Law enforcement officers have battled through the dark of night and in the face of danger. Embodying the spirit of our Beloved Boston…they have prevailed.
(pause)
And now, it is our honor to shine the sunlight and the spotlight on some friends and neighbors who represent the spirit, the toughness, and the resilience of Boston.
First, a host of ordinary citizens who are anything other than ordinary. They were pressed into duty in a life-changing and life-saving way just five days ago. Today, they will protect the symbol of our freedom, the American Flag, and they will be “back on Boylston” in 2014. From the Boston Athletic Association, the Boston Marathon volunteers!
(pause)
And now, some stories that reflect the love and human compassion that we witnessed on Monday…
We were enjoying a picture-perfect Patriot’s Day. Inside Abe and Louie’s restaurant on Boylston sat a firefighter from Lynn. He was enjoying a Marathon Day lunch with his friends— an annual tradition. Besides serving as a firefighter, he is also a paramedic—and an Army veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
He heard the boom. He jumped to his feet. He sent diners to the kitchen while he headed to the street.
He saw a little boy. A belt became a tourniquet. He carried the child to medical personnel—and simply saved his life.
And that was only one of the lives he saved, right up the street, just five days ago.
Representing firefighters, paramedics, veterans, and everyday citizens who amid sudden danger, chose to rescue others: welcome Matt Patterson.
So many of the wounded are within a few miles of Fenway Park right now. They’re at outstanding hospitals such as Mass General, Boston Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s, Children’s Hospital, Tuft’s New England Medical Center, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where our next guest was treated. And, we’re happy to say, from where he has now been released.
On Monday, he was with his two best friends and their sisters, standing on Boylston, when they heard the first explosion. He was shielding the sisters when, suddenly, the second explosion threw him over a fence, lit his clothes on fire, and sent shrapnel into his face and neck. He was rushed to Beth Israel Deaconess. There, a trauma surgeon performed emergency surgery— and again, simply saved his life. And, while he still has a ways to go, he’s on the road to recovery, he’s with us today, and he’s representing not only his two friends, each of whom lost a leg, but all who are on that road. Welcome Lowell native and a Lowell High grad, Steven Byrne.
And now, a symbol of resilience if ever there was one…the father who, for 31 years, has pushed his son’s wheelchair across that Boylston Street Finish Line–—and who, together, are determined to “carry on” and be “back on Boylston” in 2014. Representing all the runners, welcome father and son, Dick and Rick Hoyt!
Coming to thank them personally is the Governor of our Commonwealth, whose leadership, along with the extraordinary leadership and stamina of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, has never been more crucial than this week. Joining him are members of Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick’s courageous law enforcement effort, as well as those from near and far, and how fortunate we are to be able to express our thanks to them on this day. Among them are Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis, the Boston Police Command Staff, Massachusetts State Police Lieutenant Colonel Frank Matthews, Watertown Police Chief Ed Deveau, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Richard DesLauriers, MBTA Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan, as well as Senator Mo Cowan, and officers representing hundreds from Boston, Watertown, and throughout Massachusetts, to whom we are so grateful.
(pause)
And now, please rise, to continue a new Boston tradition born in the Garden just three days ago. Our organist, Josh Kantor, will get you started, but you take it from there, as together, we lift our voices to new heights and sing the “Star-Spangled Banner,” the anthem that affirms our faith, in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
(Flag drops Organ starts)
And now, we’ll hand the ball to Matt Patterson, to Steven Byrne, and to Dick and Rick Hoyt, symbols of our Beloved Boston, and of our strength, our toughness, and our resilience.
Catching the Ceremonial First Pitch are Will Middlebrooks, Dustin Pedroia, and welcome back Big Papi, David Ortiz!
(brief pause) Ok, Matt, Steven, and the Hoyts, it’s time for our Ceremonial First Pitch! (They throw, they catch, they hug, then Ortiz takes the mic:)
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