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Fall River to dedicate Gold Star families memorial

Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph F. Dunford Jr. /DENNIS BRACK /European Pressphoto Agency /pool

The nation’s top military leader will travel to Fall River on Sunday to dedicate the state’s official memorial tribute to Gold Star families whose loved ones died in military service to the country.

General Joseph Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will deliver the keynote speech at the dedication of the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument, scheduled for 1 p.m. at the city’s Bicentennial Park.

Dunford, a native of South Boston who grew up in Quincy, led the unit of Marine Captain Benjamin Sammis, a Rehoboth native, who was killed at age 29 in Iraq in 2003. He was a helicopter pilot.

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“It’s really great to have someone of that stature and that high ranking to be here to help dedicate this for the Gold Star families,” said Bruce Aldrich, commandant of the Marine Corps League in Somerset, who led the effort to create the memorial.

Francisco Urena, the state’s secretary of veterans affairs, will also speak at the ceremony. As many as 600 people, including Fall River and other local officials are expected to attend, Aldrich said.

The black granite memorial, funded by more than $50,000 in grants and community donations, features four panels, recognizing homeland, family, patriotism, and sacrifice. A section of stone is cut out in the shape of a soldier.

The monument stands beside the city’s Iwo Jima memorial overlooking the Taunton River. It was built over the last year — about 90 percent of the materials and labor was donated by local businesses and individuals, Aldrich said.

Aldrich, a former lance corporal in the Marines, led the campaign to build the memorial with Steven Sammis, Benjamin’s father and a former Marine.

Sammis could not be reached Saturday night.

“We will be forever proud of him and the character he held so true,” Benjamin’s parents wrote in a statement after his death, according to a past Globe article.

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The monument was built as part of a program run by the Hershel Woody Williams Medal of Honor Foundation, which encourages communities across the country to erect monuments to Gold Star families.

The Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund also gave a $5,000 grant. Enough money was raised that they may install a flagpole to fly the Gold Star flag and lights to illuminate the monument at night, Aldrich said.

“We’re hoping now that the Gold Star families will have a place to come down to sit and reflect and meditate and just have some quiet time thinking about their child,” Aldrich said.


Felicia Gans can be reached at felicia.gans@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @FeliciaGans.