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The Green Wave
Gazette
Dedicated to Marine Sgt. Daniel Vasselian
February/March 2014
The Green Wave Gazette
Abington Pulls Together
Abington fights through a series of tragedies
Alex Tempesta
Contributor
Thousands came out of their
homes and lined the streets in
the freezing cold all the way
from Boston to Abington on
Thursday December 26 to welcome home Sgt. Daniel M. Vasselian, a son, brother, cousin,
husband, friend and hero. There
was a sea of red, white, and blue
all over town. The procession
only took about 10 minutes, but
in that time about 100 police
cars from many towns and
counties along with police motorcycles, fire departments,
fellow Marines and Vasselian‘s
family and friends passed by the
many onlookers. Danny Vasselian was serving his third tour
of duty and was set to come
home to Abington in early
March. His life was cut short at
age 27 after he was ambushed in
Helmand province in southern
Afghanistan. We never realized
the magnitude of a fallen solider
until Vasselian passed.
Vasselian was buried next to
Jeremy Russell at Mount Vernon
cemetery in Abington. They
were former classmates and
graduated in 2004. Jeremy passed
away in 2009 tragically at the age
of 23. Just as with Sgt. Vasselian,
the town rallied together to celebrate and support each other like
they have done with the many
other tragedies this town has seen
in recent times. These include the
untimely deaths of Makayla Guerriero, Jeremy Weston, Samantha
Theodore, Amy Whitman, Joey
Glynn, Kerry Walsh, Mark Chirokas, Elaine Kelliher, Tom McIsaac,
Brian Cherry and many others.
The days that followed were sad
and mournful, but the grief was
lessened by how quickly the community came together. Whether
you knew them or not, you were
affected in some way because
someone you knew had the great
opportunity of knowing them.
Three summers ago Nick Malafronte broke two vertebrae in his
neck diving into the pool at Island
Grove; he was paralyzed from the
chest down. With the town‘s
support, thousands were raised at
events and fundraisers to help
with Nick‘s recovery. There was
also a fundraiser for Vasselian
(started by his friend and fellow
AHS alumna Nikki Cutter) to help
his family. The goal was $5,000,
“You feel safe in this town because everyone
watches each other’s back.”
- Alex Tempesta
but in just 24 hours donations
reached $40,000 and have since
risen to nearly $68,000. That
outcome is incredible.
Growing up in Abington is like
growing up in no other
town. We rally together in times
of need, but what makes this
town so admirable is that people
always help no matter what. They
just do it. For instance, Eddie
Bailey, from Bailey‘s Garage, always helps the school with car
washes and fundraisers. Builder
Glenn LaPointe and the highway
department always go above and
beyond to prep events for the
town. The turnout for the annual
Jeffrey Coombs Memorial Road
Race and all the people who help
set it up is astonishing considering
Mr. Coombs passed away 13
years ago. The race this year was
even more special because Carlos
Arredondo, a hero from the Boston Marathon bombing was there
and was recognized for his courage. All the people who come
out and support sports by coming
to the games or making donations
to teams and clubs which help pay
for sub varsity sports, and all the
sponsors around town show how
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Abington Students Honor Sgt. Daniel M.
Vasselian (Photo by Shannen Mahoney)
everyone is involved. The Abington Depot, Abington Bank, Lorena‘s Studio of Hair, J&L
Homestyle Deli, The Abington
Ale House, Sub Galley and Reilly
Law Office just to name a
few. You feel safe in this town
because everyone watches each
other‘s back whether they‘re best
friends or strangers. No matter
how far you grow apart you‘ll
always have your roots. This
town‘s roots run very deep.