Lawrence City Councilor Marc Laplante

We remembered our war dead from Lawrence at American Battle Monuments Commission - Netherlands American Cemetery. I presented the city council resolution to Assistant Superintendent Ryan Dakir. May we remember these war dead and all of those who gave their lives in our country’s service. 

We remembered our war dead from Lawrence at American Battle Monuments Commission cemetery in Belgium - Ardennes American Cemetery. I presented the city council resolution to Superintendent Bert Caloud. This is the second time we presented a resolution to Superintendent Caloud. In 2017, he was the superintendent at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery in France, where we remembered our war dead buried there.

On Memorial Day weekend, we planted the Lawrence flag at the graves of Lawrence residents buried at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial. We also took a moment to remember our residents who were listed on the “Wall of the Missing”. Finally, I presented a City Council resolution to Superintendent John Bolt (a MA native with Merrimack Valley roots) in gratitude for leading his agency in Cambridge for maintaining a beautiful cemetery.

The June LSP schedule is now released. We will unveil the new signs that feature 1. an amazing Lawrence High School athlete/coach and veteran (Higgins); 2. The only Chinese-American from Lawrence who was killed in action during WW2 (Lee); A French-Canadian woman who was a philanthropist, especially dedicated to veterans (McCann); and 4. a WW2 veteran who was a city business leader in the funeral home industry (McAuliffe). Please mark your calendars and join us.

Today's LSP square re-dedication is being rescheduled to June because of the anticipated inclement weather

We recently unveiled the new Sergeant Fred Godbout Square sign - a World War I veteran. Here is a snippet of information from my research that will be published later:

“Godbout registered for the draft on June 27, 1917, and entered the Army on February 26, 1918. He saw intense combat with the 77th Division’s 306th Infantry Regiment and earned his first commendation on the night of July 6, 1918. During a raid on a German outpost, the party came under heavy machine-gun fire and withdrew. Discovering a comrade missing, Private Godbout retraced his steps through enemy fire, located the wounded man, and carried him to safety. Promoted to Mechanic, he wrote his mother: ‘There is absolutely no danger.’ However, danger persisted.”

More details about his life can be found here: https://queencityma.wordpress.com/2026/05/05/fred-j-godbout-square/

We rededicated and unveiled the upgraded sign at Joseph Girgenti Sq (General St & Allen St). Here is a snippet of his story.

“Girgenti was a member of the 23rd Infantry Regiment as he sailed to England to be part of the invasion force in the Normandy D-Day invasion. After rigorous training for the invasion, Girgenti, at 5 ft 6 inches and 155 lbs, survived the first day’s landing at Omaha Beach. His time in the northern France war zone would continue for 6 more weeks as his division approached the enemy in St. Lo, France. While engaged in the fight at St. Lo, other service personnel laid down blue smoke markers to direct Allied bombers. However, the wind changed direction, and the smoke drifted to Girgenti’s position. It was quite likely that Girgenti was fatally hit by friendly fire. Despite the proximity to Allied troops, heavy and medium bombers dropped their ordinance near and within friendly lines causing l02 army personnel killed and 380 wounded.”

You can find more about him here: https://queencityma.wordpress.com/2026/04/29/joseph-s-girgenti-square/

Thank you to the surrounding communities who provided mutual aid to limit the loss and a more devastating tragedy.