CHATHAM – The 272-word Gettysburg Address is perhaps the most poignant piece of American oratory – especially so on Memorial Day.
When read, the speech is powerful. Seeing it re-enacted with great passion by Scott Hamilton, dressed as Abraham Lincoln, was truly moving.
Inside the Chatham Community Center packed with hundreds of people, Hamilton performed Lincoln’s famous speech honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield at Gettysburg.
Hamilton’s passionate re-enactment brought extra depth to the famous words. His speech was part of a virtual walking tour of war memorials throughout the town that was the basis of the ceremony.
Master of Ceremonies, Army Veteran Ted Miller, who served in Vietnam, directed the large attentive crowd through the memorials in town.
Kristen Howard sang “God Bless America” and the National Anthem, and Sarah Marchio played bagpipes. Liam Lawless, a sophomore at Nauset Regional High School, played “Taps.”
The most somber moment was the laying of a symbolic laying of a wreath by Gold Star Family, David and Missy Owens, parents of U.S. Navy Seal Kenny Owens.
Miller, reminded the crowd more than once, “You have honored the fallen simply by your presence here today.”
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