The Lowell Police Honor Guard and Lowell High School JROTC Color Guard stand by with the colors at the flagpole in Veterans Memorial Park on Douglas Road. (Photo Courtesy City of Lowell)

LOWELL — The City of Lowell came together on Friday morning to recognize Memorial Day, and to remember the sacrifice of those who gave everything in service to our country, and their families.

Under blue skies at Veterans Memorial Park on Douglas Road, about 100 people, including a gold-star mother, honored the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country, and the sacrifice of their families.

The event was organized by Lowell Veterans Services Director Eric Lamarche, with support from the Lowell Veterans Commission, the Lowell Veterans Center, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans Services, the Lowell Police Honor Guard, the Lowell High School JROTC, Massachusetts State Police, and students from the Reilly Elementary School and Sullivan Middle School.

The Lowell Police Honor Guard and Lowell High School JROTC Color Guard presented the colors before Kristen Jordan, of VFW Post 662, sang the National Anthem. The Lowell High School JROTC performed, and students from the Reilly Elementary School sang “In Flanders Fields,” a song about the deadly World War I battlefield.

James Gaffney, of the Lowell Veterans Commission, remembers the fallen during a Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park. Gaffney is a Vietnam veteran who earned three Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts, among other medals. (Photo Courtesy City of Lowell)

Those who spoke to pay homage to veterans and their families included Mayor Erik R. Gitschier; City Councilor Rita Mercier; Sen. Vanna Howard; Paul Paradise of the Lowell Veterans Commission; Elisabeth Parrott of the Lowell Veterans Center; Deputy Secretary of the Executive Office of Veterans’ Services Dr. Gayle-Bennett, a retired Brigadier General in the Massachusetts National Guard; and James Gaffney, of the Lowell Veterans Commission — a Vietnam veteran who earned three Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts, among other medals.

The names of 14 soldiers who lost their lives in Operation Epic Fury were read aloud, as Navy veteran and Lowell Police Officer Liam Phillips rang a ceremonial bell after each name.

Gold Star mother Irene Finneral and Navy veteran and Lowell Police Officer Liam Phillips lay a wreath at the flagpole in Veterans Memorial Park. Finneral lost her son, George Scott Finneral, in the Persian Gulf in 1991. (Photo Courtesy City of Lowell)

Phillips then assisted Gold Star mother Irene Finneral as she laid a wreath at the flagpole in Veterans Memorial Park.

Finneral lost her son, George Scott Finneral, in the Persian Gulf in 1991.

“The City of Lowell remembers and honors the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives so that all of us could be free, and we remember the families who suffered their loss,” said City Manager Thomas A. Golden, Jr. “I am grateful to all of the organizations that worked together to make this event possible.”