Gov. Patrick presents Army Commendation medals to National Guard first responders

BOSTON – Gen. Frank J. Grass, Chief, National Guard Bureau and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff thank 1st Lt. Steven D. Fiola, 1060th Transportation Company, for his efforts in response to the Boston Marathon Bombings during a ceremony on Boston Common June 3, 2013. Thirteen Massachusetts National Guardsmen and one New York Guardsman received awards during the ceremony. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class James C. Lally, Massachusetts National Guard Public Affairs/Released)

Gov. Patrick presents Army Commendation medals to National Guard first responders

BOSTON – Gov. Deval L. Patrick; Gen. Frank J. Grass, Chief, National Guard Bureau and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Maj. Gen. L. Scott Rice, The Adjutant General, Massachusetts National Guard, thank Soldiers for their efforts in response to the Boston Marathon Bombings during a ceremony on Boston Common June 3, 2013. Thirteen Massachusetts National Guardsmen and one New York Guardsman received awards during the ceremony. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class James C. Lally, Massachusetts National Guard Public Affairs/Released)

Gov. Patrick presents Army Commendation medals to National Guard first responders

Published June 5, 2013
By Lt. Col. James Sahady
Massachusetts National Guard Public Affairs Officer

BOSTON -- Gov. Deval Patrick; Gen. Frank Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau; and Maj. Gen. L. Scott Rice, The Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard, presented Army Commendation Medals to members of the Massachusetts and New York National Guard, at the historic Boston Common June 3.

The commendation medals recognized the servicemembers for their acts of heroism when they provided critical first response immediately following the Boston Marathon attacks that occurred on April 15.

The following service members were recognized:

1st Civil Support Team, Massachusetts National Guard: 1st Sgt. Gary Mauk Jr., Staff Sgt. Francis Charrette III, Staff Sgt. Jason Maguire, Sgt. Samatha Lord and Sgt. Michael Wall.

164th Transportation Battalion, Massachusetts National Guard: 1st Lt. Stephen Fiola, 1st Sgt. Bernard Madore and Staff Sgt. Mark Welch.

182nd Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts National Guard: Sgt. Geoffrey Curtis, Spc. John Mackie, Spc. Michael Jay and Spc. Mac Luciani.

Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Massachusetts National Guard: Staff Sgt. Kelley McHugh.

24th Civil Support Team, New York National Guard, Staff Sgt. Saul Rodriguez

The Massachusetts National Guard quickly and efficiently responded to the Boston Marathon attacks with nearly 1,300 Soldiers and Airmen. More than 12 different Massachusetts Guard units and the Headquarters deployed in the Marathon attack response.

After the ceremony, Gov. Patrick, took the time to shake hands with the servicemembers and personally thank them for their actions.

The Boston Common ceremony followed with a short coin presentation ceremony at the State House to honor the brave service members for their selfless service in support of our Homeland Defense

Gen. Grass stated that it was an honor to present to these servicemembers and stated: "In the Army we follow the Warrior Ethos and the fourth line of the ethos is I will never leave a fallen comrade, and for these Soldiers, that applies to citizens as well."