Hingham Marine Killed In Hawaii Crash Honored In Memorial Service
HINGHAM, Mass. (CBS/AP) — Hingham said its final goodbyes Friday to a local Marine who died in a helicopter crash in Hawaii earlier this year.
A memorial service for 23-year-old Cpl. Christopher Orlando was held at St. Paul Catholic Church.
The service came three-and-a-half months after Orlando and 11 other Marines died Jan. 14 in a midair collision of two helicopters during a nighttime training mission off Hawaii's coast.
Friday's service included eulogies and a presentation of military honors to his parents. Gov. Charlie Baker was among those in attendance.
At the service, his sister said he touched many lives in his short 23 years. "Reflecting on Chris's life, I have a huge hole in my heart, and judging by the turnout today, so do all of you," his sister Gina Orlando-Devine said.
"In him I saw everything I wanted to be and everything I loved about humanity," Orlando's cousin Conor Higgins said.
Massachusetts State Police Lt. Col. Thomas Grenham said Friday's service showed an outpouring support for Orlando's family.
"There is never closure in an instance like this. They will never have closure," said Grenham. "But when they see everyone come together and the support they have, they're all coming together for Christopher."
Orlando had been in the Marines more than three years and was stationed at Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii.
Only traces of DNA were found in the recovery effort following the crash.
"When you grow up and you graduate and you decide to enter into a career in service and go into the Marines, I think that says something special about him and how he was brought up," said Grenham.
Hingham resident Debra Lally said Hingham residents were proud to show their support for Orlando.
"A town of many. But underlying, we are all one," Lally said.
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