Rockland bids a soldier farewell

February 2, 2009 02:37 PM Email| Comments (3)| Text size – +

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

ROCKLAND -- A bagpipe player led a winding procession today past several thousand mourners standing on Union Street, his tune echoing off storefronts, city offices, and homes.

They cried as the white, horse-drawn caisson carrying the casket of Massachusetts National Guard Specialist Matthew Pollini passed. Members of the military stood at attention, and veterans offered a salute. Schoolchildren waved small US flags through the air.

The caisson stopped in front of the Holy Family Church, where six servicemen and women carried the flag-draped coffin into the half-filled church. Within moments, 800 of the mourners who had waited outside for the procession filled the church.

It was a show of support similar to one two years ago, when this tight-knit community paid respects to a homegrown marine killed in Iraq. Lance Corporal Walter O’Haire, 20, was killed by a roadside bomb in April 2007.

Pollini, 21, was married for just four days when he shipped out to Iraq last December. He was manning the turret of his Humvee about 30 southeast of Bagdad when the vehicle overturned and crushed him.

Sarah Pollini, his wife, stood in front of the church and with a tremble in her voice, said, “I know you’re standing next to me with that huge smile on your face.’’

Major General Joseph Carter, the Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard, called Matthew Pollini a courageous soldier who often took on some of the most dangerous assignments, but never blinked while manning his post. During the funeral, Carter awarded Pollini’s family the Bronze Star.