Remembering a hero in Lenox

LENOX – With full military honors including a Marine color guard, the grandson of a Lenox couple was laid to rest last Friday with more than 1,400 mourners in attendance in St. Ann’s Church, followed by a foot procession from the church to St. Ann’s Cemetery.

Marine Lance Cpl. Roger W. (R.J.) Muchnick, Jr. of Westport, Conn., was acknowledged in prayer and remembrances by the Catholic clergy, friends and family in a nearly two-hour ceremony.

Members of the media were not invited into the church or to the graveside where Mr. Muchnick was buried.

Robert and Mary Ann Coakley – Lance Cpl. Muchnick’s grandparents – invited all attendees to a gathering at the Pittsfield Country Club following the Liturgy of Christian Burial ceremonies and burial with a 21-gun salute by the Marine color guard and contingent.

Under partly sunny skies with temperatures in the 40s, friends and family proceeded into the church.

Some came over to the media to express their respective sentiments before and after the service.

“Cpl. Roger Muchnick was a brave Marine, who died while serving our country honorably and with distinction. A grateful nation will never forget this young man’s extraordinary courage and dedication.

“And his many friends and loved ones in The Berkshires will always keep this hero in their hearts,” Congressman Richard E. Neal said.

“The community of Lenox paid tribute, not only to a wonderful young man, who loved his country, but also to a wonderful Lenox family who have made tremendous sacrifices for this community and the country,” State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli (D-Lenox), who represents the 4th Berkshire District, said.

“I’m so proud of Lenox for showing compassion for the Coakley’s during this difficult time and displaying its true colors…red, white and blue.

“I know that Katie, much like her grandmother before, will walk through life with the same class and dignity while carrying the tremendous burden of losing her son as a Gold Star Mother,” State Rep.  Pignatelli said

Atty. Michael A. Pignatelli , former Assistant Attorney General of New Hampshire and cousin of the state senator told The Berkshire Beacon: “The funeral was an emotional remembrance of a young man from two wonderful families.

“My heart goes out to the parents, Kate and Roger, and to R.J.’s brother and sisters, and to his aunts and uncles.

“I know the Coakley side because of our family connections over many years in Lenox.

“Who cannot be moved to see Bob and Mary Ann Coakley go through this all over again, having lost a military hero in 1966 and a talented younger brother only a month earlier, at the same stage of a promising life as their grandson, R.J.

“I will remember Bob’s comment at the funeral to his grandson, ‘I love you with all of my heart.’”

“And, when the Marines presented the folded American flags to R.J.’s parents, I remembered years ago when they did the same with the matriarch of the family, Jeannette Coakley, when the remains of her beloved Bill were returned to Lenox to a hero’s welcome,” Atty. Pignatelli told The Berkshire Beacon.

State Senator Benjamin B. Downing (D- Pittsfield) said, “The services for Lance Cpl. Muchnick were a fitting tribute to a fine young man struck down far too early in a promising life.

“The moving stories shared by friends and family showed RJ was everything a parent would hope their child would become.

“We in The Berkshires are lucky to have counted him among us, even if it wasn’t nearly long enough. He will be missed, by those who knew and loved him and those who were lucky enough only to know him through his family’s prayers.”

***

Among the pastors at the concelebrated Mass were the Rev. Christopher J. Waitekus, pastor at St. Ann; Bishop Timothy McDonnell from the Diocese of Springfield; the Rev. Daniel B. Brunton, pastor emeritus of St. Ann; and the Rev. Daniel J. Boyle, pastor of Blessed John Paul II Parish in Adams.

Cpl. Muchnick was laid to rest at St. Ann Cemetery alongside his great-uncle, Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Coakley.

Robert Coakley’s brother was shot down over North Vietnam in 1966. After 23 years missing in action, his remains were returned to Lenox for a service on Memorial Day 1989 with full military honors and burial at the cemetery.

Other notes

The Lenox Police Department did a good job in keeping Main Street open from the Church on the Hill, where media was urged to park, and down on Housatonic Street, where the Lenox Fire Department had its hook and ladder truck parked in the old Caligari’s parking lot with the American flag draped from the ladder before attendees proceeded into St. Ann’s Cemetery for their final goodbyes.

-The Westport (Conn.) Police Department was represented by a contingent of officers along with two police motorcycle officers, who led the group from St. Ann’s Church to St. Ann’s Cemetery along with a group of 50 Marines, the Roche Funeral Home hearse, limousines and the parishioners on foot, led by the Catholic clergy.

The homage was paid, the grace achnowledged and then there was the lone bagpipper, whose music filled the air admist the sobs of crying.

Posted by George C. Jordan III on April 4, 2013. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry