Boston Firefighters remembered one of their fallen brothers who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II, as Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the veteran’s family unveiled a memorial plaque for Joseph J. Luna yesterday in Sullivan Square.
Assigned to Charlestown’s Ladder 9 firehouse in 1942, Luna joined the Marine Corps a year later but was killed in combat on Sept. 15, 1944, during the Battle of Peleliu – the first Boston firefighter to die in WWII.
The original plaque dedicated to Luna was lost when the firehouse moved in the 1970s from Bunker Hill Street to Sullivan Square. The Boston Firefighters Union Local 718 and the Boston Fireman’s Post 94 American Legion joined to mount a new bronze plaque.
‘It was an emotional ceremony,’ said the late firefighter’s granddaughter Cathy Cardinale.
‘This is something that my dad (Stephen Luna) has been working on for quite awhile and it was a huge accomplishment on his behalf.
‘We’ve been looking forward to this day and I’m glad to be a part of it.’
‘It was important to remember the sacrifice Joseph Luna made for this country,’ said BFD spokesman Steve MacDonald.
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