Linda Hickey and others tossed carnations representing service members killed in war during a Veterans for Peace ceremony on Memorial Day
The brass bell tolled as the name of each of the 124 service members from Massachusetts who died in Iraq or Afghanistan was solemnly announced.
After each name was called, a red, white, or blue carnation was dropped into the still waters of Boston Harbor.
Army Sergeant Jordan Shay of Amesbury was the first name called. He was killed on Sept. 3, 2009, in a combat vehicle accident just weeks into his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was 22.
“It was very thoughtful and moving,” said Louise Bruyn, 85, of Newton, who dropped the flower in memory of Shay, whom she never met.
The flower ceremony was the emotional high point of a Memorial Day tribute organized by the Boston chapter of Veterans for Peace, an international organization that promotes a nonviolent end to war.
Carnations were also dropped to honor the more than 1,300 servicemen and women from Massachusetts who died in Vietnam.
The 90-minute ceremony, held under overcast skies at Christopher Columbus Park in the North End, struck a different tone than traditional Memorial Day parades and services held Monday in communities across the state.
Spectators waved peace flags and wore T-shirts with the message, “War is a racket. A few profit — the many pay,” printed on the back.
“I think the current wars are a big mistake,” said Carolyn Whiting, 65, of Reading, who held a rainbow-colored peace flag and wore strands of red-and-blue peace symbol beads around her neck.
“Amazing Grace” sounded from a harmonica. Poems penned by combat veterans were read.
“It was OK,” Patrick Doherty, 31, of Dorchester, an Army Iraq war veteran, said after reading a poem. “It’s kind of a sad day.”
Vietnam and Iraq war veterans remembered both their fallen comrades and civilians who have lived through war.
“We always remember those who wore the uniforms, but we never seem to recall those civilians, the ones who did not want war . . . and who had nothing to do with it,” said Bob Funke, 63, of Roslindale, an Army veteran who served two tours of duty in Vietnam.
Funke recalled the stark difference between his first tour as an infantryman and his second tour as a medic.
“In my first tour . . . I killed at least 21 people,” he said in a raspy voice. “In the second tour, I was a medic and I saved over 200 people.
“I can tell you right now, saving lives beats the hell out of taking them,” Funke added, drawing applause from the crowd of about 50 gathered before him. “We should be doing all we can to save lives, and bring home those who have gone to war.”
Travis Weiner, 29, an Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq, offered a moment of silence for Army Corporal John M. Dawson of Northbridge, the state’s most recent casualty, who was killed in Afghanistan on April 8, and for six men from his platoon who died serving in Iraq.
“It is good and fitting that we do this,” said Weiner, who works as an outreach worker for Homebase Program, which provides support services to veterans.
But Memorial Day should also be “a day in which people around this country take time to contemplate some fundamental moral, ethical, and philosophical questions related to our country’s wars,” Weiner said. “I believe, with all my heart, that it is dishonoring to our fallen brothers and sisters to refuse to even consider these questions.”