After nearly three decades of waiting for word on their loved one, the Cleary family finally got some answers and some healing. That healing process continued with a ceremony this past Saturday at Fort Sewall.

Marblehead’s Maj. Peter M. Cleary’s plane was shot down 15 minutes before his mission was to end in 1973. He then went missing in action for 29 years.

Cleary’s remains were discovered at the Vietnam crash site in 2002, and he was laid to rest shortly thereafter at Arlington National Cemetery as per his wishes. Yet, until recently, a plaque in his honor at Fort Sewall indicated he was still missing. In an effort led by town Veterans Agent David Rodgers, the plaque was updated and rededicated Saturday. 

The town first planted a tree in honor of Cleary in 1973 and dedicated a plaque at the site, which read, “The Freedom Tree, with the vision of universal freedom for all mankind, Major Peter M. Cleary, USAF.” The plaque went on to describe Cleary's missing-in-action status during the Vietnam War in 1972. Coincidentally, noted Rodgers, the original tree died shortly before Cleary’s remains were found.

The updated plaque states that Cleary’s remains were recovered and laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on April 12, 2002. The plaque also honors all prisoners of war and all those soldiers missing in action.

Marblehead dignitaries joining the Cleary family were Veterans Agent David Rodgers, who organized the event, state Rep. Doug Petersen, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and Vietnam veteran Harry Christensen and his colleague, Selectman Judy Jacobi.

Rodgers opened up the ceremony by noting he was honored to be representing the town and the Veterans of Foreign Wars and said that the new plaque “brings closure, for the family and the town.”

Christensen added, "For those of us who struggled through the terrible war and the terrible jungle that was Vietnam, we made sure that (our fallen brethren) were recognized. I am proud to be here and pleased to see a remembrance for Peter Cleary.”

He then instructed the crowd, “Take a deep breath and look up at the sky. What you’re experiencing is freedom, and we need to remember those who paid for it.”

Also in attendance — as he was back in 1973 when the original tree was dedicated — was U.S. Naval Cmdr. Timothy Sullivan, who was shot down with fellow pilot Paul Schultz over North Vietnam in November 1967. Both crewmen were captured and held for over five years as prisoners of war.

Sullivan said, “When I first got back from Vietnam, everyone was concerned about those soldiers who were missing in action. People got the ball rolling with tree plantings such as this one.”

Sullivan said the grassroots efforts of people back at home holding tree plantings, displaying the POW/MIA flags and other public displays forced the government to become more accountable for its troops.

“If it weren’t for people in every city and every town planting trees, holding ceremonies, these soldiers wouldn’t be accounted for,” he said. “If you ever wore a POW/MIA bracelet, for myself and for everyone else (who served in Vietnam), I thank you. This action and other ceremonies put pressure on the politicians to come up with an answer for the people and find those missing.”

Following a 21-gun salute, a flag was presented to Mrs. Cleary, and flowers were presented to her daughter, Paige Cleary-Somol. Paige’s children, Peter (who was named after his grandfather), Ashlee and Kendall also attended at the event. The Clearys also have a son, Sean, who lives in White Plains, N.Y. Sean has two children, one of whom took Major Cleary's middle name, MacArthur, as his middle name.

Paige said, “We always had an agreement that whoever had the first boy would take the name ‘Peter’ and whoever had the second boy would take the middle name ‘MacArthur’ to carry on my dad's name.”

Cleary-Somol said that, because there was no gravesite for her father prior to 2002, she and her family would always come to visit the tree and plaque, because “all we had was the tree and the plaque to visit and remember him.” She remembered early in 2002 when her uncle Tom, Peter’s brother, called to tell her that it didn’t look like the tree would survive. Shortly thereafter, Cleary’s remains were discovered. 

“The timing is amazing,” she said. “I was thinking, ‘Leave it to Daddy, it’s a beautiful thing for him to time it like that.’”

She thanked Rodgers, who “always does a good job as far as honoring the veterans.”

Paige wasn’t much older than her youngest daughter Kendall is now at the time that her father’s plane was shot down in Vietnam.

Cleary-Somol said, “The term ‘closure’ doesn’t accurately describe what we went through. I see it more as ripping open all the old wounds and allowing it to heal properly. It’s raw and it’s painful.”

Peter’s wife, Barbara, was in the Philippines with her two young children at the time, and recalled being nervous the day of her husband’s final flight but then felt relief later in the afternoon, thinking she would have been notified if anything had gone wrong. Then she got the fateful phone call from the squadron commander at 11 that night, informing her that her husband’s plane had been shot down at 5:45 that evening and that he was missing. 

Every detail of that day remains vivid, even after all these years:

“One of his comrades was waiting on the tarmac for him with a bottle of champagne,” Barbara recalled. “He had a really difficult time with it.”

Paige said that, growing up, she didn’t know whether that story had been exaggerated, but it was brought up during Cleary’s burial ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. 

The Cleary family had already packed prior to Peter’s final mission, ready for their new assignment at Seymour Johnson Base in North Carolina. Major Cleary planned to leave the service not long thereafter, with Marblehead as the family’s final destination. 

The three Clearys made the trip to Logan, complete with rabies serum to be administered due to the wild dogs in the Philippines. They moved in with Barbara’s sister and brother-in-law for seven months. Barbara now lives in Concord, where her sister and brother-in-law reside.

Barbara explained that her husband’s remains could be identified because of a medal of St. Michael, the patron saint of warriors, which he wore — against regulations — on his missions. A Vietnamese man discovered the medal and turned it in to the authorities. The man then led the forensic team to the site, where Major Cleary’s remains were positively identified. Barbara now has the medal with her at all times, along with a medal of St. Jude (which brings safety to travelers) and her wedding band from her marriage to Cleary.

Cleary’s brother, Tom, also had a story to share.

“My mom had an MIA/POW bracelet, and at the time we were seeking accountability for our missing troops — we never knew if Peter or the other soldiers were prisoners of war or if they were even alive,” he said. “My mother had her bracelet silver-plated, and she wore it for over 20 years until someone counseled her to take it off, that it was time to let go, and that having this bracelet on her wrist every day was a constant reminder of Peter. She finally took it off in 1993. She died in 2001. In 2002, I was going through her belongings right around the time that Peter’s remains were discovered.   I picked up the bracelet, and it broke in two.”

Rodgers said he would be remiss if he did not mention three of Marblehead’s troops who are presumed dead and unaccounted for: Warren Bowles of the U.S. Navy, Harry E. McCann and Warren P. Smith, both of the United States Air Force. He also acknowledged Colleen Piper, widow of Special Forces Staff Sgt. Chris Piper, who died in Afghanistan on his third tour of duty in 2005, and their son Christopher, who attended Saturday's services.