Family and Friends pay their final respects to Westfield Marine

Family and Friends pay their final respects to Westfield Marine Corporal Christopher Arzola

By Scott Coen
Posted 30 minutes ago
WESTFIELD, Mass (WGGB) — On a crisp, gray Monday morning friends and family of Marine Corporal Christopher Arzola paid their final respects to a young Maine who died in a Valentine’s Day car accident near Camp Pendleton, California.

A threatened protest by the Westboro Baptist Church never materialized on Monday, but the specter of the visit gave a handful of young veterans, along with members of the Westfield State University community, a chance to say goodbye.

“Faculty and staff united with the veterans groups here today,” said Professor of Psychology Robert Hayes. “A human shield to any type of hate that might show up and make this uncomfortable for the family that’s mourning this very tragic loss.”

Large in numbers and galvanized in spirit, close to a hundred members of the Westfield State University community marched up Broad Street to pay their final respects to Marine Corporal Christopher Arzola.
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