Eight years later, Boston marks the Marathon bombing anniversary with silence and kindness - The Boston Globe

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Boston marked an act of terror Thursday with kindness and silence.

Eight years ago, a pair of brothers living in Cambridge set off two bombs along Boylston Street as thousands gathered to watch runners cross the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The terror attack was witnessed by thousands and passersby helped the wounded, many of whose lives were forever changed by their injuries.

The bombings killed 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, 23-year-old Lingzi Lu, and 8-year-old Martin Richard. Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who were responsible for the attacks, also fatally shot MIT Police Officer Sean Collier in Cambridge days later. Boston Police Officer Dennis O. Simmonds died in 2014 from complications stemming from injuries he suffered during a confrontation with the bombers in Watertown.

Many have paid their respects over the years at a memorial to the three killed and the hundreds wounded, as the tragedy is marked with One Boston Day, when acts of kindness are paramount. On Thursday, bells tolled from the Old South Church at 2:49 p.m. for a moment of silence, marking the time when the first bomb was detonated; the second bomb detonated 12 seconds later, 214 yards away.

Boston Marathon survivor Paul Norden walked past the Boston Marathon Memorial after visiting the Finish Line. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff

Paul Norden, who lost his right leg in the second explosion, expressed gratitude Thursday at Copley Square for those who returned to the finish line Thursday to pay their respects.

It’s “nice to see people are out here,” he said.

Kevin Brown said he said he was “down the street” with his grandchildren when the bombs went off. They were headed to the finish line but running late, he said.

He called Thursday a “sad day” but said “we can’t start forgetting” what happened.

Martina Curtin, who was at Mile 25 when the bombs went off, said the day will be “engraved in my memory forever.”

When she began the race that morning, she said, the prospect of tragedy was “the last thing on my mind.”

Curtin, who ran the Marathon again in 2014 and 2016, said she returns to the finish line each year on what she described as a “very emotional day.”

“I think about all the people whose lives were changed forever,” she said.

As the clock struck 2:49 p.m. and the church bells rang, group of survivors huddled together for several minutes, even after life resumed around them.

Laurie Cher, who was a volunteer on the day of the bombing, said the moment was “heartbreaking.”

“We’ve become close to each other,” she said. “We experienced what we experienced, and it’s important for us to reflect.”

The scene at the finish line eight years ago was “literally like a war zone,” she recalled.

Cher said many at the finish line Thursday had been in survivor groups over the years.

Sara Valverde-Perez, another survivor, said if it weren’t for those groups many would not have been able to get through the aftermath.

“It’s the family you never wanted to have, but I couldn’t live without them right now,” she said. “If you weren’t there, you don’t completely understand it.”

Memories of the bombings get no easier as the years go on, she said, and you never forget the lives lost.

“You can’t forget all the pain,” she said.

Mary Keller was working on Dartmouth Street at the time of the explosions.

Keller, who grew up in New York City in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said a tragedy like the Marathon bombing “really bonds you to a city.”

The finish line is symbolic of the city’s ability to unify in the wake of the tragedy, she said.

“Those actions make us stronger,” she said. “We weren’t going to let that stop us.”

The Martin Richard Foundation, created by the boy’s parents and siblings who were among survivors of the bombings, posted a brief but powerful note on social media Thursday.

“Remembering Martin June 9, 2004 - April 15, 2013,” it read, along with a photograph of the child and a heart emoji in the center of the words.

Lu was a graduate student at Boston University from China when she was killed, and her family, like the Richards has created a foundation with a goal of raising money for community groups.

“No matter how much time may pass, we never will forget our beloved Lingzi and those who paid the ultimate price, simply by cheering on runners at the Boston Marathon finish,” the foundation posted on Facebook Thursday.

With The Boston Foundation, Campbell’s family supports a memorial fund in her memory. “The Krystle Campbell Memorial Fund at The Boston Foundation will be used to make gifts in honor and remembrance of Krystle to charitable causes important to Krystle and her family,” the foundation noted in a posting.

Acting Mayor Kim Janey stopped by the memorial around noon and later led a moment of silence near the flagpoles on the Congress Street side of City Hall.

Janey noted that One Boston Day takes on renewed importance during the pandemic.

“This day serves as an opportunity to celebrate the resiliency, generosity, and strength demonstrated by the people of Boston, and those around the world,” she said in a statement. “Over the past year, we have all been tested in ways we could not have imagined. The spirit of One Boston Day is more important than ever, as we continue to battle a public health crisis.”

One of the bombers, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed in a confrontation with law enforcement in Watertown several days after the attacks. His younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was convicted in 2015 for his role in the blasts and sentenced to death.

A federal appeals court threw out Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s death sentence last summer, ruling that the jury selection process had violated his right to a fair trial. A review of that appellate court ruling is currently pending before the US Supreme Court but Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will remain in custody for the rest of his life, regardless of how the court proceedings are resolved, according to legal filings.

Travis Andersen of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Charlie McKenna can be reached at charlie.mckenna@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @charliemckenna9. John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.

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John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.

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Eight years later, Boston marks the Marathon bombing anniversary with silence and kindness - The Boston Globe
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