BRIDGEWATER Eight-year-old Kevin Kelliher says he was thinking about his good friend and sister 's boyfriend, Kevin Preach, when a friend reminded him about the upcoming Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.He decided to dedicate his car to Preach, a Marine who died in February at the age of 21. The car had a camouflage design and said Remembering Kevin Preach along the side.

I think the car came out great and I 'm really happy with it, said Kelliher. I was really happy when I found out that Laurie (Hayes, Preach 's mother) was coming to watch me compete, and then I was really proud that I got third place in my den.

Bridgewater residents are coming up with creative ways to keep alive the memory of Lance Cpl. Kevin T. Preach, the town 's first member of the military since the Vietnam War to lose his life while serving on active duty.

Preach died in February from wounds suffered in Afghanistan when the Humvee in which he was a gunner was hit by an improvised explosive device. He had been stationed in Farah Province, Afghanistan, as a machine gunner with Weapons Company, 3rd Batallion, 8th Marines, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Preach was a 2007 graduate of Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School, where his friends will be dedicating a page in this year 's yearbook to his memory.

We decided to do the page because Kevin went to B-R and he deserved to be remembered because he fought for our country and he was a hero, says Erin Pochay, who knew Preach through her sister Amanda. He was my sister 's friend so he was around the house a lot.

Kevin would be thrilled that he had a whole page dedicated to him in the yearbook, he would think that it was cool, says Brianna Kelliher, 18, Preach 's girlfriend of two years before his death.

One thousand camouflage-colored Remembering Kevin Preach silicone bracelets have been sold for $3 each to benefit the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. Kelliher said that many people have donated more than the cost of the bracelet, and they have raised nearly $4,000 for the cause.

A lot of people who came to buy the bracelets came from military families, and they shared their stories about their husbands being at war, said Kelliher, who recently sold 700 bracelets in 21/2 hours in front of Roche Bros. Supermarket.

Two thousand additional bracelets have been ordered and will be available shortly.

Kelliher is also encouraging people to sign a guestbook at the Web site, legacy.com, in cooperation with The Enterprise. As of March 30, the site had 213 people sign it from all over the country.

Friends and family are also getting tattoos with which to remember Preach.

He was my best friend, I learned a lot from him growing up, says Dan Linehan, 19. I just thought I would do something so he would always be with me and I would never forget him.

Linehan 's black-and-white tattoo is the symbol for a fallen Marine rifle, helmet, and boots that goes down the back of his forearm. Dog tags come out from the rifle and wrap around the top of his arm, one dog tag reads In memory of Kevin T. Preach and the other reads Dinna, a nickname the group of friends has had for each other since junior high school.

Brianna Kelliher, Preach 's girlfriend, now has a tattoo with the word love written in black with a yellow ribbon behind it.

I got mine so that, for the rest of my life, when people ask me why I got it, I will be able to say it represents the love of a lifetime, says Kelliher.

The tattoos were all done by Preach 's cousin, Brian Beckwith who is a tattoo artist at Mass Ink in East Bridgewater.

The town is also planning a recognition to be placed on Town Common, and this year 's Annual Town Report to be dedicated to Preach.

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January 31, 2026