UPDATED: Swampscott Reacts to Bin Laden's Death

President Barack Obama announced Sunday night that American forces struck at a compound deep inside Pakistan and killed Osama bin Laden in a firefight.

The plan grew out of leads developed in August and was carried out by a small group of American operatives.

Word of bin Laden's death is resonating widely including in Swampscott, a town that lost two young military members in the war against terrorism.

VFW Post 1240 Commander John Sacherski said the killing of Osama bin Laden is a great day in American history. 

He learned about it at 5:30 a.m. Monday.

"Friends have been calling me all morning," he said.

He said he is thinking of the military people who carried out the mission and those who have lost loved ones in the war against terrorism.

Swampscott Veterans Agent Jim Schultz learned about the killing of bin Laden last night.

This morning he said the news is obviously welcome but there is more work to be done.

"In my opinion it is only a piece of the puzzle," he said.

There are other terrorists and some may want to exact revenge against the United States for killing the al Qaeda leader, Schultz said.

Still, he hopes bin Laden's death will lead to the collapse of the al Qaeda infrastructure.

He thinks people in Swampscott will be happy to know the al Qaeda leader has been taken out. 

Only days ago, the town replanted two trees on the Town Hall grounds, rededicating them to Marine Capt. Jennifer Harris, killed in Iraq in February 2007, and Army Specialist Jared Raymond, killed in Iraq in September 2006.

They were graduates of Swampscott HIgh School.

Sacherski said bin Laden's death has special meaning in Swampscott.

He said the action sends a message to Jennifer Harris's and Jared Raymond's parents, as well as the parents of a civilian from Swampscott who was killed in the war against terrorism.

"It has a huge significance," Sacherski said. "These parents know we have not quit on them. We are still after the terrorists."

The assault took place in the city of Abbottabad, he said.

Late Sunday night the president took his listeners through the past decade starting with the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the deaths of thousands of American civilians.

Squares in Swampscott are named after the Marine officer and Army specialist.

is at Essex Street and Stetson Avenue.

is at Burrill Street and Essex Street.

Next Saturday, the town will host the Gold Star Run for Honor in memory of Jared Raymond.