My brother's name was Ralph Samuel Milligan, called Sam or Sammy. He was 22 years young when he was murdered on March 10, 1976. Sam loved to fish, swim, bike ride, shoot pool, read, and loved nature. He was blonde, blue eyed, and handsome. He was a mischievous and adventurous youngster. Sammy enjoyed spending his youth on Thompson's Island and the Sugar Bowl in South Boston. The last time I saw Sammy was at the Sugar Bowl for a day of fishing in February 1976. We had a wonderful day that I will cherish forever.
Recap of March 10, 1976: First of all, our mother was sitting on a jury for a South Boston murder case. That morning, I received a phone call from a friend who gave me the terrible news via another friend that my brother had been shot and killed in South Boston. I was in total shock. The police came to the apartment to give me the news. As I stated, our mother was on jury duty. The police drove me and a friend to Suffolk Superior Court. I had to tell my mother that her son had been murdered. The look of shock will forever be etched in my memory. Sammy's case has never been solved.
When I applied for Sammy to be commemorated in the Garden in 2013, I asked for his name to be placed as close as possible on the wall across the way from the Suffolk Superior Courthouse, where this nightmare started 47 years ago. Thank you for reading this and thinking of my brother Sammy.
Posted March 2023