Mourners arrive at Holy Cross Church for a funeral service for Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan in Springfield yesterday. Sullivan was one of five service members shot to death in the July 16 attack in Chattanooga. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
SPRINGFIELD (AP) — A Massachusetts Marine killed by a gunman in Tennessee this month was remembered Monday by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield as “exemplary” and “a leader and a man of true courage.”
Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, a 40-year-old Springfield native, was one of five service members killed by a gunman in Chattanooga on July 16. The gunman was killed by police.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., right, and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., arrive outside Holy Cross Church for a funeral service for Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan in Springfield yesterday. Sullivan was one of five service members shot to death in the July 16 attack in Chattanooga. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
“His deep love for his family, his selfless dedication to being a Marine and his solid faith in God helped Tommy through the many challenges that he faced in training for service, in his deployments to Iraq, in being a leader for his fellow Marines and facing the danger on July 16, when he and his brothers in service heroically thought of others above themselves,” Bishop Mitchell Rozanski said at the private funeral Mass.
The Mass at Holy Cross Church, the church Sullivan attended as a child, was attended by family, friends, active duty Marines and dignitaries, including Gov. Charlie Baker, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal.
Hundreds of Springfield residents lined the streets as the procession made its way from the funeral home to the church, many waving U.S. flags.
People gather outside Holy Cross Church before a funeral service for Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan in Springfield yesterday. Sullivan was one of five service members shot to death in the July 16 attack in Chattanooga. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
A bagpiper played the Marine Corps hymn outside the church.
Rozanski made several references to Sullivan’s faith. Sullivan attended Catholic schools, including Cathedral High School, and received his confirmation at Boston College.
“As a follower of Jesus,” the bishop said, “Tommy knew the strength of faith that made him an exemplary Marine, a leader and a man of true courage.”
Ron Ylitalo, left, and Maureen Tanguay, both of Coventry, R.I., wait together before the funeral service for Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan in Springfield yesterday. Sullivan was one of five service members shot to death in the July 16 attack in Chattanooga. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Sullivan was laid to rest in the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam. Members of the Patriot Guard motorcycle group rode behind his coffin, and others stood along the driveway holding flags.
Thousands of people paid their respects at a public wake Sunday afternoon.
Sullivan is survived by his parents, a brother, a sister and other relatives.
Motorcycle club members distribute flags before a funeral service for Chattanooga shooting victim Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan in Springfield. He was one of five service members shot to death in the July 16 attack in Chattanooga. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Friends and family celebrated his life in raucous fashion with a show by the Dropkick Murphys.
The Boston-area rockers were Sullivan’s favorite band, and they played a tribute show last night at a packed Nathan Bill’s Bar and Restaurant, the Springfield pub owned by Sullivan’s brother, Joseph.
Dropkick Murphys band member Ken Casey said at the show that while they did not know Sullivan personally, they were thrilled to do their part to honor the fallen Marine.
The rock show came at the end of a somber day that included a funeral Mass and a burial for Sullivan.
