thedrifter
05-16-07, 06:53 AM
Fallen Rockland Marine is laid to rest
By Jessica Van Sack
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Updated: 12:43 AM EST
A hush fell over the hundreds in Rockland who clutched flags and saluted yesterday as the mournful procession arrived carrying the casket of fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Walter K. O’Haire on what would have been his 21st birthday.
From inside a limousine, his uncle, through tears, saluted back to the crowd, which included local schoolchildren, military families, area soldiers and veterans. Then the slow cadence of bagpipes began, breaking the silence.
“Wally saw himself as defending his country and his family,” said the Rev. James Hickey at Holy Family Church in Rockland. “All of that stuff was so important to him.”
O’Haire, an infantryman assigned to the Second Battalion, 6th Marine regiment out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., was laid to rest yesterday at Duxbury Cemetery.
The Marine, who died May 9 from a wound he received during combat in Al Anbar, was remembered as a strong-willed man, known to family and friends as “Wally” or “Gator,” a nickname bestowed on him by his mother at a young age.
“He was filled with enthusiasm and stubborness,” Hickey said. “He knew what he wanted to do.”
O’Haire, who moved from South Boston to Rockland a decade ago, joined the Marines when the Navy took too long to enlist him.
His mother, Maureen O’Haire, received mourners with utter composure yesterday, greeting each attendee with a firm glance as they received communion. As her son’s casket was carried from church while “God Bless America” played, the grieving mom cried silently. O’Haire’s father, Thomas O’Haire, died in 2005.
“Maureen, as always, you are this tower of strength for everyone,” Hickey said during the Mass.
Gov. Deval Patrick offered his condolences to the family after the Mass.
One of nine children, O’Haire would drive all night from training in North Carolina to spend weekends at home, said Jack Mansfield, his uncle and godfather.
He enlisted after the Sept. 11 terror attacks despite the attempts of some to dissuade him.
“That was Gator. He just wanted to go into the military after 9/11, and he did just that,” Mansfield said. “Gator loved to have the last word.”
Ellie
By Jessica Van Sack
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Updated: 12:43 AM EST
A hush fell over the hundreds in Rockland who clutched flags and saluted yesterday as the mournful procession arrived carrying the casket of fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Walter K. O’Haire on what would have been his 21st birthday.
From inside a limousine, his uncle, through tears, saluted back to the crowd, which included local schoolchildren, military families, area soldiers and veterans. Then the slow cadence of bagpipes began, breaking the silence.
“Wally saw himself as defending his country and his family,” said the Rev. James Hickey at Holy Family Church in Rockland. “All of that stuff was so important to him.”
O’Haire, an infantryman assigned to the Second Battalion, 6th Marine regiment out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., was laid to rest yesterday at Duxbury Cemetery.
The Marine, who died May 9 from a wound he received during combat in Al Anbar, was remembered as a strong-willed man, known to family and friends as “Wally” or “Gator,” a nickname bestowed on him by his mother at a young age.
“He was filled with enthusiasm and stubborness,” Hickey said. “He knew what he wanted to do.”
O’Haire, who moved from South Boston to Rockland a decade ago, joined the Marines when the Navy took too long to enlist him.
His mother, Maureen O’Haire, received mourners with utter composure yesterday, greeting each attendee with a firm glance as they received communion. As her son’s casket was carried from church while “God Bless America” played, the grieving mom cried silently. O’Haire’s father, Thomas O’Haire, died in 2005.
“Maureen, as always, you are this tower of strength for everyone,” Hickey said during the Mass.
Gov. Deval Patrick offered his condolences to the family after the Mass.
One of nine children, O’Haire would drive all night from training in North Carolina to spend weekends at home, said Jack Mansfield, his uncle and godfather.
He enlisted after the Sept. 11 terror attacks despite the attempts of some to dissuade him.
“That was Gator. He just wanted to go into the military after 9/11, and he did just that,” Mansfield said. “Gator loved to have the last word.”
Ellie