Hero to the end: Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Springfield Marine killed in Chattanooga attack, went to aid fellow Marines when he was fatally shot

 

Mass Live "He was a hero right to the end, according to those who served with Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, one of four Marines killed in a deadly attack in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Thursday, in what some officials are calling an ISIS-inspired attack.

"Sullivan, a Springfield native raised in East Forest Park, was running to save his wounded colleagues when he, too, was shot. He didn't survive.

"Known as "Gunny" to his fellow Marines, Sullivan "died a hero yesterday," Marine Sgt. Amanda Vincent told Sullivan's family, who gathered Friday at the Hampden home of his parents, Gerry and Betty Sullivan, to celebrate the life of the 40-year-old, two-time Purple Heart recipient and Iraq veteran.

" 'The only thing on his mind was if his Marines were OK. He had a chance to jump the fence and run, but instead he ran back to make sure (I) and the others inside and the Marines that were shot were OK," Vincent said in a message to the Sullivan family." . . .

"Sgt Holmquist returned from a 244-day deployment with the Marines last year, according to this photo posted to Facebook of his wife and son welcoming him home"

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