Jun 14, 2008 3:21 pm US/Eastern
Funeral Held For Fallen Taunton Soldier
TAUNTON (WBZ) ―
A Taunton family, along with an entire community, mourned the loss of a 24-year-old soldier who was killed in Iraq earlier this month.
Army sergeant Shane Patrick Duffy was killed less than a month after being re-deployed to Iraq. According to the U.S. Army, Duffy was killed in action in Iraq.
His funeral was held at Saint Mary's Church on Saturday in Taunton.
The young sergeant leaves behind a wife and a baby girl.
"Ours is true love, and I will count myself lucky to experience these feelings even if I only had a few years with Shane here," said Duffy's wife, Jamie. "But we sure knew how to pack it all in. Don't worry, honey. I will take good care of our baby girl."
Duffy was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. He served there for 10 months in 2004 and was re-deployed last September.
Duffy's father, Keavin, is a Taunton firefighter. Duffy was on a list to be hired as a Taunton firefighter as soon as his tour was up in Iraq.
Fire Department Honor Guards and off duty members attended his funeral along with Sen. John Kerry.
"Sgt. Shane Patrick Duffy died for all of us. He died believing in his country, in his values and in the brothers in his unit," Kerry said. "He died in the extraordinary act of giving others the chance to live by the values he loved so deeply.
Duffy was home from the war last month and visited his Taunton High School to see his younger sister play softball. He was honored during that game and his sister had the game-winning hit.
Mayor Charles Crowley had ordered flags on city property be lowered to half-staff to honor Duffy.
"You were already my hero, honey," Jamie Duffy said. "But now you're everyone's hero."
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