Thursday, 4:30 PM
A funeral for a Marine who never met his newborn son
(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)
The family of Marine Sergeant William Callahan the Immaculate Conception Church today after his funeral in Easton. His mother, Mary Ellen (left) touches the head of Callahan’s 1-month-old son, Danny, who is being held by the Marine's sister, Marissa.
By Brian MacQuarrie and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
EASTON -- The low wail of a bagpiper playing "Danny Boy" echoed today near the casket of Sergeant William Callahan as relatives walked past with his 1-month-old boy, Danny, whom he never got to meet.
"His ultimate goal was to become a daddy," his mother, Mary Ellen Callahan, said in a eulogy, for her son, a Marine killed in Iraq last month. More than 500 mourners packed Immaculate Conception Church today for the funeral.
After the service, Mary Ellen Callahan held Danny while the bagpiper played, passing the infant to her daughter-in-law as both women cried. A Marine honor guard dressed in sharp blue uniforms stood with the dark-color coffin.
People clutching small American flags lined Main Street in this town 25 miles south of Boston. Many of the mourners on the street didn't know the family but were moved by the solemn pageantry.
An enormous American flag hung from the outstretched ladders of fire engines. Callahan's casket was also draped in a flag as it was pulled down Main Street on a white trailer by a motorcycle. It was followed by crisply marching Marines with rifles on their shoulders and Patriot Guard Riders, a group of motorcyclists who attend military funerals.
Callahan, 28, joined the Marines in 2002 and defused explosive devices while in Iraq. He was killed on April 27 in Anbar Province.
Family and friends have described Callahan as a devout Catholic who set up an informal ministry for other Marines. He received a citation for courage under fire for helping colleagues wounded by an improvised explosive device on Nov. 1, 2005, and was on his second tour of duty in Iraq.
The family of Callahan's wife, Amy, lives in Easton. He grew up in Hanson.
